John Sayers' Recording Studio Design Forum Archive

HI!

i'm a... let's say a senior noob and wan't to really understand acoustics. i find it really hard to search for all the important posts, so i'm thinking of buying a book. i know some are better, and some are s**t, but i was taught not to judge a book by it's cover

is there a book, wich is commonly known to be a good starting point?

THX!

Welcome- you can try this for starters.

http://www.saecollege.de/reference_material/index.html

I'm the australian who wrote it

cheers
john

i've read this site several times... explained alot but i think i'd like to go into some more details...

John, did you write any books on studio design? that'd be the first one i'd buy... if not, do you know any good ones?

Thx for the reply!

nobody read any good books on studio design and acoustics?

i could buy whatever is most popular on amazon, but i doubt it would be the best one i could get...

Food,

> do you know any good ones? <

Besides Everest's classic Master Handbook of Acoustics another great book is Recording Studio Design by Philip Newell. Click HERE to see that page at the Barnes & Noble site.

--Ethan

thx Ethan Winer! i'll go and have a look at those!

A few more, many of them get to be expensive but these are all worth the cost.

Edit: Since you asked for a starting point I second
The Master Handbook of Acoustic by Everest ( and the cost is very low less then $30 US) I put the rest in order what to move to next

Acoustic Absorbers and Diffusers: Theory, Design, and Application by Trevor J. Cox, Peter D'Antonio -very good but expensive $150 but it covers so much I learned the hard and expensive way

Sound System Engineering
by Carolyn Davis, Don Davis - more then acoustics but a must have for anyone working in audio

Noise Control in Buildings: A Guide for Architects and Engineers
by Cyril M., Ph.D. Harris - Out of print but somewhere on the net an organization has permission to sell reprints - the basics of soundproofing

Theoretical Acoustics
by Philip M. Morse, K. Uno Ingard - ok what is really going on

Handbook of Acoustics
by Malcolm Crocker - covers all types of acoustics

Room Acoustics
by Heinrich Kuttruff - more theory

Fluid Mechanics : Volume 6 (Course of Theoretical Physics)
by E M Lifshitz, L D Landau - at this point join an acoustic anonymous, 12 step program you are really addicted, you now find your self doing math problems as entertainment

Dan Nelson

A friend of mine who I trust quite a bit with this sort of thing lists these as his favorites:

Theory of Acoustics - entry level

• Acoustic Design and Noise Control, Michael Rettinger, Chemical Publishing Co., Inc.
  Acoustic Techniques for Home & Studio, F. Alton Everest, Tab Books
  Acoustics in the Built Environment, D. Templeton, Architectural Press, 1997
  Architectural Acoustics, M. David Egan, McGraw Hill, 1988
  Architectural Acoustics, Thomas D. Northwood, Dowden Hutchinson & Ross
  Architectural Acoustics, W. J. Cavanaugh, J.A. Wilkes, J. Wiley & Sons, 1999
  Building a Recording Studio, Jeff Cooper, Synergy Group, Inc., 1996
  Building a Small Budget Recording Studio, F. Alton Everest and Mike Shea, McGraw Hill, 1988
  Environmental Acoustics, Leslie Doelle, McGraw Hill
  Recording Spaces, P. Newell, Focal Press, 1998
  Simplified Design for Building Sound Control, J. Ambrose & J.E. Ollswang, J. Wiley & Sons, 1995
  The Master Handbook of Acoustics, F. Alton Everest, McGraw Hill, 1994

Theory of Acoustics - advanced level

• Acoustics for Studios and Auditoria, B. S. Mankovsky, Hastings House
  Auditorium Acoustics, edited by Robin Mackenzie, Halsted Press Book
  Elements of Acoustics, Samuel Temkin, John Wiley & Sons
  Fundamentals of Acoustics, Kinseler & Frey, Wiley & Sons, Inc.
  How They Sound - Concert and Opera Halls, L. Beranek, Acoustical Society of America, 1996
  How to Design. Build and Test Complete Speaker Systems, David B. Weems, TAP Books
  Musical Acoustics, Carleen M. Hutchins, Dowden Hutchinson & Ross
  Noise and Vibration Control, Beranek, McGraw Hill
  Physical and Applied Acoustics, Meyer Neumann, Academic Press Book
  Room Acoustics, Heinrich Kuttruff, Halsted Press
  Secrets of Noise Control, Thumann & Miller, Fairmont Press
  Sound Control and Thermal Insulation of Buildings, Paul Close, Reinhold Publishing
  Sound System Engineering, D. & C. Davis, Focal Press, 1997
  Speech Intelligibility & Speaker Recognition, Mones E. Hawley, Dowden Hutchinson & Ross
  Theory of Sound. Vols. I & II, J. W S. Rayleigh, Dover Press
  Vibration & Sound, Philip Morse, American Institute of Physics

Acoustical Measurements

• Acoustic Measurements, Leo Beranek, John Wiley & Sons
  Acoustic Noise Measurements, J.R. Hassall & K.Zaveri, Bruel & Kjaer, 1979
  Acoustical Tests & Measurements, Don Davis, Howard W Sams & Co.
  Frequency Analysis, R. B. Randall, Bruel & Kjaer, 1977
  Handbook of Noise Measurements, Peterson & Gross, General Radio
  The Measure of Audio, AES Proceedings UK Conference 1997
  Time Delay Spectrometry, AES Anthology, 1988

