Sound Systems: Design and Optimization, 3rd Edition

Sound Systems: Design and Optimization, 3rd Edition

by Bob McCarthy
Released February 2016
Publisher(s): Routledge
ISBN: 9781317911081

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Book description

Sound Systems: Design and Optimization provides an accessible and unique perspective on the behavior of sound systems in the practical world. The third edition reflects current trends in the audio field thereby providing readers with the newest methodologies and techniques.

In this greatly expanded new edition, you’ll find clearer explanations, a more streamlined organization, increased coverage of current technologies and comprehensive case studies of the author’s award-winning work in the field.

As the only book devoted exclusively to modern tools and techniques in this emerging field, Sound Systems: Design and Optimization provides the specialized guidance needed to perfect your design skills.

This book helps you:

  • Improve your design and optimization decisions by understanding how audiences perceive reinforced sound

  • Use modern analyzers and prediction programs to select speaker placement, equalization, delay and level settings based on how loudspeakers interact in the space

  • Define speaker array configurations and design strategies that maximize the potential for spatial uniformity

  • Gain a comprehensive understanding of the tools and techniques required to generate a design that will create a successful transmission/reception model

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Title
  3. Copyright
  4. Dedication
  5. Contents
  6. PREFACE
  7. ABOUT THE THIRD EDITION
  8. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
  9. PART I • Sound systems
    1. CHAPTER 1 Foundation
      1. 1.1 UNIVERSAL AUDIO PROPERTIES
      2. 1.2 AUDIO SCALES
      3. 1.3 CHARTS AND GRAPHS
      4. 1.4 ANALOG ELECTRONIC AUDIO FOUNDATION
      5. 1.5 DIGITAL AUDIO FOUNDATION
      6. 1.6 ACOUSTICAL FOUNDATIONS
    2. CHAPTER 2 Classification
      1. 2.1 MICROPHONES
      2. 2.2 INPUT AND OUTPUTS (I/O)
      3. 2.3 MIX CONSOLE (DESK)
      4. 2.4 SIGNAL PROCESSORS
      5. 2.5 DIGITAL NETWORKS
      6. 2.6 POWER AMPLIFIERS
      7. 2.7 LOUDSPEAKERS
    3. CHAPTER 3 Transmission
      1. 3.1 THE ANALOG AUDIO PIPELINE
      2. 3.2 ACOUSTIC TO ACOUSTIC TRANSMISSION
      3. 3.3 ACOUSTIC TO ANALOG ELECTRONIC TRANSMISSION
      4. 3.4 ANALOG ELECTRONIC TO ANALOG ELECTRONIC TRANSMISSION
      5. 3.5 ANALOG TO DIGITAL TRANSMISSION
      6. 3.6 DIGITAL TO DIGITAL TRANSMISSION
      7. 3.7 DIGITAL NETWORK TRANSMISSION
      8. 3.8 DIGITAL TO ANALOG TRANSMISSION
      9. 3.9 ANALOG VOLTAGE TO ANALOG POWER TRANSMISSION
      10. 3.10 ANALOG POWER TO ACOUSTIC TRANSMISSION
      11. 3.11 TRANSMISSION COMPLETE
    4. CHAPTER 4 Summation
      1. 4.1 AUDIO ADDITION AND SUBTRACTION
      2. 4.2 FREQUENCY-DEPENDENT SUMMATION
      3. 4.3 ACOUSTIC CROSSOVERS
      4. 4.4 SPEAKER ARRAYS
      5. 4.5 SPEAKER/ROOM SUMMATION
    5. CHAPTER 5 Perception
      1. 5.1 LOUDNESS
      2. 5.2 LOCALIZATION
      3. 5.3 TONAL, SPATIAL AND ECHO PERCEPTION
      4. 5.4 STEREO PERCEPTION
      5. 5.5 AMPLIFIED SOUND DETECTION
  10. PART II • Design
    1. CHAPTER 6 Evaluation
      1. 6.1 NATURAL SOUND VS. AMPLIFIED SOUND
      2. 6.2 ACOUSTICIANS AND AUDIO ENGINEERS
      3. 6.3 THE MIDDLE GROUND
      4. 6.4 MOVING FORWARD
    2. CHAPTER 7 Prediction
      1. 7.1 DRAWINGS
      2. 7.2 ACOUSTIC MODELING PROGRAMS
    3. CHAPTER 8 Variation
