Long considered one of the key books on the well-informed audio engineer’s shelf, Sound System Engineering provides an accurate, complete, and concise tool for all those involved in designing, implementing, and testing sound reinforcement systems. This new fourth edition includes eight new chapters leading the reader through both cutting-edge topics—e.g., IBM’s proposed thought-controlled sound system—and solid basics, such as loudspeaker specifications, wave equations, and digital audio.

Topics covered include:

• Psychoacoustics and how the brain processes sound
• Digital theory
• Mathematics for audio systems
• Using the decibel
• Interfacing electrical and acoustical systems
• Audio and acoustic measurements

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• Large room and small room acoustics
• Designing for acoustic gain
• Designing for speech intelligibility
• Wave equations
• Microphones
• Loudspeakers, loudspeaker arrays, and loudspeaker directivity
• Power ratings for amplifiers and loudspeakers
• Computer-aided system design
• Signal delay, signal synchronization, and signal processing
• Sound system equalization

Packed with numerous illustrations and useful appendices, this is a concentrated capsule of industry standards and knowledge that spans the complete range of sound systems, from the simplest all-analog paging systems to the largest multi-purpose digital systems.