The Audiophile's Project Sourcebook: 80 High-Performance Audio Electronics Projects

Book Description

THE AUDIOPHILE'S PROJECT SOURCEBOOK

Build audio projects that produce great sound for far less than they cost in the store, with audio hobbyists' favorite writer Randy Slone. In The Audiophile's Project Sourcebook, Slone gives you--

* Clear, illustrated schematics and instructions for high-quality, high-power electronic audio components that you can build at home

* Carefully constructed designs for virtually all standard high-end audio projects, backed by an author who answers his email

* 8 power-amp designs that suit virtually any need

* Instructions for making your own inexpensive testing equipment

* Comprehensible explanations of the electronics at work in the projects you want to construct, spiced with humor and insight into the electronics hobbyist's process

* Complete parts lists

"The Audiophile's Project Sourcebook" is devoid of the hype, superstition, myths, and expensive fanaticism often associated with 'high-end' audio systems. It provides straightforward help in building and understanding top quality audio electronic projects that are based on solid science and produce fantastic sound!

THE PROJECTS YOU WANT, FOR LESS

Balanced input driver/receiver circuits

Signal conditioning techniques

Voltage amplifiers

Preamps for home and stage

Tone controls

Passive and active filters

Parametric filters

Graphic equalizers

Bi-amping and tri-amping filters

Headphone amplifiers

Power amplifiers

Speaker protection systems

Clip detection circuits

Power supplies

Delay circuits

Level indicators

Homemade test equipment

Customer Reviews:

Meh-.......2006-06-15

I've seen better high end audio books. I'm certainly not a member of the aforementioned "Scientific School of Audio System Performance Analysis", the only instruments that can accurately measure sound quality are the ones on either side of your head. I listen to what my ears tell me sounds good, and generally, tubes sound good. Which is why this book is sort of a disappointment, you'd think that out of 80 projects there'd be at least one tube phono preamp, but unfortunately there are no tube amps, just a few rants about how tubes don't produce enough power. Who uses more than a watt anyway? Even the transistor amps presented aren't much better than what you could get from Rex or Circuit City, similar schematics could probably be found on the internet for free. Go ahead and buy it if that's the sort of thing you're into, but if its tubes you want, try Morgan Jones' "Building Valve Amplifiers", it doesn't have many schematics but it covers in great detail the layout and contruction of tube amps. Good schematics can be found on the intarnub.

Tubes rule. Slone drools........2004-12-20

A good deal of this book is an attack on esoteric audio in general and vacuum tube equipment in particular. But just because Mr. Slone hates tubes (and he does, although he can't be honest with himself, like most fundies, and so has to attempt to disguise his real motives) doesn't change reality. Measurements aside, all other things being equal, tube equipment generally sounds better.

If you listen to good music at normal volume, in a normal house, the average power output of your amplifier is almost always between 10 and 500 milliwatts. You can prove this with a DMM that has at least a 20 kHz AC bandwidth and peak and averaging functions hooked across your speaker. The Class B Lin topology solid state amplifier with large amounts of global NFB, which Slone describes and advocates to the exclusion of all others, does very well at between 5 and 100 percent of its rated power, but is terrible at between .01 and 1 to 2 percent of rated power.

There are various circuits to work around the problem, but Slone ignores them. When you refuse to accept the problem, you can't be part of the solution.

There are several possible solutions. One is the venerable transformer coupled vacuum tube amplifier, which for all its technical flaws, does reproduce music beautifully. There are modern tube amps that are universally acknowledged to sound great, have long tube life (in the tens of thousands of hours) and have distortion measurements in the same class as most solid state amplifiers. There are also solid state amplifiers that use innovative circuits and careful device matching-semiconductors are inherently much more variable in device parameters than tubes, which Slone conveniently forgets to tell you-to "give good first watt" while still providing peak power reserves traditionally associated with solid state designs.

