Designing a Digital Portfolio (VOICES)

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It isn't easy finding a job these days and for those working in the creative fields like graphic design, illustration, photography, filmmaking, and music, a digital portfolio is just the shiny object you need to catch the attention of a prospective employer. But you can't just slap a few files on a CD and call it a night. As Cynthia Baron points out in Designing a Digital Portfolio--a thorough guide to digital portfolios--your first impression is critical and good preparation will pay off.

The books begins with soul-searching: what work are you hoping to get, who's your audience, what style of presentation should you choose, and what technology--Zip, CD, DVD? Effective portfolios from various fields are analyzed, for example, one for an industrial designer or a flash animation artist. If you happen to do both or are otherwise a jack-of-all-trades, Baron outlines your strategy for targeting your audience and deciding how to focus your presentation.

There're several great chapters on prepping your work, collecting it (do you have your process materials, like pencil sketches?), digitizing the non-digital and cleaning it up (like stitching together scans or effective cropping), nitty-gritty items like optimizing and encoding (crucial if you don't want your future boss frustrated by large files), and dealing with that neglected cousin of the visually creative: good written content.

Next, the book considers delivery (for example, Web versus a portable portfolio on CD or DVD), a presentation metaphor (for example, gallery or diary), and the navigational master plan. The chapter on copyrights and attribution are worth the cover price alone. (For example, do you know who owns the artwork you just created for that latest brochure? Do you know how to present a large project on which you worked as part of a team?)

Throughout the book, Baron profiles some stellar examples of digital portfolios, most of which are viewable online, for example, illustrator Michael Bartalos's Web site at bartalos.com. And the appendices offer even more resources to help and inspire you. --Angelynn Grant

Book Description

The world has gone digital--which means that a paper portfolio is no longer good enough. These days, as a creative professional, you're expected to be able to show your work on demand--whether that means emailing it to a client, displaying it on a Web site, or delivering it on CD or DVD. This book shows you how. Using a combination of step-by-step instructions and inspiring examples, veteran author Cynthia Baron takes you through the entire process of designing a digital portfolio--from developing a concept and choosing a medium, to scanning work created with traditional materials; optimizing digitized art; repurposing digital material; creating a portfolio Web site, CD, or DVD; producing a portable portfolio; and avoiding technical pitfalls when digitizing, organizing, and delivering the final product. You'll also find loads of insights from the professionals who evaluate artist portfolios everyday--agency heads, art directors, and designers--plus handy checklists, a run-down of dos and don'ts, case studies, and tips.

Customer Reviews:

comprehensive material........2006-03-01

Most artists can't do everything - usually they are somewhere in the middle of a chain of production responsiblities that don't include the skillsets involved with presenting a portfolio, digital or otherwise. Many points of insider knowledge are invaluable - I was on the cusp of using PowerPoint for my CD portfolio (my wife has strong skills with this) before being warned that this bussiness presentation software's would be viewed with derision by art directors, and that a high resolution version of a website format is the way to go here - this one parcel of knowledge was worth the price of the book alone, but it is far from the only lesson imparted. Highly recommended - it doesn't stray into realms of esoterica for the sake of pagecount.

Great beginners guide.......2005-08-12

This handbook is targeted at beginners in designing portfolios to submit their artwork or photos when job hunting. It is filled with information, however most is very basic and will only be a review for most readers.

Superb resource for a wide variety of portfolio formats.......2004-11-14

If you set can aside the near 100% focus on digital media (though it is excellent for that kind of format) and not hyperventilate in feeling like you need to come up with Flash or DVDs after reading this, it offers solid points on portfolio content, whatever format you choose.

It covers what should go in, what should not go in, how much should go in, how/if to deal with process pieces, storyboarding,
thematic ties to pull a disparate portfolio together, and sage advice on basics like the kinds of written copy you want to include, such as design briefs, problem statements, and tag lines. It's my favorite book for this effort right now. My husband's, too. I have to pry it off his desk.

It's also savvy when it comes to marketing, so I think it will have a long shelf life in my library for the days when I need to market myself on other things besides landing a job, like marketing my firm.

