The role of dissonance in the sound quality perception for electric vehicles

Abstract

Tonal components can be regarded as one of the most relevant components for interior sound quality of electric vehicles, especially at low speeds. Sources for these tones are for example the vehicles' drivetrains but also other technical components. Depending on the driving conditions, due to the interaction of various dominant sources, audible tone complexes can occur. Similar to musical intervals, the different frequency ratios within these complexes can result in consonant or dissonant sensations. The strength of this sensation does not only depend on the frequency relation of the tones but also on their relative levels. In this study, different musical intervals were subjectively rated in terms of their specific consonant or dissonant character. Using an adaptive procedure, sound pairs, each consisting of a two-tone signal, where adjusted to equal dissonance by varying the level of the second tone of one of the two-tone signals. Using the same paradigm, also pairs of equal vehicle sound quality were obtained. With these results, it is possible to quantify dissonance, and theinfluence of dissonance on sound quality expressed in terms of level differences of two-tone signals. These results can help to make the concept of dissonance more useful for sound-engineering applications.