Master Handbook of Acoustics

Everest's book Master Handbook of Acoustics lives up to it's name. It's an excellent overview of acoustics for everyday purposes. I haven't been through it completely (skipped Ch.28) but am pleased with the level of detail. This is a good intro for a serious hobbyist, though it might be too much information for some. For a non-engineer professional it's a good 'one book' place to start. It does not take you heavily into the physics of why or how sound behaves a certain way, but it makes the reader aware of the concepts in a factual manner. There is more of an emphasis on small room acoustics and studio applications. The Master Hanbook of Acoustics has ample illustrations and references that will take you to the source for more detailed study. For a great classic intro book on sound in large or open spaces, and sound / noise transmission see Architectural Acoustics by Meheta et al. Addition 2006 - Two excellent new titles of note are "Concert Halls and Opera Houses" by Beranek and "Architectural Acoustics (Applications of Modern Acoustics)" by Long. These two titles are more technical and rigorous. 2008 - for a simlar fairly non-technical, good read on how we listen to speakers in small rooms see Floyd Toole's book.

This is an outstanding book for anyone interested in room acoustics. My motivation as an Audiophile for purchasing this book was to answer the basic question: "Should my next audio investment be in room acoustic treatments, and if so what are the considerations involved?" This book methodically breaks down every aspect of the behavior of sound, and how that behavior affects and is percieved by the listener. Reverberation, reflection, dispersion, diffraction, absorption, spectral analyses, modal analyses, room topology, etc., etc... It's all there. An absolute must have for any Audiophile.

This is probably the most comprehensive source I've ever seen for acoustic applications. It contains material that is hard to find anywhere else such as human absorbtion of sound waves. I won't get into detail because of it being a source type text. If knowledge in the acoustic domain is your thing, this book is a must have.

To say that the Master Handbook of Acoustics is an 'incredibly comprehensive work' it's like saying that the Beatles were 'some band from Liverpool'. Without a doubt, a must-have. Better than that, buy two and enlighten a friend! :-)Now really, this is the absolute definitive book on acoustics, covering topics ranging from sound propagation to room acoustics to absortion, diffusion, refraction, reflection, diffraction and everything else you can think of.

This book can be a tremendous asset to anyone interested in cleaning up their audio listening invironment. It would be difficult to imagine myself not having this book around now with all the wealth of information it possesses. Highly recomended.