Pickleball noise - an update

Pickleball growth has increased noise concerns from increasing numbers of courts. Municipalities seek balance between player benefits and adverse effects for nearby residents. USA Pickleball has encouraged developing quiet paddles and balls that "preserve the nature of the game." Manufacturers have introduced quieter designs that soften impacts and reduce noise. Test results are presented for recently marketed quiet paddles and balls. Paddle performance is characterized by Power and Spin, where power is the effort required to alter the momentum of the ball on impact. A performance metric was suggested at NoiseCon2024 as the noise generated by an impact for a given contact force impulse and change in momentum. Quieter designs should generate less noise for impacts that produce the desired change in momentum. The testing involves measuring the force on paddles and the noise generated by impacts with an impact hammer instrumented with a force gage. Additional results are presented for impacts at greater levels representative of actual play. Psychoacoustic tests results are presented that indicate noise levels at which human subjects can reliably detect the presence of pickleball impacts in typical broadband ambient noise. Annoyance levels for reasonable individuals would be substantially greater but detection levels provide a reference.