Dickason's Cookbook on Speakers gets a second nomination. It's a must and the new 6th edition is the best 35 bucks you can spend on the subject, IMHO. Menno Van der Veens' "Modern High End Valve Amplifiers" if you like tubes.
Any good audio book suggestions ???
I just stumbled across an older book that i've seen mentioned in several places. It is called "Good Sound" by Laura Dearborn. I am about halfway through it and find it interesting. While a lot of it is a refresher course, i have picked up some good yet basic tips. Quite honestly, i have seen other "audio guru's" and "reviewers" steal quotes and passages from this book without ever acknowledging where they got them from. It is not that far off from Robert Harley's "Complete Guide to Hi-End Audio", but this was written about 6 years prior. It also takes for granted that you are already in the hobby and have some exposure to various high end brand names.
Unlike some writers, Miss Dearborn is not afraid to single out brand names for recognition or shaming. Laura does a pretty good job of summing things up, but a lot of the "factual information" that she provides boils down to personal opinion. She does a sizable amount of name dropping throughout to get her point across. Calling on the likes of Harry Pearson, J. Gordon Holt, Peter Moncrieff along with quite a few industry professionals at least makes it appear to be well researched info. I would recommend picking this book up and checking it out with the obligatory "read between the lines" caution. I would also ad that BIG fans of digital may not like what she has to say about comparisons to analogue based systems. Then again, this was written almost 15 years ago, so some things have changed. Digital has obviously made BIG advances since then.
Another good source for those that want to read up on acoustics, room treatments, speaker placement, etc... are the books written by F. Alton Everest. These can get pretty technical, but include a WEALTH of info. Some of his books overlap quite a bit of information but are worth re-reading.
Vance Dickason's "Loudspeaker Design Cookbook" is also a wealth of knowledge. Not only can you learn how speakers work, you can see how to design them for yourself. Knowing the "inside information" that this book teaches you can help you weed through various designs without ever hearing them. You'll know at a glance whether the designer knew what he was doing. Tell tale signs are if something is "wrong" with the cabinet design, how the drivers are spaced out or placed on the baffle, etc...
I picked up a few other books recently but can't pass judgment as i have not read them yet. Keep in mind that many places such as Amazon, etc... can special order these or others that you might be interested in. If you would like to check them out to see if they are worth buying, you might be able to go to your local library. Many libraries share books with nearby communities, so you might be able to request it if your local branch doesn't have it in stock.
Anybody have any suggestions about other good audio based books ? Please refrain from suggesting articles in Playboy about "hi-fi". Given Tim's previous profession, i figured i'd cut him off before he went there.... : ) Sean
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Unlike some writers, Miss Dearborn is not afraid to single out brand names for recognition or shaming. Laura does a pretty good job of summing things up, but a lot of the "factual information" that she provides boils down to personal opinion. She does a sizable amount of name dropping throughout to get her point across. Calling on the likes of Harry Pearson, J. Gordon Holt, Peter Moncrieff along with quite a few industry professionals at least makes it appear to be well researched info. I would recommend picking this book up and checking it out with the obligatory "read between the lines" caution. I would also ad that BIG fans of digital may not like what she has to say about comparisons to analogue based systems. Then again, this was written almost 15 years ago, so some things have changed. Digital has obviously made BIG advances since then.
Another good source for those that want to read up on acoustics, room treatments, speaker placement, etc... are the books written by F. Alton Everest. These can get pretty technical, but include a WEALTH of info. Some of his books overlap quite a bit of information but are worth re-reading.
Vance Dickason's "Loudspeaker Design Cookbook" is also a wealth of knowledge. Not only can you learn how speakers work, you can see how to design them for yourself. Knowing the "inside information" that this book teaches you can help you weed through various designs without ever hearing them. You'll know at a glance whether the designer knew what he was doing. Tell tale signs are if something is "wrong" with the cabinet design, how the drivers are spaced out or placed on the baffle, etc...
I picked up a few other books recently but can't pass judgment as i have not read them yet. Keep in mind that many places such as Amazon, etc... can special order these or others that you might be interested in. If you would like to check them out to see if they are worth buying, you might be able to go to your local library. Many libraries share books with nearby communities, so you might be able to request it if your local branch doesn't have it in stock.
Anybody have any suggestions about other good audio based books ? Please refrain from suggesting articles in Playboy about "hi-fi". Given Tim's previous profession, i figured i'd cut him off before he went there.... : ) Sean
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