book

Sound Reproduction

Name: Sound Reproduction
Author: Floyd Toole
ISBN: 9781136124617

by Floyd Toole

October 2009

Intermediate to advanced

568 pages

18h 58m

English

Focal Press

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Front Cover
Half Title
Title Page
Copyright
Contents
INTRODUCTION
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS AND DEDICATION
Part One: Understanding the Principles
1 Sound Reproduction
1.1 A Philosophical Perspective1.2 Recordings and the Music Being Recorded
2 Preserving the Art
2.1 Back to the Beginning: Capturing Sound Quality2.2 Back to the Beginning: Direction and Space2.3 A Circle of Confusion2.4 Breaking the Circle: Professionals Hold the Key2.5 Measuring the Ability to Reproduce the Art

3 Sound in Rooms—Matters of Perspective
3.1 Live Musical Performances3.2 Sound Reproduction3.3 Recording: Musical Instruments in Rooms3.4 Hearing: Human Listeners in Rooms3.5 Reflections: Conveyers, Integrators, and Differentiators of Sound3.6 An Acoustical and Psychoacoustical Sense of Scale
4 Sound Fields in Rooms
4.1 Large Performance Spaces: Concert Halls4.1.1 Reverberation Time and the Perception of Speech and Music4.1.2 The Seat-Dip Phenomenon4.1.3 The Effects of Early and Late Reflections4.2 Offices and Industrial Spaces4.3 Domestic Listening Rooms and Control Rooms4.3.1 One Room, Two Sound Fields—The Transition Frequency4.3.2 Above the Transition Frequency4.3.3 Measuring the Lack of Diffusion in Small Rooms4.3.4 What Is a “Small” Room?4.3.5 Conventional Acoustical Measures in Small Listening Rooms
5 The Many Effects of Reflections
6 Reflections, Images, and the Precedence Effect
6.1 Audible Effects of a Single Reflection6.1.1 Effects of a Single Reflection6.1.2 Another View of the Precedence Effect6.1.3 Reflections from Different Directions6.2 A Reflection in the Presence of Other Reflections6.2.1 Real Versus Simulated Rooms6.2.2 The “Family” of Thresholds6.3 A Comparison of Real and Phantom Images6.4 Experimental Results with Music and Other Sounds6.4.1 Threshold Curve Shapes for Different Sounds6.5 Single Versus Multiple Reflections6.6 Measuring Reflections
7 Impressions of Space
7.1 The Terminology of Spatial Perception7.2 Listeners and Their “Preference” for Reflections7.3 Some Reflections Are Better Than Others7.4 Summarizing and Charting the Way Forward
8 Imaging and Spatial Effects in Sound Reproduction
8.1 First-Order Reflections8.1.1 Some Thoughts about Loudspeaker Arrangements8.1.2 Delayed Reflections and Reflections of Those Reflections8.2 ASW/Image Broadening and Loudspeaker Directivity8.2.1 Testing the Effects of Loudspeaker Directivity on Imaging and Space8.2.2 The Audible Effects of Loudspeaker Dispersion Patterns—Other Opinions
9 The Effects of Reflections on Sound Quality/Timbre
9.1 The Audibility of Acoustical Interference—Comb Filtering9.1.1 Very Audible Differences from Similar-Looking Combs9.1.2 Binaural Hearing, Adaptation, and Comb Filtering9.1.3 An Important One-Toothed Comb—A Fundamental Flaw in Stereo9.2 Effects of Reflections on Timbre—The Audibility of Resonances9.2.1 What Do We Hear—Spectral Bump or Temporal Ringing?9.2.2 Where Do We Find Timbral Identity?
10 Reflections and Speech Intelligibility
10.1 Disturbance of Speech by a Single Reflection10.2 The Effect of a Single Reflection on Intelligibility10.3 Multiple Reflections, Noise, and Speech Intelligibility10.4 The Effects of “Other” Sounds—Signal-to-Noise Ratio10.5 Listening Difficulty—A New and Relevant Measure10.6 A Real Center Loudspeaker Versus a Phantom Center10.7 A Portable Speech-Reproduction Test
