Relation between loudness in categorical units and loudness in phons and sones.

Data are presented on the relation between loudness measured in categorical units (CUs) using a standardized loudness scaling method (ISO 16832, 2006) and loudness expressed as the classical standardized measures phon and sone. Based on loudness scaling of narrowband noise signals by 31 normal-hearing subjects, sound pressure levels eliciting the same categorical loudness were derived for various center frequencies. The results were comparable to the standardized equal-loudness level contours. A comparison between the loudness function in CUs at 1000 Hz and the standardized loudness function in sones indicates a cubic relation between the two loudness measures.