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Sound System Engineering

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ISBN-10: 0240818466

ISBN-13: 9780240818467

Edition: 4th 2013 (Revised)

Authors: Don Davis, Eugene Patronis, Pat Brown

List price: $120.00
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Description:

Long considered the only book an audio engineer needs on their shelf, Sound System Engineering provides an accurate, complete and concise tool for all those involved in sound system engineering. Fully updated on the design, implementation and testing of sound reinforcement systems this great reference is a necessary addition to any audio engineering library. Packed with revised material, numerous illustrations and useful appendices, this is a concentrated capsule of knowledge and industry standard that runs the complete range of sound system design from the simplest all-analog paging systems to the largest multipurpose digital systems. * A highly regarded reference, bringing you all the…    
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Book details

List price: $120.00
Edition: 4th
Copyright year: 2013
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Group
Publication date: 4/12/2013
Binding: Hardcover
Pages: 632
Size: 7.50" wide x 10.25" long x 1.50" tall
Weight: 3.388
Language: English

Before beginning his career as an author of true crime books, Don Davis worked for 30 years as a UPI correspondent on various assignments, including the Vietnam War and the White House beat. His works since have covered major crimes of the 1990s. They include Bad Blood: The Shocking True Story Behind the Menendez Killings (1994) and The Milwaukee Murders: Nightmare in Apartment 213: The True Story (1991) about the Jeffrey Dahmer case. Davis's other works include his first novel, Appointment With the Squire (1997), about World War II, and another novel, The Gris-Gris Man (1997), a story about voodoo killings in New Orleans. In addition to being a writer and reporter, Davis was an instructor…    

Eugene Patronis is Professor of Physics Emeritus at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. He has also served as an industrial and governmental consultant in the fields of acoustics and electronics.

Pat Brown is a nationally known criminal profiler, television commentator, author, and founder and CEO of The Sexual Homicide Exchange and The Pat Brown Criminal Profiling Agency. She has provided crime commentary and profiling and forensic analysis in more than 2,000 television and radio appearances in the United States and across the globe. She can be seen regularly on the cable television news programs on CNN, MSNBC, and FOX, and is a frequent guest of "The Today Show", the "CBS Early Show", "Larry King", "Inside Edition", "Nancy Grace", "Issues with Jane Velez-Mitchell", "Dr. Drew", "Joy Behar", and "America's Most Wanted". Her radio show "Profile This!" airs every Sunday on…    

