Sound Reinforcement Handbook Second Edition | Comprehensive Audio Engineering Guide for Live Sound and Studio Systems | Professional Acoustics Reference Book for Audio Technicians and Educators

I am a musician and songwriter who needs to address performing and recording issues. So I became an amateur sound engineer. I am writing this review in 2013, almost 25 years after this book was published. The reason I got an interest in this book was a reference in the Yamaha mixer manual.That got my attention and I decided to give it a try. This book was written by Gary Davis and others, Mr. Davis was an adviser and manual writer for Yamaha USA. I have a deep respect to Yamaha instruments and music products and I thought it cannot be a bad choice as I was looking for audio engineering primer. It came true and that was the best bet I ever made for purchasing books online. What hit me that right off the bat is an excellent introduction and explanation of the headroom, the concept that was struggling for sometime and even after discussion the subject with professionals and reading multiple articles and manuals. What digital clipping is. Very practical, methodical, not too simple - a lot of technical lingo or physics concepts, but answered pretty much almost all my questions. So just to give an example, this book provided a criteria for specification for golden plated vs nickel plated connectors. I just got a call back from one of major US supplier salesperson regarding specifications of 1/4" connectors and - surprise - they don't know it. Or for instance why you don't want to use mic cable for unbalanced signal. Books has many practical advises, explains conceptual schematics, provide an advise on the cable construction, to level of details to how to build cable from balanced output to unbalanced input; or why do not use stereo cables on mono signal. Lots, tons of useful information. MIDI explanation leaves nothing behind. Clear, precise language. Some items are dated, no doubt, no new OFC cables for instance. No modern digital processing obviously. But it is astonishing the level of industry 25 years ago. Folks, pretty much all gadgets we have today were invented long, long time ago!!! Again, information provided covered all my needs for live performances and studio building; this book is a keeper for an amateur and no doubt for many professionals too. Excellent, timeless, with a lot of depth reference. Thanks and the best regards to the authors for their excellent work!

Absolutely must have for audio or audio engineering Industry Bible

I purchased my first copy of “Sound Reinforcement” in the 80s. I learned a lot from it and it’s fair to say that doing so helped me obtain gainful employment as a musician and A/V Support guy when I was getting started. It’s been 40+ years since then, so “Sound Reinforcement” has stood the test of time (only one revision since then too) without a doubt. The reading gets technical because of the depth of various subjects, but there’s plenty of down to earth/practical information too. Case in point: Section 15 — Cabling. Not only did this information help me obtain work, it has served me well over the 40+ years since I first read it. “Sound Reinforcement” is a “must have” for people who set/strike for a living, and a great way for everyone else involved with music in some way to expand their skill set/knowledge to the next level. One caution: Check all the pages first thing if you do purchase it. I received a copy where 4 of the pages are “creased” (I don’t know what the defect is called), making it hard to read. I don’t know how many copies made it past QA like that and I always check pages on new book purchases. Still, I thought worth mentioning so they don’t “slip a Micky” past the unsuspecting souls out there.

love this book created at the same time I was born 😍

This is the Bible of audio engineering

I am a volunteer sound person at church and with a biblical theatrical group who was shown by the previous volunteer who was shown by the previous....get the picture? This book has helped translate and educate in the areas where it is needed. It is full of information for the novice and the pro. It has good definitions for terms and help in applying sound techniques. Friends have already asked to "borrow" the book which I responsed "Get your own" because I cannot afford to lose it for future reference. I wasn't disappointed and I hope you won't be either. It has a frequency range chart of typical instruments and singing voices which someone said in the past I should have but could never find. I rad a little at a time so it can soak into my brain without overloading my circuits. Great Table of Contents and Index so you can hone into the area you want to investigate.

I'll admit, I'm only 2 chapters in -- I'll update this review if I see fit. But I found this book to be very well written - better than any technical book I've ever read. Many authors can become confusing during complex topics by being excessively verbose, or not verbose enough. With few exceptions, he walks the line perfectly (at least for my needs as a reader). Thus far for the first two chapters, a basic understanding of Trigonometry would be very useful. I'd also recommend checking out the appendix that explains logarithms if you are not familiar. While it is true that this book is dated (1989), the difference between the average sound system today and is 1989 is much smaller than the difference in say the average computer. Many of the concepts are equally applicable to today. Besides how else are you going to get such a great book for fifteen bucks? Update: This book is good all the way throughout. I kinda wish it had more example specifications, but those can be found via manufacturers. I haven't looked, but I'm sure they are easy to find on the internet. Update 2: Basically done with the book. In hindsight there are certainly some rough spots that could have been better written, but not enough to justify a 4 star ranking. The rough edges are few and far in between and the rest of the book's greatness overwhelms them. If you want to do anything with live sound, read this book.

I have been interested in audio (and) electronics my whole life. I have always had a lot of technical questions - that I have never adequately addressed (impedance matching ?). This book just kinda gives it all away. It tells you pretty much everything you need to know about architecting and setting up a sound 'reinforcement' system. They don't shy away from math or detailed block diagrams - so this is a pretty detailed book about a very technical subject. I am taking a "live sound" class at the local community college and this was one of the books recommended for the class. So - if you want a book that will tell you pretty much everything you need to know about audio engineering - this is your book.

Because this is a thick book (over 400 pages), I initially assumed this was an academic textbook, and I worried whether the writing was practical enough. But this isn't true at all: as the title states, it is a Handbook. The preface explains that it started life as a manual to accompany Yamaha's first console (the PM-1000), and went much further than just explaining how to operate the console, instead dealing with the much wider topic of the basics of sound reinforcement. It was very popular - more popular than the console - so the authors eventually expanded the material into this book. The writing is extremely practical, with a some supporting theory. I find the writing extremely clear and unambiguous, helped by the hundreds of supporting diagrams. I see no mention of computers - this second edition is from 1989, so you'll need to look elsewhere to understand that aspect, but analog audio (mics, speakers, cables...) is of course still massively important. Finally - I really like this quote from page 313: "Combining basic principles in creative ways to solve individual problems is the essence of professional sound".

Pubblicazione completa e dettagliata; adatta a chi e alle prime armi ma anche al professionista che cerca conferme o risposta di quanto accade ogni volta che si amplifica un suono. Ottima quida didattica come punto di riferimento per un programma scolastico professionale e di altissimo livello. Peccato non poterlo avere tradotto in italiano darebbe, per quelli che non conoscono l'inglese nel linguaggio tecnico, un apporto maggiore e manterrrebbe una maggior concentrazione sulle argomentazioni trattate.

Supera con creces las expectativas. El mejor manual. Me venia recomendado y la verdad es que contiene todo lo necesario para que un sonidista principiante o profesional prospere en su camino a una mejor calidad de trabajo.

If you're reading this review, then you're in the same boat that I was in sometime ago. Don't think twice, just buy this book!!! Whatever the price may be.

Realy big fat book to improved your knowedges. Just pertfect