It has some printed web site design examples which offer visual eye inspiration for printed page layout. It even has great image workflow tips, towards preserving the best image quality with the least needed resolution, that are comprehensible to the lay person as well as meaningful to someone with a high degree of digital photographic processing background.

One of the Best Books on the Topic.......2004-05-07

This is one of the best books on its topic that I have ever seen. From the title, I expected to find advice on preparing images for the screen, how to put them on a CD or DVD, etc. Those things are there, but the book begins in a logical place that I wouldn't have considered. Brown's approach is truly holistic.

Check out page 23 for the first page of a three-page self assessment check list. It has you evaluate your professional strengths and weaknesses, goals and personality.

Chapter 3 asks you a bunch of questions to help you identify who your audience really is and focus on them.

The rest of the book covers various digital formats, how to organize your work, how to get images of 3D and oversized work into your portfolio, including choosing a camera and setting up for shooting.

Ms. Brown covers editing your images to remove the most common problems, such as moire, sharpening needs, bad crops, etc. And ... she devotes a section to creating written content to accompany your stunning images, telling you how to write to that audience you defined earlier.

She explains the differences between a monitor screen and a printed page. You need to know that to design the correct interface for your portfolio. She also has a full chapter devoted to marketing and copyright issues.

The entire book is scattered with quotes (in friendly green type) from experts and those who have gone before you. The quotes tell you what agencies are looking for in a portfolio, how others have found success at this, what things you can do to streamline the process, etc.

The definitive resource.......2004-02-21

For several months I searched for an appropriate textbook for a course that I was developing. Several days prior to the deadline for the course outline, "Designing a Digital Portfolio " was published. After reading the book, I realized this was the authoritative text for anyone in a creative field. The book asks and answers all the essential questions. It is perfect for the technological savvy multimedia programmer or for any artist with limited technology expertise. I urge anyone who is even considering developing a digital portfolio to buy this book. Without qualification, this is the most valuable book on the market

Book Description

Engineer your way to excellence! This professional resource explains in full detail how to build VoiceXML-based applications using real-world programs you can adapt for your own projects. The book includes three full-scale, enterprise-level applications complete with all source code.

Customer Reviews:

Cut the crap.......2005-06-02

This is a no crap book. I didnt need a tome that would tell me what i want. I know what i need to do i just needed a book that would help in the How To part. Some of the application discussed in this book are of commercial quality in their design and funtionality. the stuff on the voice command performace shows the author's experiance on the matter. I could have done with some more stuff on IP telephony but the application discussed here elaborates a design which is common more or less in a lot of IP telephony apps. Nothing really usefull though but you can realy take the concept and the code further as you please and gives you something to think about. The very presence of the IP telephony introductory chapter in the books kind of completes the book and the discussion. I wouldnt mind though if this book had a few more pages and completed many application that i though were on the verge on being turn key solutions.

Bark with little bite.......2002-11-25

While this is the only book I could find with direct reference to VoiceXML, ASP and SALT, it was a dissapointment. The title says VoiceXML 2.0, but the major examples are all given in 1.0 syntax. There are many errors and the formatting is poor. Finally, there is no discussion about mixed-initiative applications or natural language processing.

Sound Systems: Design and Optimization: Modern Techniques and Tools for Sound System Design and Alignment

Average customer rating:

Great Book Written by the best.
"how the paint hits the canvas"
Bob has boiled vast science down to usable building blocks
The must have book for all sound engineers
Best single resource for sound system optimization

Sound Systems: Design and Optimization: Modern Techniques and Tools for Sound System Design and Alignment
Bob McCarthy
Manufacturer: Focal Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0240520203

Book Description

With this definitive guide to sound reinforcement design and optimization, Bob McCarthy shares his expert knowledge and effective methodology developed from decades of field and teaching experience. This book is written for the field professional as well as the consultant or student, in a clear and easy-to-read style and illustrated with color diagrams and screenshots throughout. McCarthy's unique guide reveals the proven techniques to ensure that your sound system design can be optimized for maximum uniformity over the space.

