The term buzz-saw noise describes a physical and acoustic phenomenon occurring in high-bypass turbofan aircraft engines at high fan rotational speeds (e.g. during an aircraft take-off). In this situation, buzz-saw noise presents a component of noise emitted by the aircraft and can form a component of environmental noise around airports. Data from a listening test and signal analysis are used in the study to explore the perception and sound quality of the noise and its signal parameters. The results show an association between perceptual attributes and signal characteristics attributed to buzz-saw noise, and also show an association of the noise with unpleasantness. Verbal attributes describing sound quality related to the signal characteristics are also presented.