# Master Hndbk of Acoustics, 5th.Ed.(2009)



## fractile (Mar 15, 2009)

This book finally arrived in the mail after a couple of weeks, and thought I'd mention it since it's even better than I'd expected. This is F. Alton Everest's book newly revised by Ken Pohlmann. I've only barely cracked the cover and it looks like the Master in the title is accurate. About every aspect of acoustics seems to be covered, and in a practical, applied way, with techniques for dealing with the various issues directly.

Here's a random caption I opened the book to: "*Figure 12-30* Pots embedded in the walls of medieval churches in Sweden and Denmark served as Helmholtz resonators, absorbing sounds. Ashes, found in some of the pots, may have served as a dissipative agent. (_Bruel_)

I'm in the middle of a self-remedial study of audio(video) engineering. I have plenty of general experience with audio but not at a 'qualified' engineering level. After learning Ohm's Law and a sufficient amount of the implications, I'd recommend this book as a way to gain a solid foundation. It does a quick outline of the basics and keeps going, electro-acoustic power transfer into spaces and how that affects the signal[.]

I'd thought I could skip around and just use it as a reference for my first studio build, but this is comprehensive and well-written enough to deserve a complete reading.

:spend:


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## Zeitgeist (Apr 4, 2009)

fractile said:


> Here's a random caption I opened the book to: "*Figure 12-30* Pots embedded in the walls of medieval churches in Sweden and Denmark served as Helmholtz resonators, absorbing sounds. Ashes, found in some of the pots, may have served as a dissipative agent. (_Bruel_)
> 
> I'd thought I could skip around and just use it as a reference for my first studio build, but this is comprehensive and well-written enough to deserve a complete reading.
> 
> :spend:


I remember reading that same passage and found it very interesting.

I know I skimmed through portions of the book - but it's definitely a very good read. Lots of very solid information. I felt that portions of it went into too much detail - but that's no fault of the book. I just had less interest in some of the nitty gritty aspects of certain things.


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## fractile (Mar 15, 2009)

I'm working with a broad range of equipment, including some home-brew engineering, so I figure I should upgrade my skills. Beyond purely acoustical topics the book has a section on Decibels and explains how to translate acoustical transmission into electrical power transfer, impedance matching, etc., all without knowledge of even basic electronics theory (which fortunately I did acquire early on in my schooling).


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