CONSTRUCTOR'S CLASSIC
David Weems, the author of this book, recognizes this fact, and his writing reflects a warmly informal, joy in-the-workshop sensibility that most speaker-builders will find very congenial. Weems isn't out to teach anyone how to beat Acoustic Research or JBL at their own game. Rather, he sees his role as a provider of basic information and a group of basic designs that the hobbyist constructor can adapt to personal tastes.
Everything you need to know to get a speaker system running is here.
There is extensive discussion of the kinds of woodworking and cabinet making involved in constructing and finishing speaker boxes, a useful but not overly complex chapter on wiring and crossovers (with just enough electronic theory to make it interesting), and a lot of incidental information on everything from which glues stick on what surfaces to basic soldering techniques. The bulk of the book, though, is taken up with construction notes for every conceivable variety of speaker type-rotund omni-directionals; out sized floor-standing systems; tiny, miniature-cube speakers; car and van units with brackets, and many more.
All are described in sufficient detail for a careful novice to assemble them, but there is also a wealth of data on refining, customizing, and otherwise fooling around with these designs. Weems also includes a brief application guide, intended to assist the inexperienced reader in picking a trial speaker project, and an appendix that lists sources for the materials discussed in the book. All in all, a fine do-it-yourselfer's manual.
Gary Stock 21 Custom Speaker Enclosure Protects You Can Build by David B. Weems. TAB Books, No. 1234, $7.95, paperbound.
When you talk about home construction of hi-fi equipment, it's essential at the start to make a distinction between kits and genuine home-brewed, built out-of-available-parts projects. By and large, these days, kits are just knock down versions of commercially competitive assembled designs-developed through the same rigorous engineering processes used to design the best off-the-shelf assembled hi-fi components, complete with the benefit of anechoic chambers, computers, and thousands of man-hours of hard-nosed planning. True home-brew builders, by contrast, usually operate on the basis of a few basic formulas, a good pair of ears, and a lot of intuition, looking for some alchemical combination of elements that might magically yield better results than the big boys obtain. Most know in the back of their minds that it isn't likely this magic combination will actually turn up. The satisfaction of such projects comes from a genuine joy in the process of construction-a visceral affection for the smell of cut wood, solder, and printed-circuit etching solution. Home-brew hi-fi, to put it plainly, is often more fun per dollar than superb value per dollar.
The Complete Handbook of Magnetic Recording by Finn Jorgensen. TAB Books. 448 pp., $10.95.
This volume is classified as a "First Edition," although there was a book by the same author published about 10 years ago with a very similar title. In any event, it must be said that this recent opus has much more information and twice as many pages. The first two chapters briefly cover the history of magnetic recording, from lodestone to VCR, and offer a fast look at different types of recording equipment and some basic characteristics. Several facets are brushed across too lightly to meet the requirements of a true handbook: For example, there are no track format dimensions.
Two chapters on the physics of magnetism and technical magnetization provide much basic information.
The author strikes an excellent balance between lucid exposition and technical detail. The two chapters following, also of medium length, deal with recording and playback theory. Here we get down to the nitty-gritty of getting sound on and off the tape. There are a number of fundamental points made, and many readers can benefit from careful study of the concepts discussed.
The chapter on magnetic heads is a major portion of the book, 94 pages in length. There is a great deal of information here, with sections on characteristics, materials, recording, play back and erase heads, manufacture, design, testing and other subjects.
The next chapter is on magnetic tapes and discs. It is exactly half the length, but covers particles of various types, manufacturing, mechanical and electromagnetic properties, and tape se lection. I would have preferred in depth discussion of tape properties and testing methods, but that is a personal desire.
Two lengthy chapters (75 pages each) on direct recording and recording with a.c. bias cover a broad range of topics. The printing for digital codes in a table was quite faint, making comparisons rather difficult. There is a good presentation on linearity and distortion with high-frequency bias, along with other important material. The section on tape drives seemed out of place, but it was worthwhile including it in the book. There are brief chapters on data analysis, FM and PCM recording, making recordings and maintenance. The limited coverage in the latter pair is more than obvious.
There is an appendix of symbols, a list for additional reading, and an index which is fairly good, but would benefit from more listings to match the detail of the text. There are many illustrations, most of which are simple, but the line drawings were very well done. Although this volume is not "complete" in the sense of having detailed cover age on all facets of magnetic recording, it provides much useful information on many topics.
-Howard A. Roberson
How to Install Your Own Stereo System, Second Edition by Jeff Markell. TAB Books, 192 pp., $6.95.
The first edition of this book was published 20 years ago, and this new version shows a general improvement and updating in the text and illustrations. The original text was largely directed to those making installations for customers, but here there is more emphasis for the do-it-yourself type, with regular hints "from the installer's point of view." The first chapter briefly discusses high-fidelity systems. The next, on needs and preferences for appearance and aesthetics, includes suggestions about planning for possible modifications in the future. Then, a 12-page discussion on components sets the equipment stage, albeit with a few questionable generalities: Bigger speakers are "better." The following three chapters, on interconnections, environmental effects, and noise and interference, contain quite a bit of practical information in relatively few pages. Some exception is taken, how ever, to the statement that speaker wiring selection is not critical in any way.
The two chapters on acoustic factors and associated problems make a number of very good points, so it is difficult to fault the author for stating that standing waves are more likely in large rooms than in small rooms--maybe he meant echoes. There are good sections on absorptive materials and how they can be applied. Two chapters deal with visual appeal and the elements of style (lines, shapes, forms, proportion and color), with guidelines to achieving aesthetic effects with room layout, system location and speaker position.
The book contains 35 pages on the construction of free-standing and built in cabinets and the installation of equipment in them. This is not a collection of patterns for specific cabinets. More importantly, there is cover age of such basics as properties of wood, hardware and fitting components. The last two chapters discuss the characteristics of different types of building construction (wood-frame, masonry, etc.) and the installation of wiring. The index is only one page, which is quite limiting, but the table of contents is somewhat detailed. There are quite a few typographical errors, but they were only minor distractions from the generally good text and illustrations. The book contains much good information, and it is recommended to anyone who is contemplating an installation.
-Howard A. Roberson
(adapted from Audio magazine, May 1983)
Also see: Bookshelf, The (Sept. 1979)
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