A-weighting won general acceptance while B-weighting was abandoned

Evidence

Historically, the first simple approach to a single number loudness rating derived from the equal-loudness contours shown in Figure 9.5(a). The A-weighting curve shown in Figure 10.19, for example, resembles the shape of an inverted 40-phon loudness contour, and thereby was thought to be appropriate for measuring low-level sounds. B and C weighting curves were thought to be more representative of progressively higher sound levels. It didn’t work as intended and, over the years, C-weighting came to be used as an approximation to flat, but with some discrimination against very low and very high frequencies. A-weighting has become widely accepted as a general-purpose measure where low frequencies are not an issue, including assessment of hearing damage risk for occupational hearing conservation programs. B-weighting has been all but forgotten and is no longer a standard feature in sound-level meters. — Toole, Floyd E, Sound reproduction- the acoustics and…, 1173

Categorization

• CANDY: The fact that B-weighting is all but forgotten, no longer even a standard meter feature, is a neat trivia bit about instrument history.