The book follows the audio signal path from the mix console to the audience and provides comprehensive information as to how the sound is spread over the listening area. The complex nature of the physics of speaker interaction over a listening space is revealed in terms readily understandable to audio professionals. Complex speaker arrays are broken down systematically and the means to design systems that are capable of being fully optimized for maximum spatial uniformity is shown.
The methods of alignment are shown, including measurement mic placement, and step-by-step recipes for equalization, delay setting, level setting, speaker positioning and acoustic treatment. These principles and techniques are applicable to the simplest and most complex systems alike, from the single speaker to the multi-element line array.

* The first book devoted exclusively to the emerging field of sound system optimization using modern tools and practices.
* Offers you expert guidance on the popular tools of the trade, including line arrays and digital signal processors
* Color images and diagrams throughout aid understanding and clearly illustrate topics within the book

Customer Reviews:

Great Book Written by the best........2007-07-29

Bob McCarthy did a great job. This book cover the black holes on sound systems design.
No matter how good audio guru you are, this is a MUST HAVE TOOL!.

"how the paint hits the canvas".......2007-07-23

"That is what we thought then, this is what we know now."...to borrow a phrase Bob McCarthy has used. This book is about what we know now (or should know) thanks in large part to McCarthy's work in the field. This book doesn't rehash the information found in just about every other book involving sound and acoustics. It applies that knowledge along with technical data that has been collected over the course of his career to current real world technologies, systems and situations.

While various measurement tools have existed for quite some time, it has only been more recently that low cost solution (comparatively) have existed for analyzing our systems and their interaction with the environments we put them in. Now most anyone can afford to better understand what their systems are doing and why. Unfortunately the information that such tools provide is somewhat useless if you don't understand what it means, how to interpret it or how to apply it. This book doesn't teach you how to use such tools specifically so much as it addresses the reason the tools exist and how to use the information they provide to improve the listening experience and the efficiency of the systems that deliver the experience. McCarthy does this by sharing both the information that he has collected over the course of his career and most importantly, the knowledge that has been gained while compiling that information.

Besides the fact that McCarthy is in a unique position of having more experience in this area than maybe anybody else, he's also a hands-on guy who knows how to teach others. Anyone that has had an opportunity to attend one of his seminar courses knows he has a knack for making complex science understandable to almost anyone. I'm living proof of that and am happy to see that his knack has translated well to a very informative and interesting to read book. Detailed color graphics along with a few related comic strips help keep it all within reach.

If you use Smaart (or any other similar program), you will definitely get something out of this book whatever your experience level. Currently you won't find another book that brings this information all together with the real world experiences and insight as McCarthy has done, much less make it readable in an accessible fashion. While there maybe a handful of others who could possible write such a book with this type of applied knowledge, nobody else has. Reading this book will take you to a higher level of understanding of how sound system components react with one another as well as the acoustic environments that they exist within.

While McCarthy points out in the book that there used to be a division of art and science when it came to thinking how to evaluating sound system performance, the number of mixing engineers running Smaart @ theMIXsite is an indication that everyone is catching on that art and science go hand in hand. While Michelangelo was a artist, he studied science as well and it was the combination of his two disciplines that empowered him to create his many masterpieces.

Sound Systems: Design and Optimization is a study of how the paint hits the canvas and should be of interest to artist and engineers in the field of sound reinforcement.

Bob has boiled vast science down to usable building blocks.......2007-05-21

This is a beautifully-written book. We have had the oportunity to work with Bob several times leading up to the release of the book. From pioneering measurement and analysis methods to identifying themes among system allignment scenerios most common in the field, Bob is thurough, complete, methodical, and passionate about the laws and facts of physics. This book captures the gammut of his scientific adventure, from nuts and bolts too deep to absorb in one reading, to rules-of-thumb and cheat-sheets that will give you instant insight into the invisible.

The must have book for all sound engineers.......2007-03-17

This is the must have book for all sound engineers and system designers. From start to finish this book provides absolute detail from Bob's twenty years of experience in the field and he has effectively written the ultimate compendium for sound engineers dedicated to the subject of sound system design and optimization. It has excellent graphical representation of concepts and design. Highly recommended reading for novice to expert sound engineers.

