Subjective assessment of computer-simulated telephone calling signals

An experimental family of tones intended as telephone calling signals was generated by computer simulation. The synthesis technique allowed systematic manipulation of the parameters of the tones. Selected results of the computations were submitted to listeners for evaluative judgments. The evaluative data were analyzed by a multidimensional method that reveals the perceptual dimensions on which listeners' opinions differ. The dimensions thus defined were interpreted in terms of the parameters of the synthesis.