11 Adaptation
11.1 Angular Localization—The Precedence Effect11.2 Perceptions of Distance11.3 Sound Quality—Timbre11.3.1 A Massive Test with Some Thought-Provoking Results11.3.2 A Multichannel Test—And Something Is Learned11.4 Summary
12 Adjacent-Boundary and Loudspeaker Mounting Effects
12.1 Solid Angles and the Radiation of Sound12.1.1 Correcting for Adjacent-Boundary Effects12.2 Loudspeaker Mounting Options12.3 “Boundary-Friendly” Loudspeaker Designs
13 Making (Bass) Waves—Below the Transition Frequency
13.1 The Basics of Resonances13.2 The Basics: Room Modes and Standing Waves13.2.1 Optimizing Room Shape and Dimensions13.2.2 Standing Waves in Real Rooms13.2.3 Loudspeaker and Listener Positions, Different Rooms, and Manipulating Modes13.3 Delivering Good Bass in Small Rooms13.3.1 Reducing the Energy in Room Modes13.3.2 Controlling the Energy Delivered from Loudspeakers to Room Modes13.3.3 Step One: General Recommendations for Rectangular Rooms13.3.4 Step Two: Digging Deeper for Clarification13.3.5 Step Three: Optimizing Room Dimensions for Various Subwoofer Configurations13.3.6 Step Four: Electronically Managing the Sound Field13.3.7 Getting Good Bass in Small Rooms13.3.8 Stereo Bass: Little Ado about Even Less13.4 Looking at Time and Frequency Domains13.4.1 “Natural” Acoustical Equalization Versus Electronic Equalization13.4.2 Another Room, Another Problem—A Very Different Solution13.5 Time and Frequency Domain-Measurement Resolution13.5.1 Practical Resolution Issues—How Some Reputations Get Tarnished
14 Summary of Part One: Looking for a Way Forward
Part Two: Designing Listening Experiences
15 Multichannel Options for Music and Movies
15.1 A Few Definitions15.2 The Birth of Multichannel Audio15.3 Stereo—An Important Beginning15.4 Quadraphonics—Stereo Times Two15.5 Multichannel Audio—Cinema to the Rescue!15.6 Multichannel Audio Comes Home15.6.1 THX Embellishments15.7 Multichannel Audio—The Ambisonics Alternative15.8 Upmixer Manipulations: Creative and Entrepreneurial Instincts at Work15.8.1 The Fosgate 6-Axis Algorithm15.8.2 The Harman/Lexicon Logic 7 Algorithm15.8.3 “Surround-Sound” Upmixing15.9 Multichannel Audio Goes Digital and Discrete15.9.1 Comments on Codecs15.10 Finding the Optimum Channel/Loudspeaker Arrangement15.10.1 Scientific Investigations Look at the Options15.10.2 Optimizing the Delivery of Envelopment15.10.3 Summary15.11 Recommendations15.11.1 The ITU Perspectives15.11.2 Other Perspectives15.12 Assigning the Channels and the Center-Rear Option
16 Putting Theory Into Practice: Designing a Listening Experience
16.1 The Room16.2 Basic Video16.2.1 The Cinema Reference16.2.2 Transferring the Video Experience to Homes16.3 Merging Audio and Video16.4 Directivity Requirements for the Loudspeakers16.4.1 Delivery of the Direct Sounds: Localization16.4.2 L, C, R First Lateral Reflections16.4.3 The Surround Loudspeakers—Horizontal Dispersion Requirements16.4.4 Outside the Sweet Spot: The Effect of Propagation Loss16.5 A Summary of Loudspeakers and the Acoustical Treatments in Rooms16.5.1 LF, CF, and RF Loudspeakers16.5.2 The Surround Loudspeakers16.5.3 Propagation Loss
17 Loudspeakers I: Subjective Evaluations
17.1 The Genesis of a Life’s Work17.2 Subjective Measurements of Loudspeakers—Turning Opinion Into Fact17.3 Controlling the Experimental Variables17.3.1 Controlling the Physical Variables17.3.2 Controlling the Psychological Variables17.3.3 Controlling the Experimental Variables17.4 Hearing Performance in Listening Tests17.5 Bias from Nonauditory Factors17.6 Subjective Evaluations of Direction and Space—And More17.7 Creating a Listening Environment for Loudspeaker Evaluations
