Introduction to Loudspeaker Design (Paperback)

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Editorial Reviews

Review

Even if you don't know a woofer from a tweeter, but can solder, cut wood, and do basic arithmetic, this book will give you sufficient knowledge and intuitive grasp to select the type of system you need, and, with some software and/or experience, successfully design a complete speaker system. In conclusion, I cannot imagine a better "Introduction to Loudspeaker Design" than this book. And the low price of $24.95 represents a small fraction of the cost of one serious audio mistake, which this book should help prevent. -- Speaker Builder, Issue 1/99

I highly recommend this book to anyone entering the difficult, but rewarding, area of speaker design. I found it a pleasure to read. With a lively writing style, Mr. Murphy accurately presents the necessary physics fundamentals (he is a physicist), while requiring no more than basic math understanding on the part of the reader. -- Speaker Builder, Issue 1/99

Product Description

Introduction to Loudspeaker Design is written for hobbyists, technicians, and engineers seeking an introductory overview of the technology of loudspeakers. Starting with a brief history of audio developments the book begins by introducing the concepts of frequency, pitch, and loudness and proceeds to develop the idea of a loudspeaker as a system with performance that can be accurately predicted using simulation techniques not unlike those used to design electronic circuits. The work is largely qualitative with an occasional mathematical example. In addition to providing a clear discussion of closed and vented type loudspeaker enclosures the work also covers bandpass enclosures and includes a complete design example for a dipole loudspeaker.

The richly illustrated deluxe paperback edition also covers such advanced topics as loudspeaker design tradeoffs, spatial loading, diffraction loss, cavity effect, and enclosure construction. A complete chapter is devoted to the subject of crossover design. The appendices contain technical references, design aids, and charts summarizing the properties of 18 different loudspeaker enclosure types.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 166 pages
• Publisher: True Audio; 1 edition (May 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 096637732X
• ISBN-13: 978-0966377323
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #530,233 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Ever wondered what a Q(ts) is and shy to ask?, October 13, 2000

By	Roberto Amato (Rome, RM Italy) - See all my reviews

This book is a good self-start on loudspeaker building. It tells WHAT are the things you have to look for in designing a working loudspeaker; there are many conflicting issues to address and the author states all of them clearly, not assuming the reader has a degree on the subject. This alone is a good reason to read this book. All popular box designs are explained and also some not-so-popular. It misses transmission lines, TQWT, horns and the like but this work is intended to be introductory. The explanation of Small-Thiele parameters is concise but clear. Most diagrams in the book are screen prints of the software program the author created (a good one in my opinion) and surely the book is a good software complement. The software does not cover the exotic designs that are missing in the book too. Some parts, like using a stetoscope to point-and-shoot enclosures behaviour are fun and intriguing. Having said all that, what I miss is WHY should I prefer an enclosure with a specific driver, WHAT parameters should I look for in a driver (assuming a given enclosure) and HOW do I have to orient myself in determining what is the best design for a given room/taste/sound/budget, real-world examples that is. But all in all the book is a easy-reading, good starting point on loudspeaker design that guarantees not to disappoint you, giving an overall outlook on the subject and clear useful technical knowledge to start with.

33 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Inappropriately titled--grossly incomplete "introduction", June 5, 2002

By	C. Swinney (Gainesville, FL USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Murphy explains in the introduction that this book grew out of his writing a user manual for his WinSpeakerz software (Real Audio, ...), and I have no doubt that it would be an excellent companion manual to many of the widely available louspeaker design suites on the market today.

Further, Murphy has written an extremely "readable" book, largely due to the profund paucity of mathematical formulae. For the mathematically challenged, the book is a good orientation to the overarching concepts of speaker design without an overwhelming level of quantitative detail. Also, certain oft-neglected concepts such as the importance of different spatial loadings of drivers or phase characteristics of crossovers are emphasized.

However, it is for precisely the above stated reasons that this book is NOT an introduction to the design of loudspeakers--at least, not an enabling one. A novice who read only this book would be no more able to design even a simple speaker than he would a nuclear weapon. A more honest title might be "Overview of Loudspeaker Design Principles," or even "Getting More Out of WinSpeakerz."

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars sometimes incoherent, January 28, 2000

By	Dan Burley (Berkeley) - See all my reviews

From what I can tell, Murphy published this book himself, without the help of an editor or even a proofreader. He spells about as well as an engineer, and sentences are often missing verbs or other helpful grammatical signposts.

Yes, the book digests physics and EE quickly and easily enough for the beginner, but more often than not it serves as nothing more than an advertisement for Murphy's $130 speaker-design software. This isn't a bad idea, really, but the book is only 166 pages long, and not all of it is meat.

If you want to get an idea of what his software project is like, visit trueaudio.com

Overall it's a nice book, but don't expect to use this as a standalone bible for building speakers; it's more of an addition to your library.