Practical and technical suitability perceptions of sound sources and test signals used in room acoustic testing

High intensity and accurate test signals are required to be produced by sound sources for acoustic characterisation and evaluation of indoor spaces. A variety of modern room excitation test signals, sources and processing methods (systems) exist and their suitability for most purposes is well documented in the literature. Those test systems are firmly established and employed in academia and research applications due to their accuracy and reliability; despite requiring sophisticated, expensive and bulky equipment which needs electrical power. More convenient and traditional impulsive test signals and sources are widely used in the acoustic industry as an alternative to modern system mainly due to their low cost and practicality merits. However these alternatives are not as robust or as well documented. This paper reports on a preliminary attitude survey regarding perceived technical and practical suitability of different systems used in academia and industry in the UK. A social survey asked acoustic consultancies, researchers and academics questions about usage, perceived accuracy and reliability of systems used. Results conclusively showed that some traditional systems are widely used and favoured due to their practicality and convenience despite the acknowledged lack of robustness. A proposed novel all-round system addressing most of the technical and practical merits would be welcomed and adopted by the industry