I don’t like the sound of the sine sweep. Can a noise-like signal be used instead with the new standard?

Yes, in most cases you can use the noise-like signal MLS instead of the sine sweep. This MLS-method has been used for commercial sound insulation measurements in difficult noisy situations for several years.

Go to Measurement->Settings.... If you select the settings shown below (MLS and Emphasis: Pre + De) the excitation will sound like pink noise, but the accuracy will be better.

Note: Using the MLS signal is not recommended if you have time variance (wind, temperature gradients) during the measurement. MLS is not robust against distortion either, so if using the sweep method you can use a higher output level.

Because of these two weaknesses we have selected to use sweep as default and allow MLS as an option.