I have heard an amplifier built to Slone's schematic on Slone's PCBs-in fact I set it up on my company's distortion analyzer after hours-and it meets his published specs fully. Hooked to my Klipsch LaScalas it has all the sonic elegance of a Peavey CS-400 I happened to have on hand-it makes Blossom Dearie sound suspiciously like Louis Armstrong on her quietest passages, and Angel Romero sounds like Dick Dale is doubling up on his thumb lines in the distance.

Twaddle, stuff, and nonsense.......2004-11-30

Basically this whole book is the effort of a hayseed electronics vendor to peddle his own kits of plain vanilla grade stereo equipment. With skilled electronic assemblers in America getting $8.30/hr (and equally skilled Asians getting that per day!) and components in hobby quantities bringing a 50 to 500 percent premium over what commercial buyers pay even in 100 piece quantities, he claims a hobbyist can better commercial grade designs in his hobby workshop cheaper.

This reminds me of Fred Willard's character in the excellent film, "A Mighty Wind". One of his catchphrases-"I Don't Think So!"-applies here.

These amp designs, apparently mostly from Douglas Self's books, are nothing special or unique: as someone else pointed out, if they were, there would be dozens of amplifiers of "Slone type" sold ,just as many companies made "Williamson style" amplifiers, without compensating DTN Williamson, during the early postwar hi-fi era.

About the only justification for homebrewing audio amps is to get a design offered commercially only as a "high end" piece at huge expense (and gross margin) or not at all. You can get an education, perhaps, but a breadboard project of a couple watts can give you that, and besides, audio amp design isn't exactly in big demand: the websites of High End, pro, and mainstream audio equipment manufacturers list continuing job vacancies for DSP software engineers but never analog designers.

Amplifiers and More.......2004-11-18

I bought this book after my great experience with Slone's High Power Audio Amplifier Construction Manual. This is a fantastic book if you want to build your own amplifier "accessories", such as headphone amps, preamps, equalizers, and other types of signal processing devices. There is an interesting circuit for a phase-linear filter, which I built and works beautifully. It splits the audio signal up between the pre-amp and power amp into low, midrange, and high frequency spectrums. This avoids the phase shifts associated with conventional speaker crossover networks.
You'll need a power amp for each frequency spectrum, but that's no problem. You'll have so much fun building your own amps that you'll have plenty of them laying around. The resulting sound is absolutely fantastic.

Mid-fi with little explanation.......2004-11-17

This is an extension of Slone's earlier book and it is a little better, but not a lot. He reiterates everything he said earlier-ranging from opinion to nonsense-and then as before launches into his pet designs with little good explanation.

If you want to build a Class B semi-serious amplifier for instrument or PA or non-serious-listening use this will probably work, although there are a lot of old 70s and 80s designs readily available at your local library in old electronics and audio magazines.

If understanding the trends in serious audio work today is your goal, start with the "horses mouth" JAES paper "Tubes vs. Transistors: Is There A Difference?". This was hugely important because it was the first published paper in professional reviewed circles that addressed the possibility that traditional metrics such as THD,frequency range, and S/N might not fully address problems in professional audio.

Book Description

The editors bring together examples of microsimulation modeling that are at the frontiers of developments in the field, either because they extend the range of techniques available to modelers, or because they demonstrate new applications for established methods. This volume represents the state of the art with chapters on the use of microsimulation for comparative policy research and for challenging conventional assumptions, combining microsimulation with other types of economic models and the much-neglected subjects of model alignment and validation. Data and case studies are taken from regions including Asia-Pacific, Europe and North America.

Book Description

The goals of the annual NBER Macroeconomics Conference are to present, extend, and apply frontier work in macroeconomics and to stimulate work by macroeconomists in policy issues. Each paper in the Annual is followed by comments and discussion.

Book Description

This book is a must read for every native Texan, every returning Texan, and every wanna-be Texan.

Customer Reviews:

A Wild Romp Through the Lone Star State.......2000-04-03

Born Again Texan is a funny, authentic and heartwarming book - even if you're not a Texan or planning a trip to the Lone Star State. Author Robin Cole has a great eye for the details that make her home state a cradle for characters. Although she was a refugee for 30 years, her experiences elsewhere give her a clearer view of what is unique, charming and downright wacky about Texas. It's a must read for anyone who has even spoken the word Texas!

