| Books |
This is a list of books that I own, have read or plan on buying. Right next to each book is a description of the book and what I think of it. By clicking on the images you go to amazon.com, and there are text links to buy it from amazon.com and amazon.de. This list is not exhaustive, and if you have any suggestions for books that I should read, let me know!! |
| Books on loudspeakers and acoustics |
 |
A: V. Dickason T: Loudspeaker Design Cookbook ISBN: 1882580338
This is one of the most popular references on loudspeaker design. It covers the calculation of boxes, the design of crossovers and some measurement techniques.
This is a great second to book to study. To keep an overview, it's best to already know a little about the steps involved in loudspeaker design. The book is full of graphs and tables, which is a big help. It isn't heavy on math, and therefore also easy to follow for hobbyists.
Buy at Amazon.com
|
 |
A: V. Dickason T:Loudspeaker Recipes: Book 1 ISBN: 1882580044
This book is a companion to the loudspeaker design cookbook (LDC). It describes the complete development of 4 two-way systems from start to finish. It's a great way to discover the steps and decisions that are involved on the design of loudspeakers. There are also numerous tips in between the lines. This is a good follow-up after reading the LDC.
Buy at Amazon.com. Also available from Audioxpress.com
|
 |
A: J.D'Appolito T:Testing Loudspeakers ISBN:1882580176
This is one of my personal favourites. It starts of with an understandable explanation of the theory behind closed and ported boxes and their parameters. Following that is an explantion of impedance measurements, and acoustical measurements. It continues with a discussion on the theory of time, frequency and fourier transform and closes with an explanation on how to do all this with modern measurement equipment. It's well written and even the theoretical parts can be understood by serious diy'ers.
Buy at Amazon.com or Amazon.de. Also available from Audioxpress.com
|
 |
A: Weems T: Designing,Building,Testing Your Own Speaker System ISBN: 007069429X
This book isn't as thorough as the LDC, but it covers just as many topics. And it is a much better read. It covers all the basics, and also discusses measurements, crossover design and box construction techniques. Each time I read it, I discover more in it. It is a great book to start with, and to check back to every once in a while. I do whish there were somewhat less "rules of thumb" and a little more precise explanation of some subjects.
Buy at Amazon.de, or Amazon.com.
|
 |
A: R. Alden T: Advanced Speaker Designs ISBN: 0790610701
This book covers the basics of loudspeaker design, in a way that is easy to follow for everyone, especially beginners. I think it's the best introduction to loudspeaker design for people without an engineering background, or for diy'ers who want to find out if this hobby is suited for them. It's easy to read, it only covers closed and ported boxes and is very focussed to help you complete your first pair of loudspeakers.
Buy at Amazon.com or Amazon.de
|
 |
A: M. Colloms T: High Performance Loudspeakers ISBN: 0471970891
I don't own this book, but only borrowed it for a few weeks from the library. It doesn't teach how to design loudspeakers, in my opinion. It is more like a great collection of loudspeaker design principles, and covers a lot of them. Because of the wide range of topics that are covered, they aren't worked out in real depth. The book is very expensive, audioxpress is the only bookdealer that charges a normal price (but even their $85 is very high).
Buy at Audioxpress.com
|
 |
A: F. Alton Everest T: Master Handbook of Acoustics ISBN: 0071360972
I don't own this book, but borrowed it for a few weeks from the library. It focusses mainly on room acoustics, not the mathematical theory of acoustics. As such, it's a good way for hobbyist to learn about a lot of aspects concerning room acoustics. And I found it a great help in learning about the environment in which loudspeakers will be placed.