History of Acoustics and Audio Technology

• Collected Papers, Vern Knudsen, Acoustical Society of America
  Evolution of the Audio Recorder, P. V. Praag, EC Designs, 1997
  From Tinfoil to Stereo, W.L. Welch & L.B.S. Burt, Univ. Press of Florida, 1994
  Music, Physics & Engineering, Harry F. Olson, Dover Publications (orig. 1952)
  On the Sensations of Tone, Herman Helmholtz, Dover Press
  Studio, Broadcasting and Recording Technology
  Handbook of Multichannel Recording, Alton Everest, TAP Books
  Magnetic Recording, Charles E. Lowman, McGraw Hill
  Modern Recording Techniques, Robert Runstein, Howard W Sams & Co.
  The New Communication Technologies, M.A. Mirabito, Butterworth-Heinemann, 1997
  The New Stereo Soundbook, R. Astreicher & F. Alton Everest, Audio Engineering Associates, 1998
  The Recording Studio Handbook, John M. Woram, Sagamore Publishing
  Tonmeister Technology, Michael Dickreiter, Temmer Enterprises, Inc., 1989
  TV Sound Operations, Alkin, Hastings House
  Yamaha Sound Reinforcement Handbook, G. Davis & R. Jones, Hal Leonard, 1987

Encyclopedias and Miscellaneous

• IAC Noise Control Reference Handbook, M. Hirschorn, industrial acosutics, 1989
  Audio & HiFi Engineer's Pocket Book,V. Capel, Butterworth-Heinemann, 1994
  Audio Cyclopedia, Howard Tremaine, Howard W Sams & Co.
  Handbook for Sound Engineers, G.M. Ballou, Sams, 1991
  NAB Engineering Handbook, National Association of Broadcasters, 1999
  Sound Engineer's Pocket Book, M. Talbot-Smith, Focal Press, 1995
  Telecommunication Engineer's Pocket Book, S. Winder, Newnes, 1998

Dan and Sam,

> I put the rest in order what to move to next <

Those are impresive lists, thanks for posting. It might also be useful to identify which of those books rely on math and physics, and which offer more common-sense explanations like Everest's book to be accessible to more people.

--Ethan

I put my list in order of readability, Acoustic Absorbers and Diffusers: Theory, Design, and Application by Trevor J. Cox, Peter D'Antonio is somewhat surprising readable it is, I was expecting more math (hoping really to some of it explained) It is really too bad the book costs so much it would really help people avoid some mistakes.

A few comments on the other books listed

Architectural Acoustics, M. David Egan, McGraw Hill, 1988 is also a great book but is targeted for large rooms as readable as Everest

I'm not a big fan of the Cooper book is was good, but there are better ways to do some of the stuff in the book now.

How They Sound - Concert and Opera Halls, L. Beranek, Acoustical Society of America, 1996 is a very interesting study comparing something like 10-15 concert halls. His text books are difficult but this is pretty easy to read.

I'm not big fan of Newell's books I have read so far, but I hear good things about his latest

Yamaha Sound Reinforcement Handbook, G. Davis & R. Jones, Hal Leonard, 1987 is very handy and easy to read but I think they told some good stuff out in the second edition.

Dan

Dan,

> I'm not big fan of Newell's books I have read so far, but I hear good things about his latest <

I bought his latest on the recommendation of Jeff Szymanski. It's very good! And maybe you saw the quote I posted recently (forget where) from his definition of standing waves? The way he defined it is exactly what I've been arguing for several years - that a standing wave is not the same as a mode. So of course I liked that! [ducking]

--Ethan

wow!

that's some list there Sword9!

if he has all of these books, he could build a nice studio, if he ever sold them!

thx for the effort!

The way he defined it is exactly what I've been arguing for several years - that a standing wave is not the same as a mode. So of course I liked that!

FINALLY!!! Yes yes yes!! I've been "of that opinion" for a couple of years, but every time I posted a question about it, somehow it got sidetracked. Ok, that is what I thought. Thanks Ethan !! Alright, if that is a fact, then this brings some up some other questions. But I'll start another thread for those. In the meantime, you might want to check this out.


Standing waves are even wierder than I thought

http://www.glafreniere.com/sa_plane.htm
fitZ

Ethan, after I posted the reply above, I found this. Read ERICS reply. ie
STANDING WAVES=ROOM MODES!!!

http://www.johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/viewt ... nator+test

Here we go again.
fitZ

"Ethan, after I posted the reply above, I found this. Read ERICS reply. ie
STANDING WAVES=ROOM MODES!!! " -

GODDAM IT RICK, I sure wish you hadn't done that - got any MORE salt you can rub on things? Crap...

Seriously - ANY, and I mean ANY, name-calling or comments I don't consider respectful WILL BE TRASHED, be warned; I'm busy enough these days without having to REFEREE the infamous feud again, so it will just get DELETED if it happens.

Discussion, fine; everybody here knows what I mean... Steve

BTW, Ethan, is this definition in Recording Studio Design or one of Newell's other books, and what page please? (Don't worry, I'm already used to disagreeing with some of his writings somewhat - overall, however, I have to agree he's quite good) - Thanks...