Best single resource for sound system optimization.......2007-02-11

When I heard about this new book from Bob McCarthy I had to have it. It is well written and fun to read. Anyone serious about sound system optimization will own this book. Sure to be requred text for all future training courses in live sound schools, Sound Systems: Design and Optimization, joins Sound System Engineering, and the Sound Reinforcement Handbook as a must read for sound system engineers.

Average customer rating:

Pretty comprehensive
Too technical for and audio "engineer"?!? LOL
too technical
WAAAAY TOO TECHNICAL
great advice, but dont stop here

Sound Studio Construction on a Budget
F. Alton Everest
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill/TAB Electronics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0070213828

Book Description

From one of the world's leading acoustics experts, this nuts-and-bolts book offers complete instructions and guidance for building your own inexpensive sound studio. Anyone with a discerning ear and a modicum of electronics skills can follow the clear plans for 10 designs, which include a voice-over recording studio; recording studios for modern, classical, and rock music; a home theater; small announce booth; control room; and music listening room. All projects are fully illustrated and accompanied by complete part lists.

Customer Reviews:

Pretty comprehensive.......2007-01-09

This book is useless if you already own "The Master Handbook of Acoustics" by the same author. However as the title suggests it's all about being on a budget, which it explains fairly well. If you are building a projects studio in your house for example..this is a must read.

Too technical for and audio "engineer"?!? LOL.......2006-04-27

This book is an update of Everest's classic "Acoustic Design for Home and Studio". It is great for what it is. For more capable types, Everest's "Master" book is more complete. This one has the basics. For those who thought this is too technical, I wonder how they expect to deal with the other aspects of audio engineering. Just knowing how to twist a knob is not a path to excellence.

In actuality this is a well written, very direct primer, starting with very basic physics, and leading to easy design engineering. It's not hard to calculate, design, finance or construct good acoustics, and the payoff is huge. It does require a modest amount of work, and calculations to get good data. Remember: "Garbage in, garbage out." Acoustics control your recording and playback. This book will give you a fighting chance.

too technical.......2004-09-25

if you are on a financial budget, you are likely on a time budget, and this book can be a time sucker. it reminded my of my high school trigonometry book. I didn't spend much time with that, either. To the defense of the writer, my friends in the business who actually know what they are doing, swear by this guy and his books. I, however, am just trying to make a room in my house sound a little better, and could care less to know about the science behind it any more than I care about the science behind a combustion engine while I'm driving. I recommend 'basic home studio design' by paul white. simple, small, easy, the minimum that you need to know- but as much as i think 90% would need.

WAAAAY TOO TECHNICAL.......2002-07-25

Too much time spent on the mathematics of sound transfer and acoustics. Not enough on how to build the studio. Could not find a "complete parts list" for any of the plans. This is not for someone looking to build a simple studio. Very technical and boring.

great advice, but dont stop here.......2001-11-06

as another reviewer says, this appears to be the previous edition of what is currently titled "how to build a small budget recording studio....". also, as another reviewer has noted, you dont have to read it in order -- each example project its its own chapter with its own self-contained presentation. each example does stress diffferent design goals that translate to different acoustic treatments.

its a little annoying that every page seems to be an advertsemen for an rpg product. this is mitigated by the author's inclusion of journal and patent references that tell you everything you need to know to build these treatments yourself if you like. or if your budget doesnt allow for the beautiful wood forms from rpg, just take the keywords and run -- diffusor, absorber, abfussor -- and its easy to find someone besides rpg that makes the things using less expensive materials.

Book Description

Comprehensive, up-to-date coverage of principles, materials, and technologies

Architectural Acoustics provides the vital information that architects, engineers, and all concerned with the built environment need to control and direct wanted or unwanted sounds within and around buildings. A team of internationally recognized experts presents the very latest information on acoustical materials, technologies, design criteria, and methods for a wide variety of applications, including airports and other transportation facilities; theaters, churches, and concert halls; classrooms, lecture halls, and libraries; music practice rooms and recording studios; sports venues; and all types of residential, commercial, and industrial buildings.

This comprehensive reference is one of the few books of its kind to include richly detailed case studies that demonstrate real-world applications of acoustic principles, materials, and methods. Nearly two hundred photos and illustrations further elucidate specific principles, applications, and techniques.