      1. 8.1 SINGLE-SPEAKER VARIANCE PROGRESSIONS
      2. 8.2 LEVEL VARIANCE (SINGLE SPEAKER)
      3. 8.3 SPECTRAL VARIANCE
      4. 8.4 SONIC IMAGE VARIANCE
      5. 8.5 RIPPLE VARIANCE (COMBING)
      6. 8.6 SPEAKER COVERAGE SHAPES
      7. 8.7 ROOM SHAPES
    4. CHAPTER 9 Combination
      1. 9.1 COMBINED SPEAKER VARIANCE PROGRESSIONS
      2. 9.2 LEVEL VARIANCE OF COUPLED ARRAYS
      3. 9.3 LEVEL VARIANCE OF UNCOUPLED ARRAYS
      4. 9.4 SPECTRAL VARIANCE OF COUPLED ARRAYS
      5. 9.5 SPECTRAL VARIANCE OF UNCOUPLED ARRAYS
      6. 9.6 MINIMUM-VARIANCE INVENTORY
    5. CHAPTER 10 Cancellation
      1. 10.1 SUBWOOFER ARRAYS
      2. 10.2 CARDIOID SUBWOOFER ARRAYS
    6. CHAPTER 11 Specification
      1. 11.1 SYSTEM SUBDIVISION
      2. 11.2 POWER SCALING
      3. 11.3 SINGLE-SPEAKER COVERAGE AND AIM
      4. 11.4 COUPLED ARRAY COVERAGE, AIM AND SPLAY
      5. 11.5 UNCOUPLED ARRAY COVERAGE, SPACING AND SPLAY
      6. 11.6 MAIN SYSTEMS
      7. 11.7 FILL SYSTEMS
      8. 11.8 EFFECT SYSTEMS (FX)
      9. 11.9 LOW-FREQUENCY SYSTEMS (LF)
  11. PART III • Optimization
    1. CHAPTER 12 Examination
      1. 12.1 PHYSICAL MEASUREMENT TOOLS
      2. 12.2 MEASUREMENT MICROPHONES
      3. 12.3 SIMPLE AUDIO MEASUREMENT TOOLS
      4. 12.4 FAST FOURIER TRANSFORM ANALYZER (FFT)
      5. 12.5 FIXED POINTS/OCTAVE (CONSTANT Q TRANSFORM)
      6. 12.6 SINGLE- AND DUAL-CHANNEL ANALYSIS
      7. 12.7 TRANSFER FUNCTION AMPLITUDE
      8. 12.8 TRANSFER FUNCTION PHASE
      9. 12.9 SIGNAL AVERAGING
      10. 12.10 TRANSFER FUNCTION COHERENCE
      11. 12.11 TRANSFER FUNCTION IMPULSE RESPONSE
      12. 12.12 PUTTING THE ANALYZER TO WORK
    2. CHAPTER 13 Verification
      1. 13.1 TEST STRUCTURE
      2. 13.2 VERIFICATION CATEGORIES
      3. 13.3 ANALYZER SELF-VERIFICATION PROCEDURES
      4. 13.4 ELECTRONIC VERIFICATION PROCEDURES
      5. 13.5 ACOUSTIC VERIFICATION PROCEDURES
      6. 13.6 ADDITIONAL VERIFICATION OPTIONS
    3. CHAPTER 14 Calibration
      1. 14.1 APPROACHES TO CALIBRATION
      2. 14.2 MEASUREMENT ACCESS
      3. 14.3 MICROPHONE PLACEMENT
      4. 14.4 PROCEDURES
      5. 14.5 ORDER OF OPERATIONS
      6. 14.6 PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS
      7. 14.7 CALIBRATION PROCEDURE COOKBOOK
      8. 14.8 FINISHING THE PROCESS
      9. 14.9 ONGOING OPTIMIZATION
    4. CHAPTER 15 Application
      1. 15.1 VENUE #1: SMALL HALL
      2. 15.2 VENUE #2: SMALL RECTANGLE, AB MAIN ARRAY
      3. 15.3 VENUE #3: SMALL SHOEBOX, L/R, DOWNFILL AND DELAYS
      4. 15.4 VENUE #4: MEDIUM HALL, TWO LEVELS, L/C/R WITH FILLS
      5. 15.5 VENUE #5: MEDIUM FAN SHAPE, SINGLE LEVEL, L/C/R
      6. 15.6 VENUE #6: MEDIUM HALL, L/R WITH CENTERFILL
      7. 15.7 VENUE #7: MEDIUM HALL, L/R WITH MANY FILLS
      8. 15.8 VENUE #8: MEDIUM HALL, L/R, VARIABLE ACOUSTICS
      9. 15.9 VENUE #9: LARGE HALL, UPPER/LOWER MAINS
      10. 15.10 VENUE #10: WIDE FAN SHAPE WITH MULTIPLE MAINS
      11. 15.11 VENUE #11: CONCERT HALL, THREE LEVELS
      12. 15.12 VENUE #12: ARENA SCOREBOARD
      13. 15.13 VENUE #13: ARENA, L/R MAINS
      14. 15.14 VENUE #14: LARGE TENT, MULTIPLE DELAYS
      15. 15.15 VENUE #15: STADIUM SCOREBOARD, SINGLE LEVEL
      16. 15.16 VENUE #16: CONCERT HALL, CENTER, 360°, MULTIPLE LEVELS
      17. 15.17 VENUE #17: MEDIUM HALL, SINGLE LEVEL
  12. AFTERWORD
  13. GLOSSARY
  14. BIBLIOGRAPHY
  15. INDEX

Product information

  • Title: Sound Systems: Design and Optimization, 3rd Edition
  • Author(s): Bob McCarthy
  • Release date: February 2016
  • Publisher(s): Routledge
  • ISBN: 9781317911081