18 Loudspeakers II: Objective Evaluations
18.1 Two Simple Source Configurations18.1.1 Point Sources: Spherical Spreading, Near- and Far-Field Designations18.1.2 Line Sources: Cylindrical Spreading18.2 Measuring the Essential Properties of Loudspeakers18.2.1 What Do We Need to Know?18.2.2 Improved Data Gathering and Processing18.2.3 Interpreting the Data: Exercises in Detection18.2.4 The Relationship Between Anechoic Data and Room Curves18.2.5 Sound-Absorbing Materials and Sound-Scattering Devices18.2.6 The “X” Curve—The Standard of the Motion Picture Industry18.2.7 Trouble in Paradise—The Pros Must Set an Example18.3 Comparing the Subjective and Objective Domains18.3.1 Measurements18.3.2 A Contemporary Test18.4 The Real World of Consumer Loudspeakers18.4.1 Examples of Freestanding L, C, R Loudspeakers18.4.2 Horizontal Center-Channel Loudspeakers18.4.3 Multidirectional Surround Loudspeakers18.4.4 The Perfect Surround Loudspeaker?18.4.5 Equalizing the Surround Channels18.5 Examples of Professional Monitor Loudspeakers18.5.1 Professional-Audio Loudspeaker Performance Objectives18.6 Other Measurements: Meaningful and Mysterious18.6.1 Phase Response—Frequencies Above the Transition Zone18.6.2 Phase Response—The Low Bass18.6.3 The Loudspeaker/Amplifier Interface: Impedance, Wire, and Damping Factor18.6.4 Observations on Sensitivity Ratings and Power Amplifiers18.6.5 To Be Continued
19 Psychoacoustics—Explaining What We Measure and Hear
19.1 Loudness and the Basics of Hearing19.1.1 Equal-Loudness Contours and Loudness Compensation19.1.2 Equal-Loudness Contours and Deteriorated Hearing19.1.3 Loudness as a Function of Angle19.1.4 Basic Masking and the Auditory Reflex19.1.5 Criteria for Evaluating Background Noises19.1.6 The Boundaries of What We Can Hear19.1.7 The Benefits of High-Resolution Audio19.2 Hearing Tilts, Peaks, Dips, Bumps, and Wiggles19.2.1 The Audibility of Resonances19.2.2 Critical Bands, ERBN’s and Timbre19.3 Nonlinear Distortion19.4 Power Compression19.4.1 Any Port in a (Turbulent) Storm?
20 Closing the Loop: Predicting Listener Preferences from Measurements
20.1 The Klippel Experiments20.2 The Olive Experiments20.3 An Interim Summary
21 Acoustical Materials and Devices
21.1 Key Acoustical Variables and Measurements21.2 The Mechanisms of Absorption21.3 Acoustical Performances of Some Common Materials21.3.1 Typical Domestic Materials21.3.2 Engineered Acoustical Absorbers21.3.3 Engineered Acoustical Diffusers21.3.4 Acoustically “Transparent” Projection Screens and Fabrics21.4 Flutters, Zings, and the Like21.5 Summary
22 Designing Listening Experiences
22.1 Choosing the Multichannel Delivery System22.2 Laying Out the Room22.3 Loudspeaker Directivity and the Acoustical Treatment of Interior Surfaces22.3.1 Side-Wall Reflections from Front L, C, and R Loudspeakers22.3.2 The Surround Channels and Opposite-Wall Reflections22.3.3 Treating the Interior of a Room22.3.4 Other Surfaces—Reverberation Time22.4 Subwoofers, Seating and Room Dimensions22.5 Choosing the Loudspeakers22.5.1 Front Loudspeakers22.5.2 Surround Loudspeakers22.5.3 Localizing the Surround Loudspeakers, Envelopment, and Propagation Loss22.5.4 In-Wall, In-Ceiling Options22.6 Level and Time Adjustments and Equalization22.6.1 Level and Time22.6.2 Equalization22.7 In Conclusion
REFERENCES
INDEX

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