Topics covered include:
* Basic principles of architectural acoustics
* Acoustical materials and methods
* Building noise control applications

Customer Reviews:

Masters Student textbook.......2005-09-15

This book was so advanced and technical that it was almost entirely useless to me. It is clearly for an advanced sound technician, someone who is going to be building concert halls and what not. I was looking for something with information on building a sound studio for a client. Too technical, too advanced. If your teacher doesn't require it, why the hell would you buy it. I gave it a 2 because someone will make use out of it somehow, someday, somewhere...i guess.

Good reference with case studies.......2000-05-12

Hi! I have this book and think that it is a very very good book and very atualized about architetural acoustics because it brings not only the principles of acoustics but a lot of case studies of some famous places with ilustrations, wich are a good reference of the aplication of the design for a acoustical place. And brings too a section about the recent innovations in acoustical design and research. This book and David Egan's Architectural Acoustics makes a perfect couple for architects and other people who wants a good knowledge about acoustics in architecture. I really recommend.

Architectural Acoustics (Applications of Modern Acoustics)

Average customer rating:

Excelent book on Acoustics
Very Nice
If you only buy one book on architectural acoustics......
Looks like a new classic on Architectural Acoustics
Professional Review

Architectural Acoustics (Applications of Modern Acoustics)
Moises Levy
Manufacturer: Elsevier
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0124555519
Release Date: 2005-06-27

Book Description

Architectural Acoustics presents a comprehensive technical overview of the field at a level suitable for working practitioners as well as advanced undergraduate or introductory graduate architecture or engineering course. The book is structured as a logical progression through acoustic interactions. Beginning with an architectural history, it reviews the fundamentals of acoustics, human perception and reaction to sound, acoustic noise measurements and noise metrics, and environmental noise. It then moves into wave acoustics, sound and solid surfaces, sound in enclosed spaces, sound transmission loss, sound transmission in buildings, vibration and vibration isolation, noise transmission in floor systems, noise in mechanical systems, and sound attenuation in ducts.

Chapters on specific design problems follow including treatment of multifamily dwellings, office buildings, rooms for speech, sound reinforcement systems, rooms for music, multipurpose rooms, auditoriums, sanctuaries, and studios and listening rooms. While providing a thorough overview of acoustics, it also includes the theory of loudspeaker systems and sound system modeling as well as an in-depth presentation of computer modeling, ray tracing and auralization. It will be particularly beneficial for architects and engineers working in fields where speech intelligibility, music appreciation, and noise isolation are critical.

* Comprehensive guide to the basics of acoustical science and its applications to architectural design.
* Author is renowned expert engaged in acoustical engineering for 20 years
* Covers the latest environmental regulations and health and safety research related to sound inside and outside of buildings.

Customer Reviews:

Excelent book on Acoustics.......2007-10-06

Having read some architectural acoustics books, I can recommend this one as one of the best. It is an excellent resource. In fact, I should not have spent some of my money on some oldie books, which were cheap but not as good.

This is an up to date book, and it is worth every penny you spend. If you are a student or someone interested in the topic architectural acoustics, it is a good resource but it has many formulas (sorry if you do not like physics).

With it I have been able to specify to an architect who does not know hardly anything about acoustics how to correct his design for a contemporary church. I also recommend "Handbook for Sound Engineers" as a compliment to this book, for people that are trying to get the best of both worlds -- acoustics and audio. These are both good buys, and can help you very much. Remember that to be a good consultant you need to have a good library of books and this one would be an excellent part of your reference library.

Very Nice.......2007-01-10

The ultimate guide to architectural acoustics covering many topics in a single and nice priced book, It has everything covered and explained to a good level, my only complain is that only basic measurement techniques are explained. However it is a great complilation of knowledge in a single package.

If you only buy one book on architectural acoustics.............2006-08-22

In his preamble the author refers to the fact this book took him more than 10 years to write. Given the level of detail and the comprehensive nature of this book, this is not surprising.

There may be better acoustical books available relating to specific niches of acoustics, such as Beranek and Barron's works on concert halls and there are certainly more simple introductions to the subject, such as Egan's book of the same name, but for anybody who doesn't mind grappling with some mathematical equations, this is definitely the best and most comprehensive book on this subject of the 15 or so that I possess.

