The “bible” of acoustics now completely revised and updated for a new generation of audiophiles
The first four editions of this classic guide were written by the late F. Alton Everest, for many years the leading authority on acoustical principles. Now updated by another sound guru, Ken Pohlmann, the Fifth Edition of Master Handbook of Acoustics shows you how to achieve professional recording results at home, build an audio/video tech room for cutting-edge voice-over recording, control reverberation, interference, noise distortion in the air, and more.
You will find new information on hardware and software tools for performing acoustic measurements, subjective perception of acoustic space, noise control techniques, absorption measurements, and room impulse response measurements. The Fifth Edition also explores room design for surround-sound playback and professional studios, concert hall and auditorium acoustics, and room acoustics measurement and modeling software.
Good Explanation of Acoustics Overall this book does a good job of explaining many aspects of acoustics. It gave me a good understanding of how humans perceive sound, how sound propagates in open and closed spaces, how to insulate rooms from external noise, how to construct ventilation systems to minimize ventilation noise, how to construct studios and control rooms (but, it doesn't investigate this topic very deeply; if you want to build a studio and control room then you need to consult a professional), how to construct sound absorption/diffusion/reflection devices, and gave good explanations on these topics: reverberation time, sound absorption, reflection of sound, diffraction of sound, refraction of sound, diffusion of sound, resonances in rooms, comb-filtering, multi-track recording, and distortion.
But, it does have some flaws. Often it doesn't explain things enough; sometimes it's more of a discussion of the topic rather than an explanation. References to other books/works are very old (very few are newer than 1980). Diagrams are in weird spots (usually a few pages ahead even though they could easily be placed on the page that they are being referred to by). Although it does explain many aspects of acoustics, it often doesn't go very far into the explanation; it only explains the higher-level concepts about the topic rather than discussing the physics that's involved. The last two chapters (which discuss software that can be used to analyze the acoustics of a room) are very confusing. I did learn a few things from them, but definitely didn't understand everything that was discussed in those chapters. And, the author didn't provide a very good explanation of decibels, logarithms, and the relation between sound level, pressure, and power.
Overall, the good aspects of this book outweigh its flaws, so it's a good book. It presents the information in a way that is relatively easy for a beginner to understand, although people with an intermediate understanding of acoustics would probably enjoy reading it too. Recommended for anyone who is interested in how sound works.
Everest has it covered! I haven't read the whole book, but from the excerpts I have read, Everest covers a very broad range of topics at at least an acceptable level. Any related topic I've wanted to look up so far has good and relevant material. I'd call this best studio/acoustics design reference book I've seen so far. Well worth the price.
excellent book this book is an excellent overview and introspection into the world of usable acoustics. it tends to focus on the applicable, everyday world of acoustics instead of the completely theoretical--which was a huge help in my Church production job. i highly recommend it as a reference text and background book to anyone in music production.
Master Handbook Of Acoustics I have found this a very usefull and well written book. It is being used as a reference for a college course I am studying. It does require some knowledge of electronic principles but is clear and understandable. I would recommend it to any serious student of sound and acoustics.
Title may be misleading There are two common definitions of the word "acoustics." The most general is "an area of physics dealing with sound and sound waves" and the second is "the qualities of a room that determine audibility and fidelity of sound in it." This book is a very good reference for the latter, but if you're looking for the former, look elsewhere. Also, I'm not sure I would describe it as a Handbook, but rather as a reference text.
It is good for what it does cover and is relatively easy to read.
Anything Goes Trivia
Megaton Man
Trevor
