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Recommended reading for new comers and inquisitive minds.

Thomas savage

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Just a thought , I know we have our technical articles section but how about a recommended reading list for both online content and physical books for new members to read and acquaint themselves with if they so desire.

The point being to encourage or to further encourage self education rather than passive acceptance of information that can lead to slightly unhealthy dynamic in my opinion.
 

DonH56

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<<Must... resist... urge... to... list... Everything You Wanted to Know About Sex but were Afraid to Ask...>>

Here are some starters -- my library is at home. These are books an interested lay reader should be able to enjoy.

Master Handbook of Acoustics, F. Alton Everest, https://www.amazon.com/Master-Handb...ocphy=9029015&hvtargid=pla-449083503266&psc=1

Sound Reproduction: The Acoustics and Psychoacoustics of Loudspeakers and Rooms, Floyd E. Toole, https://www.amazon.com/Sound-Reprod...rds=floyd+toole&qid=1563475767&s=books&sr=1-1

The Audio Expert: Everything You Need to Know About Audio, Ethan Winer, https://www.amazon.com/Audio-Expert...rds=ethan+winer&qid=1563475897&s=books&sr=1-1

Douglas Self has several books on audio circuit design and there are many, many others to dig deeper but the three above are a great start. If you only get one, get Floyd's book, and read through it a couple of times.

HTH - Don

p.s. Floyd and Ethan are ASR members FYI.

p.p.s. My signature has a link to the index of my introductory articles on various topics here on ASR; may be worth a first look for fairly short reads.
 
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Krunok

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Let's not forget some classics, for example:

"Rolling opamps and why it matters"
"Modern DACs sound signature"
"Importance of upgrading your power cables"
"10 reasons why balanced connection sounds better than single ended"
"How you really hear and why it cannot be measured"
"Blind test fallacy"
...

:p
 

sergeauckland

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I have two books on home HiFi that got me into this audio hobby, and on rereading still make the most sense.

Percy Wilson. The Gramophone Handbook, 1957. Deals mostly with mono, but is still absolutely correct. It has one of the best layman's descriptions of how a pickup arm works.

John Crabbe. HiFi In The Home. 1968/1970. A great introduction to stereo.

I also agree that Floyd Toole's book on loudspeakers is masterly, as is John Watkinson's The Art of Digital Audio, although this last can be rather heavy on the maths, but this can be bypassed and go to the conclusions.

I also suggest reading Doug Self and Rob Elliott's websites for design information.

S
Edited Spelling of John Watkinson's name. Thanks to Kal for pointing out the error.
 
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SIY

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"High Quality Sound Reproduction," James Moir. More than half a century old, but still chock full of wisdom.

"Principles of Digital Audio," Ken Pohlmann. It could use more math, but there's a joke that every equation reduces a book's sales by half...
 

Kal Rubinson

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I also agree that Floyd Toole's book on loudspeakers is masterly, as is John Atkinson's The Art of Digital Audio, although this last can be rather heavy on the maths, but this can be bypassed and go to the conclusions.
I believe the author is John Watkinson.
 

gene_stl

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To start working hard on getting caught up with the twenty years I wasn't paying attention I bought Dr. "AIX" Mark Waldrep's book.
It was extremely helpful and what I LOVED about it is he rails against all the audiophile boolsheet like cables and power conditioners. I have to admit that when an author or other person has the same prejudices I do , I like it. But this is a great book:

http://musicandaudioguide.com/

I also have been reading ASR's own Mitch Barnett's Book:
https://www.amazon.com/Accurate-Sound-Reproduction-Using-DSP-ebook/dp/B01FURPS40
I expect this will be useful after I get Jriver set up and get farther down the room correction learning curve. I am going to take that stepwise.
Start with my old method of 1/3 octave calibrated Real Time Analyzer and then move to Audyssey then REW and then on to more advance programs like Audiolense or Acourate.

I used to like Martin Collums "High Performance Loudspeakers" by Pentech Press and then Wiley.
Also "Audio Cyclopedia" though very dated.

+1 on writings by Doug Self. Sigfried Linkwitz too.