Like the author, I am also a practicing acoustical consultant and a lecturer in this subject. It's probably splitting hairs, but I suspect that my architecture students might not respond well to this book due to the fact that the illustrations are generally limited to fairly simple black and white drawings and the mathematical approach may intimidate some, but for other acoustical consultants and engineers interested in the field of building acoustics, I would definitely recommend this text.

Looks like a new classic on Architectural Acoustics.......2006-08-12

I just received my copy, and have yet to dive into. However it appears up to date (2006) in that it covers modelling and auralization concepts. The scope of the book is expanded compared to Eagan's excellent text. Take a look at the table of contents on line for an idea of the topics.

It appears to be well written. The mathematics of sound are covered. This should be a standard reference text for a general knowledge of architectural acoustics.

July 2007 - I use this book as one of my primary references. It has excellent breadth and detail.

Professional Review.......2006-07-03

I have a copy of Long's Architectural Acoustics and have read a number of sections. The book is remarkably complete and Long has correctly embodied current literature. I recommend it for professionals and architects who have some mathematics. Leo Beranek

Average customer rating:

Great Book

Room Acoustics
Heinrich Kuttruff
Manufacturer: Chapman & Hall
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0419245804

Book Description

This thoroughly revised and long awaited new edition of a classic text builds on the success of the 1991 third edition. Kuttruf considers the theory and practice of sound behavior in closed spaces; a key area for acoustical engineers worldwide. It is of particular interest to those working on auditoria and will therefore stand as an excellent complement to Barron's i Auditorium Acoustics. /i This new edition includes important new material on the growth of digital technology and sound intensity.

Download Description

This book considers the theory and practice of sound behaviour in enclosed spaces; a key area for acoustical engineers worldwide. Of particular interest to those working on auditoria.

Customer Reviews:

Great Book.......2003-02-06

This is the book to own for your acoustical reference manual. This one belongs on your shelf.

Average customer rating:

An excellent reference book or self tutorial!
Required Reading for RF Engineers (new and old)
Book Info
"The" book for learning rf design
Excellent

RF Circuit Design
Christopher Bowick
Manufacturer: Newnes
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0750699469

Book Description

Essential reading for experts in the field of RF circuit design and engineers needing a good reference. This book provides complete design procedures for multiple-pole Butterworth, Chebyshev, and Bessel filters. It also covers capacitors, inductors, and other components with their behavior at RF frequencies discussed in detail.

*Provides complete design procedures for multiple-pole Butterworth, Chebyshev, and Bessel filters
*Covers capacitors, inductors, and other components with their behavior at RF frequencies discussed in detail

Customer Reviews:

An excellent reference book or self tutorial!.......2007-08-05

I ordered this book to assist in refreshing my memory about RF Circuit Design and associated equations. I found it to be a great source of advice on the "how to's", as well as a wonderful reference source for the basic equations involved, which I haven't used actively in some time. Since my old reference/school books are in storage, I needed a concise, compact and easy to understand presentation of the application of the math to real world design considerations. I highly recommend it for self-tutoring, for general reference, and especially for those "breaking away from theory and into the real world" of design.

Required Reading for RF Engineers (new and old).......2007-05-17

I have owned two copies of this book for as long as I can recall; one for me to keep on-hand, and one that is constantly on loan to colleagues that ask to learn about impedance matching, Smith charts, filter design, transmission lines, small signal amplifier design, etc. Nearly everyone that borrows my copy ends up buying their own shortly thereafter. The text is readable by anyone with a good knowledge of electronics, and the depth of subject is an excellent "just right" balance of practice and theory. Finally, it's very refreshing that this excellent book is available at such a reasonable price - I would venture to say that Bowick's book is likely the best value on my bookshelf in terms of "usefulness per dollar spent"!

Book Info.......2007-02-17

Easy to read, understand. Good reference book for basic buliding blocks in RF circuit design. The book only has solved example problems and is not very helpful for practise.

"The" book for learning rf design.......2007-01-29

This is the book I reach for first for review and the one that I used almost exclusively to learn rf design. Very easy to follow and the math is easy to understand and use. A must have book!