Preface
Why Sound System Engineering?
Prerequisites
Basic Electrical Training
Mathematics
Hearing Versus Listening
Craftsmanship
Rigging
Literacy
The Art, Philosophy, and Science of Sound
Fields
Voices Out of the Past
Significant Figures in the History of Audio and Acoustics
1893-The Magic Year
Bell Laboratories and Western Electric
Harvey Fletcher (1884-1981)
Harry Nyquist (1889-1976)
The dB, dBm, and the VI
Sound System Equalization
Acoustic Measurements-Richard C. Heyser (1931-1987)
Calculators and Computers
The Meaning of Communication
Historical Notes
Sound and Our Brain
The Human Brain
The Current Era
Unexpected Validation
Psychoacoustics
Motivations
Sound Reproduction
Is it Better to be Bora Blind or Deaf?
Recording Sound at the Eardrum
Psychoacoustics via a Metaphysical Foundation
Barks, Bands, Equivalent Rectangular Bandwidths (ERBs), Phons and Sones
Digital Theory
Shannon's Theory
Dynamic Range
The Steps from Art to Science
Moravec's Warning
Digital Nomenclature
What Is a Bit of Data?
Bayesian Theory
Planck System
Bits, Nats, and Bans
A Communication System
Holography
Mathematics for Audio Systems
Engineering Calculations
Precision, Accuracy, and Resolution
Simple Numbers
How to Add Gains and Losses Algebraically
The Factor-Label System
Basic Physical Terms
Mathematical Operations
Complex Number Operations
Decade Calibration
Converting Linear Scales to Logarithmic Scales
Finding the Renard Series for Fractional Octave Spacing
Radians and Steradians
Calculating Percentages and Ratios
Useful Math Tables
Angles
A Little Trigonometry
The Origin of the Base of the Natural Logarithm, e
The Complex Plane
Euler's Theorem
Examples
Phasors
Rates of Change
Using the Decibel
The Decibel
The Neper
Concepts Underlying the Decibel and Its Use in Sound Systems
Measuring Electrical Power
Levels in dB
The Decibel in Acoustics-L<sub>P</sub>, L<sub>W</sub>, and L<sub>I</sub>
Acoustic Intensity Level (L<sub>I</sub>), Acoustic Power Level (L<sub>W</sub>), and Acoustic Pressure Level (L<sub>P</sub>)
Inverse Square Law
Directivity Factor
Ohm's Law
A Decibel Is a Decibel Is a Decibel
The Equivalent Level (LEQ) in Noise Measurements
Combining Decibels
Combining Voltage
Using the Log Charts
Finding the Logarithm of a Number to Any Base
Semitone Intervals
System Gain Changes
The VU and the VI Instrument
Calculating the Number of Decades in a Frequency Span
Deflection of the Eardrum at Various Sound Levels
The Phon
The Tempered Scale
Measuring Distortion
The Acoustical Meaning of Harmonic Distortion
Playback Systems in Studios
Decibels and Percentages
Summary
Interfacing Electrical and Acoustic Systems
Alternating Current Circuits
Impedance
Electric Power
Properties of the LCR Circuit
Filters
Impedance Bridge
Constant Resistance Networks
Impedance Properties of Moving Coil Loudspeakers
Network Theorems
The Technician's Viewpoint
Impedance Defined
Handling the Acoustic Input and Output of the System
Total Electrical Gain of a System
Interfacing the Electrical Output Power to the Acoustic Environment
Gain Structure Revisited
Conclusion
Loudspeaker Directivity and Coverage
Essential Definitions
Describing Q More Accurately
Relationship Between C<sub>z</sub> and Q in an Idealized Case
Idealized Loudspeaker Geometry
Class D Audio Amplifiers
Sound as a Weapon
An Older View of Q
Summary
The Acoustic Environment
The Acoustic Environment
Dispersion and Diffusion
Inverse Square Law
Atmospheric Absorption
Velocity of Sound
Isothermal vs. Adiabatic
Temperature-Dependent Velocity
The Effect of Altitude on the Velocity of Sound in Air
Typical Wavelengths
Doppler Effect
Reflection and Refraction
Effect of a Space Heater on Flutter Echo
Absorption
Definitions in Acoustics
Classifying Sound Fields
The Acoustic Environment Indoors
Conclusion
Audio and Acoustic Measurements
Acoustic Analysis Sans Instrumentation
Initial Parameters
Acoustic Tests of Sound Systems
Examining AC Outlets
The ETC Plot
Site Surveys and Noise Criteria Curves
An Improper Use of Real Time Analysis
Evaluation of Listener Response
Fractional Bandwidth Filter Analyzers
Measuring Electromagnetic Pollution
Conclusion
Large Room Acoustics
What Is a Large Room?
Levels Defined: Sound Power Level (L<sub>W</sub>), Sound Intensity Level (L<sub>I</sub>), and Sound Pressure Level (L<sub>P</sub>)
Levels in Enclosed Spaces
Differentiating Between Reverberant Level and Reverberation Time
Evaluation of Signal-to-Noise Ratio, SNR
Analyzing Reflections and Their Paths
Critical Distance
Conclusion
Small Room Acoustics
Non-Statistical Spaces
Small Room Acoustical Parameters
Small Room Reverberation Times
Small Room Resonances
Modes
What Is an Eigen Mode?
Small Room Geometry
The Initial Signal Delay Gap (ISD)
Reflections
Reflection Free Zone
Diffusion
Conclusion
Designing for Acoustic Gain
Maximum Physical Distance
Establishing an Acceptable Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR)
Establishing an EAD
Needed Acoustic Gain (NAG)
The Number of Open Microphones
The Feedback Stability Margin
Calculating Potential Acoustic Gain
Obtaining �D<sub>x</sub> Values
Measuring Acoustic Gain
Achieving Potential Acoustic Gain
Limiting Parameters in Sound Reinforcement System Design
How Much Electrical Power Is Required?
Finding the Required Electrical Power (REP)
Summary
Designing for Speech Intelligibility
Introduction
Articulation Losses of Consonants in Speech
Maxfield's Equation
Speech Power and Articulation
Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR)
Speech Intelligibility Calculations
Non-Acoustic Articulation Problems
Relationship Between Q<sub>MIN</sub> and D<sub>2</sub> (MAX)
High Density Overhead Distribution
%AL<sub>CONS</sub> Variables
A Little History-Intelligibility Workshop 1986
Summary
What is Waving and Why
General Properties of Air
Plane Waves
Non-Planar Wave Motion in a Tube
Plane Wave Tubes having Arbitrary Terminations
Impedance Tube
More General Waves
Acoustic Intensity
Boundaries
Acoustic Dipole
Microphones
The Microphone as the System Input
Microphone Sensitivity
Thermal Noise
Microphone Selection
Nature of Response and Directional Characteristics
Boundary Microphones
Wireless Microphones
Microphone Connectors, Cables, and Phantom Power
Measurement Microphones
Microphone Calibrator
Loudspeakers and Loudspeaker Arrays
Loudspeaker Types
Radiated Power
Axial Sound Pressure Level
Efficiency
Loudspeaker Electrical Impedance
Loudspeaker Directivity Factor
Loudspeaker Sensitivity
Direct Radiator Example Calculations
Horns and Compression Drivers
Practical Considerations Involving Horns
Horn Compression Drivers
Crossover Networks
Loudspeaker Arrays
Bessel Array
Line Arrays
Vented Enclosure Bass Loudspeakers
Large Signal Behavior of Loudspeakers
Power Ratings for Amplifiers and Loudspeakers
Loudspeaker Power Ratings
Active Loudspeaker Systems
Non-Linear Operation
The Amplifier as a Voltage Source