And if you're planning a trip there, her advice on speaking Texanese, weather, and down-home etiquette are essential. You'll also find great information on the major cities and towns, as well Texas cultural events - from music to rodeos.

Born Again Texan!.......2000-03-28

Born Again Texan! is chili for the Texas soul. It makes you laugh, it makes you cry, and it rejuvinates the spirit. If you are a Texan, it makes you realize why you smile when someone asks, "Where are you from?"

Informative in a humorous, short chapter format, Born Again Texan is a guideline for anyone interested in the Texas mystique. The chapter on the uniqueness of Texas "talk" is a hoot. But be ready with the hanky when you read the acts of kindness stories.

Weather, critters, vehicles, and rodeo... Cowboys, sports, music, and places to go -- Laugh and learn, Born Again Texan! is a great read.

Average customer rating:
Music Management Bible
Music Manager's Forum
Manufacturer: Sanctuary Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1844920259
Release Date: 2004-01-01

Average customer rating:
Music Management Bible
*
Manufacturer: Sanctuary Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000K866EQ

Book Description

The vocabulary and major concepts of the new field of recreation and leisure studies are just developing and this dictionary is the first major attempt to describe and systematize those concepts. Although university departments devoted to the study of recreation and leisure have been in existence for over half a century, there has never been a comprehensive dictionary written for the field. The concepts included in the dictionary may be grouped into four general categories. The first of these include elemental concepts--those ideas that form the intellectual bedrock of the field. Then there are theoretical concepts- scholarly models or interpretations of the patterns and processes seen in recreation and leisure. Research and methodological concepts make up the third category. while the fourth include professional concepts representing some of the basic ideas inherent in the service side of the field. Each definition is organized chronologically, emphasizing the evolution of the term and its interpretation or application. Definitions also point to links between concepts listed in the dictionary. Numerous references and suggestions for further reading are included for readers wishing to pursue a topic in more detail. Faculty and graduate students in recreation and leisure studies will welcome this first comprehensive dictionary of the field, as will the libraries of universities and colleges with a recreation and leisure studies department. The historical material and the critical review of conflicting definitions is a special feature and one that makes this book not only useful as a dictionary, but also as a reference work on "state of the art" ideas and concepts in the field.

Average customer rating:

No nonsense, practical guide to surfing the multi-channel whirlwind

Insightful!

The M-Bomb: Riding the Multi-channel Whirlwind
Geoff Webb
Manufacturer: Capstone
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 1841121398

Book Description

Geoff Webb brings his huge experience at the sharp-end to offer a comprehensive guide for both new and old economy businesses to help them survive the M-Bomb and thrive in the world to come. Winning companies must reorganise themselves to successfully manage clicks, bricks and other tricks smoothly and profitably. Customers will expect to be served in any way they choose - at no extra charge. With examples from financial services, manufacturing, retail, telecoms and food. The M-Bomb is the first guide to the next five years of business. Geoff Webb backs up every insight, every assertion, every must-do and every bear-trap with a living example from the markets and his vast international business.

Customer Reviews:

No nonsense, practical guide to surfing the multi-channel whirlwind.......2007-02-12

Geoff Webb's style is something of a shock to the system. That is if you are used to somewhat more conventional business books. I'm not sure why it's so different but I found it challenging to adapt my reading style to his writing style. But once I got into the swing of it I found the book full of insight.

Geoff clearly has a firm opinion about the Internet and how many organisations are simply not in tune with this unique delivery system. He is blunt and to the point, I like it! "If you are still running your own call center I suggest that you go for psychotherapy" is a classic quote and pretty typical of what you will read.

Having said all of that, the book lays out a compelling proposition and gives some clear advice on how best to harness that thing called 'multi-channel marketing'. If you are struggling to understand how to meet the multi-channel challenge I'm sure you'll find guidance and practical advice on how to proceed.

