Perceived magnitude of two-tone-noise complexes: loudness, annoyance, and noisiness

An investigation of the perceived effects of tonal components was undertaken to establish a broader data base for quantification and prediction of annoyance of sounds containing added tones. The current study was concerned with two-tone-noise complexes. The stimuli were tone pairs added to a low-pass noise that was attenuated by 5 dB/oct above 600 Hz. Overall perceived magnitude is shown to be a function of the frequency separation (delta F) between the tonal components, tone-to-noise ratio, and the overall SPL of the noise-tone complex. Results obtained with two tones are compared to those obtained in an earlier study with single tones [R. P. Hellman, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 75, 209-218 (1984)]. The observed effects appear relevant to the rules governing loudness summation across frequency, to measurements of psychoacoustic consonance and roughness, and to the issue of mutual masking among the component stimuli. The implications of the findings in relation to proposed tone-correction procedures are also discussed.