[lacrojx]

For what it's worth, I have always been into audio. From my first "system" (the Pioneer all in one with 8 track, cassette and record player and matching Pioneer tower with 10 inch woofers!) I have been fascinated in some way, shape or form with music and the way it is reproduced. I then graduated to car audio for a bit and then moved to home theater/music. Along the way I have educated myself mostly by my mistakes and learning from others. My question is this: how/where did everyone here acquire their knowledge? I want to understand better how all of this works in order to make my own system sound better and just be flat out more knowledgeable. My head spins sometimes when I read about REW sweeps and sub cancellation...if you could see me I am nodding my head as I read thinking I just need to go back to school!

How did everyone get so smart is all I basically want to know. And, are there any great books to recommend that are at the basic level?


I want to be a speaker Jedi...show me the force Yoda!

 

[kryptonitewhite]

I think I have obtained a high level of edumacation on the forums and with Google. It would take me lifetimes.. no, I'd never be able to know what I know now if it wasn't for the internet. Speaker companies info, forums, google.


:-D

 

[Drisco Z71]

It's the internet, everyone's an expert

. But seriously, I don't know much compared to some of the guys on here but most of what I did learn came from just reading threads on here.

 

[lacrojx]

Oh believe me...this forum has been more than helpful with the whole knowledge thing! I just get a little embarassed to ask questions I feel other will think are elementary. Maybe a master thread with a glossary of sorts would help us that are less knowledgeable than the others? Any volunteers to put that together?

 

[fbov]

PE already a "speaker building bible..."
http://techtalk.parts-express.com/sh...d.php?t=219617


You can argue the name, but the content is first-rate, if somewhat diverse... this is just another forum, after all.


Frank

 

[PassingInterest]

I got my education in the back seat of a Chevy.


What? I was talking about wiring up some speakers back there.

 

[goku14139268520]



Quote:
Originally Posted by passinginterest /forum/post/19508085


i got my education in the back seat of a chevy.


What? I was talking about wiring up some speakers back there.

Lol !!!


I'm no expert by any means, but I learned what little I know by spending an inordinate amount of time on this forum/the internet.

 

[mwmkravchenko]

WHATSAMATTAU


Mark

 

[lilmike]

I'm no jedi, (really...) but I got to where I am as a result of a lot of reading, some extremely helpful smarter kids that showed me the way here and there, and a LOT of building and measuring. Oh - by the way - for me, this has been a 25 year journey - so far...still impressed???

I have learned that there is no amount of education that can substitute for actual experience. I've also learned that you really need to learn to walk before you try to run. Finally, you've got to honestly measure what you make, it's the only way you'll improve your projects.


To take this a little further:


Good reads include:


Dickason's Loudspeaker Design Cookbook

Toole's Sound Reproduction

Old issues of Speaker Builder (get them on CD)

Current issues of Audio Xpress


And - I'll be honest - way, way back when, I started with the First Edition of Weems' Great Sound Stereo Speaker Manual....bought it at Radio Shack, and read (and re-read) it till it fell apart....

 

[lacrojx]



Quote:
Originally Posted by goku14139268520 /forum/post/19509551


Lol !!!


I'm no expert by any means, but I learned what little I know by spending an inordinate amount of time on this forum/the internet.

An inordinate amount of time...funny, my wife already calls this my porn! My friend was over and I was showing him the site. She asked if I was showing him some porn. The you should have seen the look on his face. It required an explanation...

 

[LTD02]

one of the most useful resources that i have found is reading through all the old jbl literature. they have many white papers that were published along with their loudspeakers. after you read them a few times, you can start to see how the engineers were identifying and curing problems in each generation. some of these things go back 70 years, but just because they are old doesn't make them less useful. have a look at the lansing iconic, for example.


the linkwitz.com site is also rich. read the whole thing through, even if you don't understand it at first. after getting more info from other sources, it will start to make some sense.


+1 to all the resources mentioned thus far, particularly those in #9.

 

[villastrangiato]

+1 on Linkwitz's site. He's not shy about posting detailed mathematical derivations and measurements that back up the math and modeling.


Also, if I were forced to recommend just one book it would have to be Leo Beranek's Acoustics

http://www.leoberanek.com/pages/acoustics.html



I'd like to recommend some of Geddes' material but much of what he writes is laced with hocus pokus salesmanship and "look how smart I am" attitude rather than detailed derivation and explanation. Although Linkwitz also possesses a salesman's perspective, there's a lot of stuff he provides that's clearly an educational exercise (see his subwoofer write up/analysis). You just don't get that with Geddes where practically everything that's revealed or explained is provided as a means to sell his books, products, brand, or mantra.

 

[Brad Horstkotte]



Quote:
Originally Posted by lacrojx /forum/post/19516903


An inordinate amount of time...funny, my wife already calls this my porn! My friend was over and I was showing him the site. She asked if I was showing him some porn. The you should have seen the look on his face. It required an explanation...

