Comparison of loudness models for time-varying sounds

The loudness of a sound depends, among other parameters, on its temporal shape. Different loudness models were proposed to account for temporal aspects in loudness perception. To investigate different dynamic concepts for modeling loudness, predictions were made with the two current loudness models of Glasberg and Moore [J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 50, 331–341 (2002)] and Chalupper and Fastl [Acta Acustica united with Acustica 88, 378–386 (2002)] for a set of time-varying sounds. The predicted effects of duration, repetition rate, amplitude-modulation, temporal asymmetry, frequency modulation and the systematic variation of spectro-temporal structure on loudness were compared to data from the literature. Both models predicted the general trends of the data for single, repeated and asymmetric sound bursts and amplitude-modulated sounds. The model of Chalupper and Fastl seems to agree slightly better with loudness data for sounds with strong spectral variations over time, since it includes a dynamic stage which allows spectral loudness summation also for non-synchronous frequency components.