Evaluation of Drum Sound with ISO Tapping Machine

A branch norm, EPLF NORM 021029-3,1 has been established for measuring drum sound on laminate floor coverings. ‘Drum sound’ refers to the sound occurring when an object, e.g. a foot, strikes the flooring in the room in which the receiving ear is located. The norm evaluates the subjective perception of the drum sound's loudness using the ISO tapping machine. A round-robin study of the norm is reported along with the results of a paired comparison listening test using the same floor coverings. The article discusses general aspects of evaluation measures, tapping machines, test environments, etc., that need to be considered when measuring drum sound on various floor coverings, such as linoleum, wood parquet and laminate. It is concluded that loudness as measured according to ISO 532B correlates the best with the subjective perception of the drum sound's loudness. The tapping machine can be used to excite hard floor coverings to produce the drum sound, but should be used with caution in studying low-level drum sounds due to the tapping machine's inherent mechanical noise.