Insightful!.......2001-06-13

You live in a landscape littered with deflated stock indexes and failed dot-com ad campaigns, so perhaps you are prone to think that this Internet deal is a fad, like the hula-hoop. According to author Geoff Webb, if you think the Internet will fade away, you are very wrong. The true Internet explosion hasn't happened yet, but it will. Once it does, business will become so competitive that companies that haven't adapted to the new multi-channel reality - in which customers will expect a vast array of new ordering and delivery services at no extra cost - will fade away. Speed is of the essence. Older companies must form partnerships to get their competencies up to a competitive level. If hierarchies, dead weight and slow adapters obstruct radical change, you must discard them. We [...] hear the essential message: a Darwinian "adapt or die." Adapt to the new multi-channel reality or whither away. If you want to see the future, look here.

Customer Reviews:

Perfect book for self-study.......2006-07-29

This book came to the rescue before my exam in the introductory course on logic design at uni and helped me achieve a good grade in the exam, even though I didn't attend class most of the time. It's well written and easy to understand, even for students who aren't native English speakers.

As our professor pointed out, there are little to no mistakes in the figures and examples presented in this book (in fact, I couldn't find a single one), which makes this book perfect for self-study as you won't be wasting time trying to understand an example which then turns out to have been wrong.

The extensive exercises at the end of each chapter will help you get a deeper understanding of the subjects explained. A point that has been criticized by some is that there are no solutions included, but these can be accessed by your instructor (provided you have one) through the publisher.

Solid introduction to basics.......2005-06-08

This is a sound, competent introduction to the elements of contemporary logic design. It covers all the basics: boolean logic, gate implementations, and the elements of binary arithmetic. It talks about minimization techniques, logic delays, and some of the classic logic implementation technologies (PLAs, decoders, muxes). It gives the basics of common notation, including timing diagrams, gate-level schematics, and so on. The last few chapters discuss synchronous (clocked) design and design of state machines, including standard reduction techniques. All the basics of modern design are there. A good student will start to see the number of different ways any problem can be solved, and start to recongize that no one perspective will solve all problems, at least not well.

Asynchronous logic, based on stable states of combinational circuits with feedback, is one of the topics skipped. That's still important in the interior of flip-flops and in niche application areas, but asynchronous design certainly not in the main stream any more. Likewise, the authors skip over transistor-level design (mostly), the oddities of J-K flops, and most discussion of discrete or MSI logic. Well, that makes sense. Most logic these days is implemented in PALs (which are covered) or larger-scale devices. 7400-level devices have pretty much gone the way of relays and tubes - of historical interest, mostly. Remember that this is "Contemporary" logic, and those aren't big concerns in the daily work of most contemporary logic designers.

There are other omissions that make sense for a first-term course. Hardware description languages (e.g. Verilog or VHDL) are barely mentioned; they're critical in daily practice, but may not be useful until students have mastered this book's level. Micro-sequencers might also be a bit advanced for this presentation, despite their usefulness and their conceptual importance in later courses. More complex design examples would have helped, but would probably have started making bad assumptions about tools available to the student. Sticking to simple problems, however, may not prepare the student for systems of realistic complexity. Some of the omissions really don't do the student any favors. When logic design is so separate from other kinds of circuit design, students come away with a critical lack of understanding of how logic fits into a whole system. There's just no mention of signal integrity, drive strength, power consumption, jitter and skew, interfacing, or all the points where logic hits the rest of the world. Nothing in this book prepares a student for reading a standard spec sheet, let alone reading between its lines. I can only hope that instructors using this book make up for some of those deficiencies in supplementary material or in the lab.

The authors have chosen a range of topics to cover, and have covered it with workman-like competence. It's good as far as it goes. My only problem is that it doesn't go into the second semester, into the underlying technology (or not much), or very far into the real world.

//wiredweird

Good material, bad editing!.......2005-02-19

As far as material and explanations, the book is great. I just have no tolerance for the countless number of grammatical errors it contains. At least one on every page. Granted, we are engineering majors, but it's a university-level textbook!