Edit: Floyd Toole's book now in it's third edition:https://www.amazon.com/Sound-Reprod...-Loudspeakers-Engineering-ebook/dp/B074CHY128
 
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Blake Klondike

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Tks

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Let's not forget some classics, for example:

"Rolling opamps and why it matters"
"Modern DACs sound signature"
"Importance of upgrading your power cables"
"10 reasons why balanced connection sounds better than single ended"
"How you really hear and why it cannot be measured"
"Blind test fallacy"
...

:p

Blind test fallacy? Is this a variation of the "blind test overload" spiel Bob Stuart spouted off a while back due to the "pressure" of having to perform? (Which is literal idiocy, as any test you're expected to perform, it's almost as if he knew what actual tests hold true credence, and which are laughable, as there's no such "overload" that I've ever heard of when doing those worthless sighted tests).
 

jsrtheta

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A huge "Thank you!" to all who contributed these sources and links. It is appreciated more than you'll ever know!
 

svart-hvitt

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<<Must... resist... urge... to... list... Everything You Wanted to Know About Sex but were Afraid to Ask...>>

Here are some starters -- my library is at home. These are books an interested lay reader should be able to enjoy.

Master Handbook of Acoustics, F. Alton Everest, https://www.amazon.com/Master-Handb...ocphy=9029015&hvtargid=pla-449083503266&psc=1

Sound Reproduction: The Acoustics and Psychoacoustics of Loudspeakers and Rooms, Floyd E. Toole, https://www.amazon.com/Sound-Reprod...rds=floyd+toole&qid=1563475767&s=books&sr=1-1

The Audio Expert: Everything You Need to Know About Audio, Ethan Winer, https://www.amazon.com/Audio-Expert...rds=ethan+winer&qid=1563475897&s=books&sr=1-1

Douglas Self has several books on audio circuit design and there are many, many others to dig deeper but the three above are a great start. If you only get one, get Floyd's book, and read through it a couple of times.

HTH - Don

p.s. Floyd and Ethan are AVS members FYI.

Don’t forget to buy the Kindle version too of Floyd. It makes it so much easier to find references and search for things.
 

Skonopik

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<<Must... resist... urge... to... list... Everything You Wanted to Know About Sex but were Afraid to Ask...>>

Here are some starters -- my library is at home. These are books an interested lay reader should be able to enjoy.

Master Handbook of Acoustics, F. Alton Everest, https://www.amazon.com/Master-Handb...ocphy=9029015&hvtargid=pla-449083503266&psc=1

Sound Reproduction: The Acoustics and Psychoacoustics of Loudspeakers and Rooms, Floyd E. Toole, https://www.amazon.com/Sound-Reprod...rds=floyd+toole&qid=1563475767&s=books&sr=1-1

The Audio Expert: Everything You Need to Know About Audio, Ethan Winer, https://www.amazon.com/Audio-Expert...rds=ethan+winer&qid=1563475897&s=books&sr=1-1

Douglas Self has several books on audio circuit design and there are many, many others to dig deeper but the three above are a great start. If you only get one, get Floyd's book, and read through it a couple of times.

HTH - Don

p.s. Floyd and Ethan are ASR members FYI.
First off, I'd like to apologize profusely for anything excessively wrong that I say, ask, type or all around suggest. I am very VERY happy this message or thread (I am also very new to message boards) has been posted. I have asked this exact thing of many folks online and at stereo stores in my area and after the initial stare I get from Best Buy and or most retail chains (usually the same stare I would expect to get from offering to brief one on the initial title said "poster" wanted very much to list as required reading i. e. Books like that probably give new meaning to the saying those that can't do, teach. But I digress) I am very grateful for the listing of titles and will be looking into them asap I just hope they are accessible to the average person. While I hail from a family of engineers my father being one software engineer he is alas has done his last exit through the gift shop persay and is no longer sending updates to my much outdated mindset but I bring much witty reparte, (mis)adventures in spell check, and tons of tearable puns which you may rip off for later use..
 

DonH56

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You have made a post in a thread that is part of a forum. Welcome aboard!

The books by Toole and Winer are very accessible to lay readers IMO. Start with them. Everest is as well but does not target consumer systems.

They will make you think a bit, however.
 
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