Buy at Amazon.com or Amazon.de
|
 |
A: W.M.Leach T: Introduction to Electroacoustics and Audio Amplifier Design ISBN: 0757503756
I bought this book, and it's worth the 4 week wait (it's not in stock at amazon). It provides a good and broad introduction into acoustics and also into the theory behind loudspeaker design. The chapter on amplifiers is also a very good one. It deals with the theory and math behind amplifier circuits. It gives a real insight in how amplifiers operate and what the fundamental design decisions and calculations are. The same goes for the chapters on loudspeaker design, which provide a rigorous mathematical explanation. The book also has problems at the end of each chapter, so you can test your understanding of the theory.
Buy at Amazon.com or Amazon.de.
|
 |
I now own this book. It is a very thorough, math heavy introduction into the science of transducers. It explains most of the theory using T-matrixes. IT deals with wave propagation, distortion, crossovers, closed/vented boxes, measurements and wave guides. It's not for the mathematically challenged. It took me several hours to just work through the introduction and the chapter on crossovers. I just read the rest, and still have to really study those chapters. There is a really good review available on the audioxpress website.
Buy at Audioxpress.com. It is also available directly from the website of the author at Gedlee.com
|
 |
A: H.F.Olson T: Acoustical Engineering
I don't own this book, but have borrowed it from the library. It is often said to be one of the foundations on which modern acoustical engineering is based. It is heavy on math and certainly not for the faint of heart. It is thorough and in-depth. If you're really want to know the fundamentals, and have an engineering background, this book is it.
Buy at Audioxpress.com
|
 |
A: L. Beranek. T: Acoustics ISBN: 088318494X
I now own this book, because I think it's a very important book in the history of loudspeaker theory. This book presents the theory on which the Thiele/Small model is based. In this book, Beranek shows how loudspeakers in boxes can be modelled with transformers, resistors, capacitors and inductors. It is as thorough and math-heavy as the Olson book. Together they provide the fundamentals for loudspeaker theory. I first need to follow a serious math-course before I can really study this one.
Buy at Audioxpress.com
|
 |
A: Jörg Panzer T: Frequenzweichen fur Lautsprecher
This is the only book I have ever seen that stricktly deals with the design of crossovers. It is in german. I own the first edition, there is also a second and third. It's a bit dated, so there is no focus on crossover design with the aid of computers. It does give good insight in how crossovers work, what they do and how they influence the behaviour of the speaker. It's theoretical, with mathematical representation of filters, but it also pays attention to actual crossover behavior. And explains what the effects of different radiation patterns are, and how this can be represented in plots. I think it's a good book, and it's unfortunate that it's out of print. You can sometimes find a copy on ebay.de, and I'm on the look-out for a third edition copy.
|
| Books on electronics |
 |
A: Horowitz & Hill T: The Art of Electronics ISBN: 0521370957
This book covers an incredible amount of subjects relating to electronics. It is well written and doesn't contain difficult math. I'm glad I own it, but only to quickly look things up. It isn't a book to to try and learn the basics from.
Buy from Amazon.com or from Amazon.de
|
 |
A:T.F. Bogart T: Electronic Devices and Circuits ISBN: 0131111426
I don't own this book, but have borrowed another book by Bogart from the library. According to the website, that book has some chapters excerpted from Electronic Devices and Circuits. It is a well written book which starts with the basics of electronics and works it's way up to amplifiers, oscillators and such. I think it's a great start in electronics. It is suited for self-teaching, isn't too difficult, but also not too lengthy in explaining everything.
Buy at Amazon.com or Amazon.de
|
 |
A: J.F. Cox T: Fundamentals of Linear Electronics ISBN: 0766830187
I bought this book used from amazon, which saved me about 70 dollars, I haven't received it yet, at the moment of writing. This book also covers the basics. It deals with approximately the same subjects as the book by Bogart, but uses more lentgthy explanations and has loads of examples. Delmarlearning, the publisher, has two sample chapters from this book online.
Buy from Amazon.com or Amazon.de
|
 |
A:A.P. Malvino T: Electronic Principles ISBN: 0028028333
I don't own this book, but borrowed the 4th edition from the library. It is in the same category as the book by Bogart, but the writing style differs somewhat, it's more personal. It's also friendly in the math-department, covers a lot of subjects and also covers them in some depth. A good start in linear electronics.