LOL, that is hilarious

 

[FOH]



Quote:
Originally Posted by LTD02 /forum/post/19516948


one of the most useful resources that i have found is reading through all the old jbl literature. they have many white papers that were published along with their loudspeakers. after you read them a few times, you can start to see how the engineers were identifying and curing problems in each generation. some of these things go back 70 years, but just because they are old doesn't make them less useful. have a look at the lansing iconic, for example.


the linkwitz.com site is also rich. read the whole thing through, even if you don't understand it at first. after getting more info from other sources, it will start to make some sense.


+1 to all the resources mentioned thus far, particularly those in #9.

Yes, absolutely. Both Linkwitz, and the JBL work is quite informational. For that matter, several other pro audio companies offer a wealth of good information. None to the extent and diligence of JBL, but informational none the less.


I remember my first immersion into hi-fi in the 70s. I experimented a lot on my own, and really learned quite a bit. I also began reading High Fidelity (total garbage) and Stereo Review. The first things I remember discovering were the importance of proper on axis listening and tweeter height, and speaker proximity to adjacent boundaries. There was much focus on speed control, wow and flutter, for magnetic tape playback. I remember early on learning that one should rarely power cycle components, thus leaving them on all the time.


Eventually, I got into Audio magazine. It was truly a much better technical read and taxed my knowledge to a refreshing degree. The staff of writers at Audio were outstanding. Engineers, prominent AES contributers, and many great minds produced a magazine that was heavy on objectivity, and light on subjectivity. The level of tech exceeded mine, so I learned a great bit.


I eventually got into Stereophile and TAS, and enjoyed them both. The industry interviews with pioneers in their respective niche, were very enlightening. The writing style in TAS was very appealing, and really I'd look forward to the issues for the writing style.


I got into speaker building in the 80s, and Vance Dickason's work was essential. I got into Speaker Builder heavily, and even purchased all back issues I could find. A HUGE wealth of information. Occasionally I read Glass Audio, Audio Amateur and others I can't recall.


On the Web, Rod Elliot has good stuff, as I said earlier, Linkwitz is incredibly good. Geddes is 99% good, AVS, HT Guide, HTS, The Cult, DIY Audio, and although the contributions are not so frequent, Seaton's forum is very good. I've got maybe 500 or so audio favorite links on IE. Also, the Klippel stuff is enormously interesting. So much out there.



Good luck

 

[Oklahoma Wolf]



Quote:
Originally Posted by lilmike /forum/post/19511312


And - I'll be honest - way, way back when, I started with the First Edition of Weems' Great Sound Stereo Speaker Manual....bought it at Radio Shack, and read (and re-read) it till it fell apart....

You too, eh?

For me, the sickness started somewhere around age 2. Seriously. My parents would go to church concerts, and I would wander off and usually be found up by the PA system.


Learning didn't really start until age 8 or so. That's when I really started obsessing with how things worked. My parents would get a radio. I would take it apart. They'd bring home a stereo. I'd take it apart. Nothing was safe from me. Got a stereo for Christmas one year... it was the best present I ever got, I loved it. Took it apart too.


Around age ten or so, I started getting really interested in speakers, even though I was still absolutely obsessed with all forms of audio technology. My paper route paid for a three year subscription to Stereo Review and two pairs of Sparkomatic 6x9 car speakers. I took the speakers from one of the stereos I took apart and dropped the Sparkomatics in there instead. Sounded awful, but I didn't care. I spent hours... hours... drawing pictures of speakers in a book I was supposed to be using for school. At the library, I read and re-read every last audio related book they had. Bought the Weems book - read that over and over.


By age 12, I was getting crazy level obsessed with this stuff. A high end audio store opened in Swift Current called Deccabellas. I was there constantly. I knew the sales people by name. There were days I'm sure I was there from opening to closing. Started making plans to build my first speaker design from the ground up, and asked my parents for the components as birthday and Christmas presents. The Radio Shack people half jokingly asked my mother if I wanted to work there. I did, but couldn't voice it at the time. I was there almost as often as I was at the high end place.


Age 14 - built my first speaker in shop class when everyone else was building bird houses and other things meaningless to me. Shop teacher was rather mean about my design. A 15" woofer in the back panel? Preposterous, he said. I finished it anyway. Enrolled in NRI to learn electronics repair at the same time. Went into business immediately, learning as I went, to help out with my parents' music store. Dreamed of starting a speaker building company. Got into pro audio at 17. It just went on and on and on with me.


I'm rambling now, aren't I? Anyway, I just read and learned everything I could. Never really stopped learning, even when I tried to make myself stop in the 90's because I didn't think I had a future in audio. It's just in my blood.

 

[villastrangiato]



Quote:
Originally Posted by lilmike /forum/post/19511312


And - I'll be honest - way, way back when, I started with the First Edition of Weems' Great Sound Stereo Speaker Manual....bought it at Radio Shack, and read (and re-read) it till it fell apart....

Looks like a common pathology....

I was cutting and raking lawns on estates in Rumson, NJ. to help buy my first real stereo at age 13 - a Kenwood KR8050, JBL 19's - then L112's, Dual turntable (remember those?), Micro Acoustics 3002 cartridge, and Audio Technica ATH-7 headphones.