Excellent.......2007-01-09

In the ambit of designing RF devices, this book could be catalogued as the best introductory text. It has examples of properties for each type of circuits and theoretical explanations. Both amateurs and professionals should have this book as a reference.

Average customer rating:

An introduction to the world of loudspeakers
Readable - But Lacking in Design Detail
Inappropriately titled--grossly incomplete "introduction"
I Finally Understand How Loudspeakers Work!
Should have another .....

Introduction to Loudspeaker Design
John L. Murphy
Manufacturer: True Audio
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Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 096637732X

Book Description

Introduction to Loudspeaker Design is written for hobbyists, technicians, and engineers seeking an introductory overview of the technology of loudspeakers. Starting with a brief history of audio developments the book begins by introducing the concepts of frequency, pitch, and loudness and proceeds to develop the idea of a loudspeaker as a system with performance that can be accurately predicted using simulation techniques not unlike those used to design electronic circuits. The work is largely qualitative with an occasional mathematical example. In addition to providing a clear discussion of closed and vented type loudspeaker enclosures the work also covers bandpass enclosures and includes a complete design example for a dipole loudspeaker.

The richly illustrated deluxe paperback edition also covers such advanced topics as loudspeaker design tradeoffs, spatial loading, diffraction loss, cavity effect, and enclosure construction. A complete chapter is devoted to the subject of crossover design. The appendices contain technical references, design aids, and charts summarizing the properties of 18 different loudspeaker enclosure types.

Customer Reviews:

An introduction to the world of loudspeakers.......2006-08-21

This book gives the basics of loudspeaker and basic filter design. The types and basic formulations besides the history. If you are new to the subject and still haven't decided to pick loudspeaker building as a hobby or not, this book can give you a broad idea about what is happening inside the world of loudspeakers. The language is simple and easy to follow. The sections are well organized. There are no in depth explanations that can scare the beginners away. A good collection of simple questions and answers like; where should I place the port or SPL, Size and Bass relation. I think the book covers all the common questions that beginners are afraid to ask.

Readable - But Lacking in Design Detail.......2005-01-19

This is a well written easy to understand book. But if you're interested in designing loudspeakers, this book is lacking.

This book is clearly and concisely written with good supporting graphics. Mr. Murphy does a great job of qualitatively explaining speaker design but leaves out two of the most important quantitative design topics: 1. How to design an enclosure. 2. How to size inductors and capacitors in cross over networks. It seams like these topics could have been covered more deeply, and other more advanced topics deferred. For example, Mr. Murphy commits several pages to warning about summing errors with electronic crossovers (which is a real concern), but there are no pages committed to how to design a Butterworth or Linkwitz-Riley filter he discusses in the book.

I rate this book low because I was expecting more design detail. This book may be of value to you if you're thinking about speaker and just what to know what's involved. Also, if you're shopping for loudspeakers, this book will certainly make you a savvier consumer.

Inappropriately titled--grossly incomplete "introduction".......2002-06-06

Murphy explains in the introduction that this book grew out of his writing a user manual for his WinSpeakerz software (Real Audio, ...), and I have no doubt that it would be an excellent companion manual to many of the widely available louspeaker design suites on the market today.

Further, Murphy has written an extremely "readable" book, largely due to the profund paucity of mathematical formulae. For the mathematically challenged, the book is a good orientation to the overarching concepts of speaker design without an overwhelming level of quantitative detail. Also, certain oft-neglected concepts such as the importance of different spatial loadings of drivers or phase characteristics of crossovers are emphasized.

However, it is for precisely the above stated reasons that this book is NOT an introduction to the design of loudspeakers--at least, not an enabling one. A novice who read only this book would be no more able to design even a simple speaker than he would a nuclear weapon. A more honest title might be "Overview of Loudspeaker Design Principles," or even "Getting More Out of WinSpeakerz."

I Finally Understand How Loudspeakers Work!.......2002-02-16

Ever wonder why you can't make a tiny loudspeaker that has lots of bass? This book explains why a good sounding loudspeaker is a compromise between the size of the box, how loud it'll play and the amount of bass you'll get out of it. Lots of good information. Straight forward and east to follow.

Highly recommended.