Buy at Amazon.com or Amazon.de
|
 |
A: D.Self T: Audio Power Amplifier Design Handbook ISBN: 0750656360
I bought this book after I built the 8-channel amplifier. It's a great book, which focusses primarily on reducing distortion. But covers a lot of amplifier topologies, and design principles in the process. It already assumes a background in amplifier design, so I plan to read it again after I have worked through a book that covers the basics of electronics. There's hardly any math in it (because you are supposed to know that already) which -combined with the pleasant writing style- makes this book also accessible for someone who is just interested.
Buy at Amazon.com or Amazon.de
|
 |
A: J Carr T: Exploring Solid State Amplifiers ISBN: 0790611929
This book is an introduction into amplifiers. It discusses not only audio amplifiers, but also radiofrequency amplifiers and operational amplifiers. It's a good introduction, when you already know a little about electronics, and it's a great preparation for Douglas Self's book.
Buy at Amazon.com or Amazon.de
|
 |
A: J.L. Hood T: The Art of Linear Electronics ISBN: 0750637463
I borrowed this book from the library. It deals with a number of subjects, like schematics, amplifiers (transisitor and tubes), filters, oscillators, radio frequency amplifiers and tuners, power supplies and test equipment. It starts where the introctionary books stop. As such, it's a good follow-up. That must be why it's sold-out and there aren't many on the second-hand market.
Buy secondhand at Amazon.com or Amazon.de
|
| Books on woodworking |
 |
A: Fine woodworking T: The Basics of Craftsmanship ISBN: 1561582972
This book deals with setting up a shop, selecting wood and tools, explains woodworking techniques and how to apply a finish. Although it's main focus is solid wood, as opposed to the sheet materials used when building loudspeakers, I used a lot of this knowledge when building my various loudspeakers.
Buy at Amazon.com or Amazon.de
|
 |
A: W.Hylton, F.Matlack T: Woodworking With the Router ISBN: 0762102276
This is one great book. It explains just about everything about the router, how ta build and use a router table and loads of jigs and fixtures. It is a great help to build better loudspeaker enclosures.
Buy at Amazon.com or Amazon.de
|
 |
A: W.Hylton T: Router Magic ISBN: 0762101857
Great companion to "woodworking with the router". This book contains a wealth of tips, trick and jigs. This helps making loudspeaker building a lot easier, and more accurate.
Buy at Amazon.com or Amazon.de
|
 |
A: G.Rogowski T: The Complete Illustrated Guide to Joinery ISBN: 1561584010
I own the first printing of this book. I wanted to learn more about joinery, which I thought would help in constructing loudspeakers. But the first half of my book deals stricktly with the basics of routers, and the second half deals with joinery and that was already covered by "woodworking with the router". However, this second printing has double the amount of pages and is constantly recommended on woodworking forums. And I still want to know some tricks on joinery, so I might just buy this second printing too.
Buy at Amazon.com or Amazon.de
|
 |
A: J.Jewitt T: Great Wood Finishes ISBN: 1561582883
This is a beautifull book. It discusses almost anything that can be applied to wood and give it color. Great chapter on spraypainting and lots of info on how to make real wood beautifull.
Buy at Amazon.com or Amazon.de
|
 |
A: B. Flexner T: Understanding Wood Finishes ISBN: 0762101911
This book explains woodfinishing. It tells you how why the different finishes work. Not simply: "do this, and this will happen", but also the background. A good reference book.
Buy at Amazon.com or Amazon.de
|
 |
A: A. Charron T: Spray Finishing ISBN: 1561581143
A complete introduction to spray finishing. Advice on which equipment to use, and how to use it. It focusses mainly on wood finishes, and not so much on "solid paint".
Buy at Amazon.com or Amazon.de
|
