Objective and subjective evaluation of façade sound insulation

Façade insulation of several different construction types were subjectively evaluated using three psychoacoustic methods: paired comparisons using a two alternative forced choice (2- AFC) paradigm and two versions of direct scaling using a visual analogue scale (VAS). The stimuli used in the evaluations were obtained by filtering recordings of traffic noise with the frequency response of sound insulation measurements. The measurements were performed in typical Italian buildings in accordance with the ISO 140-5 standard. The objectives of the present paper are to compare the subjective evaluations obtained with the two psychoacoustic methods, and to investigate the correlation between subjective assessments and objective ratings in different construction types.