Should have another ............2001-02-07

It is a good reference book to understanding the basic concept of audio speaker. But it should have another version to tell more and deeper theoretical terms of speaker structure. Such as the detail of all equations relating to the technical terms Q(ts), Vas...., difference material(wood) and shape structure for speaker box. How to choose and match difference driver unit....etc

Book Description

The definitive do-it-yourself book on creating and testing all kinds of speaker systems is updated for the computer age, covering the latest makes and models and featuring an innovative computer program to assist with speaker design. Previous editions of this compendium of simple-to-advanced projects have sold well, thanks to a large audience of electronics hobbyists and technicians, handy audiophiles, and libraries and technical schools. This version supplies step-by-step details on using the expanded computer program, which can be ordered at significant savings with an included coupon. It also includes new speaker tests, expanded information on crossover networks, techniques for designing double-chamber reflex enclosures, practical rather than theoretical dimension charts, and more.

Customer Reviews:

Kind of usless a few good projects.......2007-07-18

The science of acoustics cannot be explained so briefly. It zips through very important things and doesn't go in depth enough. It will give your some tips for basic designs but there is no way you can walk away from this book to design a top notch speaker enclosure. By all means you can copy the projects in the book but I don't feels its worth my money. Many other pre-designed enclosures are available for free. Its just to brief.

If you want to code your own software.......2006-08-21

I came across with this book in my search of free loudspeaker design code. If you are planning to code a simple program which will help you in your everyday work, like finding the right size of a box (vented or sealed) depending on the alignment tables or finding the values of a n th order filter, there is a BASIC code at the end of this book which can ease your work. Although the code belongs to an ancient BASIC compiler, the algorithm is quite useful and easy to follow. I have converted the code into C++ and ported it to HP 49G+ with HP-GCC easily. The rest of the book covers some details about building enclosures and the basics of designing a successful multi-way loudspeaker system.

This is a very good reference.......2006-03-30

Like some of the others I started with the first edition of this book it is the single best guide I have found for getting started. While now dated it is still as valid as ever since design concepts have not changed. As for those that say one no longer needs to measure driver parameters because the are now published with the drivers, think again. I have found it common that measured parameters will vary as much as 30% from those published. I personally took the formulae and created Excel spreadsheets to automate things. BTW I own several editions of Vance Dickenson's book and still consider this a better reference especially for the beginner.

Good for some, not so good for others............2005-07-13

This book may be a little complicated for begginers into the audio world. Also don't be fooled by the name of the book, this book does NOT tell you how to design and make speakers, rather, speaker systems. As in, 4-5 speakers and a subwoofer. Although, this book does touch on why speakers do certain things, along with distortions, and all those little goodies that rob you of true quatlity! It will also help you on designing different types of enclosures for all audio.

Still the Best Speaker Book for the Money!.......2005-01-09

I'm a big Weems fan! I bought the 1st edition ~25 years ago. I used the first edition to build dozens of Hi-Fi, Pro-Audio and Car loudspeaker systems. With my first edition getting pretty worn with use, so I recently purchased the 4th edition, and I am very pleased. There are other books, but Weems book is stell the best speaker book for the money!

The 4th edition has been edited to the fundamental information required to design loudspeakers. In addition, Mr. Weems added design information on 3rd and 4th order cross over networks and added the governing equations to determine fb, f3 and Vb for closed and vented boxes. The BASIC source code for programs to design speaker and cross overs is also provided. Yea, the BASIC code is a little dated since most operating systems don't have a BASIC interpreter these days. I would like to see the programs downloadable (preferably in VB), but I have used the source code and the equations to write make my own VB application.

Weems provides both exact solutions (for math lovers), and the "minimal math" approach as well. Either way, you need to do "some" math to correctly design a loudspeaker enclosure. Most folks, who have mastered high school algebra and can solve simple equations, should be able to use the charts and graphs and design boxes and cross over networks.

I recommend this book for everyone from pro's to beginners. For the Physicists and Engineers out there, you may be a little disappointed that the derivation of the solutions are not presented. For beginners, if the design task seems overwhelming, this book will provide a great foundation to buy a kit from one of the online retailers. Either way, if I had to choose one speaker building book, this would be the one.

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