Perceptual assessment of water sounds for road traffic noise masking

Due to their inherent positive quality and sound masking properties, water generated sounds are very popular in the context of soundscape design. This paper examines the perceptual assessment of water sounds in the presence of road traffic noise through the use of auditory experiments. The water sounds used in the experiments were generated by waterfalls, streams, cascades and fountains, with most of the sounds obtained from laboratory tests run under controlled conditions. This ensured an accurate and reliable analysis of the water generated sounds, as well as obtaining a wide range of sounds by varying several designs factors such as flow rate, source's height, waterfall's width, waterfall's edge characteristics and impact material. The results obtained from the auditory experiments include the preferred sound pressure levels of a variety of water sounds against road traffic noise, as well as the preferred water sounds used for masking road traffic noise. All preferences were rated in terms of relaxation, and the most significant findings obtained will be presented at the conference.