Glen Ballou - Handbook for Sound Engineers

Handbook for Sound Engineers

Fifth Edition

Handbook for Sound Engineers

Fifth Edition

Glen M. Ballou
Editor

First published 1987 by Howard W. Sams & Co., Inc.

This edition published 2015 by Focal Press

70 Blanchard Road, Suite 402, Burlington, MA 01803

and by Focal Press

2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN

Focal Press is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business

2015 Glen Ballou. Published by Taylor & Francis. All rights reserved.

The right of the editor to be identified as the author of the editorial material, and of the authors for their individual chapters, has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

Notices

Knowledge and best practice in this field are constantly changing. As new research and experience broaden our understanding, changes in research methods, professional practices, or medical treatment may become necessary.

Practitioners and researchers must always rely on their own experience and knowledge in evaluating and using any information, methods, compounds, or experiments described herein. In using such information or methods they should be mindful of their own safety and the safety of others, including parties for whom they have a professional responsibility.

Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data

Handbook for sound engineers / Glen M. Ballou, editor. -- Fifth edition.

pages cm

ISBN 978-0-415-84293-8 (hardback)

1. Acoustical engineering--Handbooks, manuals, etc. 2. Sound--Recording and reproducing--Digital techniques.

I. Ballou, Glen.

TK7881.4.H36 2015

621.3893--dc23

2014036047

ISBN: 978-0-415-84293-8 (hbk)

ISBN: 978-0-203-75828-1 (ebk)

Typeset in Times New Roman and Optimum

By Glen Ballou

Contents

Don and Carolyn Davis

Ken Pohlmann

Peter Xinya Zhang

S. Benjamin Kanters

Pat Brown

Doug Jones

Doug Jones

Jeff Szymanski

Dr. Wolfgang Ahnert and Hans-Peter Tennhardt

Doug Jones

Ron Baker and Jack Wrightson

Steve Barbar

Dominique J. Chenne

Glen Ballou

Bill Whitlock

Glen Ballou, Leslie B. Tyler, and Wayne Kirkwood

Glen Ballou and Henry Villaume

Steve Lampen and Glen Ballou

Ron Ajemian

Glen Ballou and Joe Ciaudelli

Tom Danley and Doug Jones

Ralph Heinz

Glen Ballou

Bob Cordell

Ray Rayburn and Bill Whitlock

Glen Ballou

Steven McManus

Steven McManus

Steve Dove

Glen Ballou

George Alexandrovich and Glen Ballou

Doug Jones

David Miles Huber

Ken Pohlmann

Dr. Craig Richardson

Bill Whitlock

Pat Brown

Pat Brown

Dr. Wolfgang Ahnert, Stefan Feistel, and Hans-Peter Tennhardt

Peter Mapp

Ray Rayburn

Ray Rayburn

Gino Sigismondi

Glen Ballou and Hardy Martin

Glen Ballou

Glen Ballou

Glen Ballou

Alan C. Brawn

Pat Brown

Glen Ballou

When the first edition of the Handbook for Sound Engineers came out in 1987, it was subtitled The New Audio Cyclopedia so that people who were familiar with Howard Tremains Audio Cyclopedia would understand that this is an updated version of it. When the third edition came out in 2002, the subtitle was dropped and the Handbook for Sound Engineers has stood on its own since.

We have seen a tremendous change in the field of sound and acoustics since 1987. Digital has certainly made its place in all forms of audio, but analog systems will still be around for a long time. After all, sound is analog and the transfer of sound waves to a microphone is analog, and from the loudspeaker to our ears is analog. However, as Steve Dove said, digital won; and with all of the new digital circuitry in microphones, electronic circuits, loudspeakers, and test equipment, digital has, without a doubt, revolutionized the way we produce, reproduce, and measure sound.

The Handbook for Sound Engineers discusses sound through eight sections: Introduction to Audio and Acoustics, Acoustics, Electronic Components, Electro-Acoustic Devices, Audio Electronic Circuits and Equipment, Recording and Playback, Design Application, and Measurements.

Much has changed in this, the fifth edition of the Handbook for Sound Engineers. Four new chapters have been added: Subjective Methods for Evaluating Sound Quality, Hearing PhysiologyDisordersConservation, Worship Styles in the Christian Church, and Surround Sound for Cinema.

We have new authors for six original chapters or sections of chapters: Stadiums and Outdoor Venues, Loudspeakers, Preamplifiers and Mixers, Amplifier Design, Sound System Design, and Message Repeaters, Museum and Tour Group Systems, Voice Evacuation/Mass Notification Systems.

The book also covers message repeaters, interpretation systems, assistive listening systems, intercoms, modeling and auralization, surround sound, and personal monitoring, subjects that are not often covered in audio books.

This edition is not a replacement for the previous editions as the information in the past four editions is relevant today; however the fifth edition brings us into the digital age and numerous new ideas. A good audio library will contain all five editions of this book plus books written by many other authors including Don and Carolyn Davis, Pat Brown, Ken Pohlmann, Bob Cordell, Doug Jones, Wolfgang Ahnert, Stefan Feistel, David Miles Huber, Steve Lampen, Peter Mapp, and Craig Richardson, all authors who have contributed in this book.

Technical authors write to share their knowledge that they spent a lifetime gathering so we can learn from them. No one person can be knowledgeable in all the fields of sound and acoustics. I have been extremely fortunate to have exceptional authors, who are considered by many the most knowledgeable in their field, give of their time to contribute so much in this book.

Glen Ballou

All terms mentioned in this book that are known to be trademarks or service marks are listed below. In addition, terms suspected of being trademarks or service marks have been appropriately capitalized. Focal Press cannot attest to the accuracy of this information. Use of a term in this book should not be regarded as affecting the validity of any trademark or service mark.

Abffusor is a trademark of RPG Diffuser Systems, Inc.

Audio Spotlight is a registered trademark of Holosonic Research Labs, Inc.

AutoCAD is a trademark of Autodesk, Inc.