Mr. Katz -- a very fine author.......2004-03-17

This book is really well written. Not only is it comprehensive, but it is written in the active tense, and addresses the reader as "you", and talks about "we", etc. This is a big plus in book writing, as too many authors were incorrectly taught that they should write extremely difficult to read texts that are impersonal and unnatural to read (thus distracting the readers from focusing on the material, and instead spending most of their energy on decoding the text).

Mr. Katz knows how to write in a style that is efficient for the reader. His book is well organized, has nice graphics, great examples with accompanying graphically laid out solutions, and great illustrations.

Whenever i look for books, i make sure they have these qualities:
1) Pictures. Face it, w/ the possible exception of the blind, humans think visually. If you can't think of it visually, you won't learn it well.
2) Clarity. Don't waste time struggling with the text. You need that energy to struggle with the MATERIAL itself.
3) Examples. You don't just want example problems where you must do 90% of the work, when the author leaves out the most important and difficult steps. You want examples that really illustrate the the topic of interest while also reinforcing previous topics that are involved in the example.

Katz' book has all of these features. It is no wonder he won the Distinguished Teacher Award. This is the finest textbook i've used in college so far.

Some reviewers have difficulty with the material itself, and perhaps unduly blamed Katz, but i believe an objective analysis of textbook writing will prove that Katz is a very fine author, and this is a very fine book.

Katz ROCKS!.......2002-08-30

Loved the book- all the way through. This was a required text at UC Berkeley College of Engineering for the 5 unit, upper division class I took there in my final semester of my senior year.

Not only was the book helpful to support the lecture notes and problem sets, it was also very helpful while I was designing one of the biggest projects I've ever done.

Book Description

The philosophy of Marvin Gore and John Stubbe has always been to give students a solid foundation for applying learned techniques in the development of a computer information system. The goal of Contemporary Systems Analysis, 5/e is to maintain the integrity and tradition of the Gore/Stubbe style, while strengthening the coverage of current technology and trends in the field. Contemporary Systems Analysis presents a balanced approach to the four phases of the systems development life cycle (SDLC): analysis, design, development, and operation. As indicated by the change in the title, this edition acknowledges the effects of current technology on systems development and includes coverage of the latest trends, approaches, and software. CASE tools are integrated with the traditional, thorough presentation that is the trademark of the Gore/Stubbe text.

Customer Reviews:

Superb organization and presentation style.......1998-09-15

Contemporary Systems Analysis is a comprehensive introduction into the full life cycle of software and systems development. The cycle, abbreviated SDLC, goes from study through design and implementation to changeover and normal operation. Throughout the book an On-Line Accounts Receivable system is the example. The authors stress the importance of meeting the needs of the principal user and of very complete documentation.

The 19 chapters are divided into 6 Units that seem quite suitable for a two-semester, college level course. All the chapters begin with a preview, a list of learning objectives, and a list of key terms. The chapters end with a summary, discussion topics, and exercises.

The book gives full treatment to Data Flow diagrams, HIPO, OOD, Gantt, PERT, forms design, user interface issues, schedule/cost issues, presentations, reviews, database file normalization, and the list goes on.

Because of the organization and style, it is relatively easy to learn the subject material.

Highly recommended for software/systems project managers.

Average customer rating:
Contemporary Logic Design (2nd Edition)
Gaetano Borriello
Manufacturer: Addison-Wesley 31/3/2005
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000MBZX2W

Average customer rating:
Contemporary Logic Design 32703 and VHDL for Programming Logic Package
Katz
Manufacturer: Not Avail
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: 0201308622

Average customer rating:
CONTEMPORARY LOGIC DESIGN VER (PIE)
KATZ
Manufacturer: Prentice Hall
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OOHW3K

Average customer rating:
Contemporary Logic Design with Logicworks 3.0 Windows and Verilog
Randy H. Katz
Manufacturer: Addison Wesley Longman
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 0201182580

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