Speaker building didn't get going until a few years later when the first Sony and Philips CD players came out. By that time, it had become a hopeless obsession. Then I got married and had kids about 10 years later - the obsession went bye bye, until divorce about 6 years ago. And the obsession returned with a vengeance....

 

[bossobass]

First (and still most comprehensive) book: Hi-Fi Loudspeakers and Enclosures (copyright; 1956)


One on one conversations with:


Siegfried Linkwitz (Linkwitz Transform)

Dan Wiggins (Driver design)

Tomlinson Holman (THX & Bass Management)

Ed Wolfrum (First DI for bass recording & measurement hardware consultant)

Phil Marchand (THE active crossover guru & the Bassis)

Mark Seaton (Subwoofers in general)

Scott Atwell (Driver design)

John Janowitz (who's who info, driver design & Passive Radiator guy)

Ilkka Rissanen (Measurements & subwoofers in general)

Sir Edward Mullen (Measurements & subwoofers in general)

Jim Hunter (Chief engineer, Klipsch)

Brian Ding (Rythmik)


Never be afraid to ask a dumb question.

I agree with everyone else's internet/forums comments.


Bosso

 

[LTD02]

here is a big fun read full of goodness:


jbl sound system design reference manual part 1:
http://www.jblpro.com/catalog/suppor...=275&doctype=3

jbl sound system design reference manual part 2:
http://www.jblpro.com/catalog/suppor...=276&doctype=3


lots more here:
http://www.jblpro.com/catalog/genera...?CatID=1&Run=1


cheers,

 

[LTD02]

off the top of my head, here are some more...


BIBLIOGRAPHY OF RECOMMENDED AUDIO REFERENCES


FOR AUDIO NOVICES;

BOOKS:

David B. Weems, "Building Speaker Enclosures," Radio Shack publication, stock# 62-2309

"The CAMEO Dictionary of Creative Audio Terms," Creative Audio & Music Electronics Organization, Delmar Avenue, Framingham, MA 01701

F. Alton Everest, "The Complete Handbook of Public Address Sound

Systems," Tab Books #966, Tab Books, Blue Ridge Summit, PA 17214

David B. Weems, "Designing, Building & Testing Your Own Speaker System," Tab Books #1364 (this is the same as the Weems book above)

Abratxam B. Cohen, "Hi-Fi loudspeakers and Enclosures," Hayden Book Co., 072 1

Alex Badmaieff and Don Davis, "How to Build Speaker Enclosures," Howard W. Sams & Co., Inc. 4300 West 62nd Street, Indianapolis, IN 46268

Bob Hell, "Practical Guide for Concert Sound," Sound Publishing Co., 156 East 37th Street, New York, NY 10016


FOR EXPERIENCED AUDIO PRACTITIONERS AND HOBBYISTS:

BOOKS:

Jens Trampe Broch, "Acoustic Noise Measurement," Bruel & Kjaer Instruments, Inc., 185 Forest Street,

Marlbourough, MA 01752 (508) 481-7000

Howard M. Tremaine, 'The Audio Cyclopedia," 2nd Edition 1969, Howard W. Sams & Co., Inc., 4300 West 62nd Street, Indianapolis, IN, 46268

Arnold P. Peterson and Ervin E. Gross, Jr., "Handbook of Noise Measurement," General Radio, 300 Baker-Avenue, Concord, MA 01742

Martin Colloms, "High Performance Dudspeakers," A Halstead Press Book, 1978 John Wiley and Sons, New York and Toronto

Harry F. Olson, "Modern Sound Reproduction," 1972, Van Nostrand Reinhold Co., New York

Harry F. Olson, "Music Physics and Engineering," Dover Publications, 180 Varick Street, New York, NY 10014

Don and Carolyn Davis, "Sound System Engineering," Howard W. Sams & Co., Inc. 4300 West 62nd Street, Indianapolis, IN 46268

F. Alton Everest, "Successful Sound System Operation," Tab Books #2606, Tab Books, Blue Ridge Summit, PA 17214


FOR ENGINEERS:

BOOKS:

Harry F. Olson, "Acoustical Engineering," D. Van Nostrand Co., Inc., 250 4th Street, New York 3, NY 1957 (out of print)

Leo L. Beranek, "Acoutics," Mc Graw-Hill Book Co., New York 1954

Harry F. Olson, "Elements of Acoustical Engineering," D. Van Nostrand Co., Inc. 250 4th Street, New York NY (1st ed., 1940, 2nd ed, 1947, both out of print)

Lawrence E. Kinsler and Austin R. Frey, "Fundamentals of Acoustics," John Wiley and Sons, New York and Toronto

N.W. McLachlan, "Loudspeaker: Theory Performance, Testing and Design," Oxford Engineering Science

Series, Oxford at The Clarendon Press 1934, Corrected Edition, Dover Publications 1960


lol...not exactly off the top of my head...pages 4 and 5 from here:
http://www.jblpro.com/catalog/suppor...=219&doctype=3

 

[goku14139268520]

Wow LTD02, talk about a gold mine. Thanks alot!