Basics of sound system and recording. Manual for acoustics (book with disc)

A manual describing the basics of sound system and sound recordings taking into account the criteria of auditory sound quality evaluation, description of processing equipment and sound processing, basic principles of sound amplification and numerous practical notes regarding assembly, implementation and final processing of sound material. The questions at the end of the individual chapters make it easier to acquire the material. The CD included in the book contains examples illustrating the influence of various factors on the sound recording. Readers of the book: acoustics, operators and sound engineers, secondary and post-secondary school students with sound profile and everyone interested in the sound and sound recordings. ADMISSION
Extremely dynamic development of electronics observed over the last years has contributed to the popularization of many professional devices used to amplify, record and process sound. However, the very fact of having a perfect apparatus does not guarantee getting the right sound quality, you still need to know how and when to use it.
Unfortunately, there is a common tendency to abuse technical capabilities. The sound system achieves gigantic powers, and the total compression in the recordings keeps the dynamics at the same level from the beginning to the end of the album, as if the only quality criterion was loudness. There are also other ways to reach the musical imagination of the listener. You can properly model the color, space, depth and width of the sound image, giving you the possibility of a much more suggestive message. It's as if we were introducing gradation of brightness, perspective and color into a black and white image.
The acoustician's task is to create such an illusion of sound so that the listener can take away the thoughts and emotions contained in the musical performance as fully as possible. The technique used here is a secondary matter, resulting from the acoustic conditions, the instruments used and the genre of the presented music. Therefore, first you need to feel the need to use a device: a compressor, equalizer or gate, and then only turn on, knowing what benefits and side effects it will bring.
In this book, I devoted a lot of space to the properties of hearing and the influence of changes in the sound parameters to the listener's impression, despite the rapid development of the technique, the process of perceiving the sounds is unchanged and always the last link of the acoustic track will remain.
I hope that the layout of the book with the margins on which the main slogans, the glossary, the auxiliary tables and the disc containing the musical examples on a number of acoustic phenomena are written, will make reading easier and more enjoyable.
Krzysztof Sztekmiler

Table of Contents:
Chapter 1
Hearing characteristics and sound quality assessment criteria 13
1.1. Hearing properties 13
Audible range, pitch, dynamics, decibel scale, isophonic curves, sound masking, timbre, non-linearity of hearing, hearing adaptation, refraction, inertia, directionality, distance orientation
1.2. Criteria for auditory evaluation of sound quality 21
Distortion, interference, sound color, size of the sound image, sound perspective, acoustic atmosphere, readability of the sound image, volume balance, evaluation
sound quality
Questions 27

Chapter 2
Equipment for sound processing and processing 29
2.1. Introduction 29
2.2. Microphones 29
2.2.1. Construction and operation principle 29
Dynamic microphone, condenser microphone, electret microphone
2.2.2. Basic parameters of microphones 32
Transfer characteristics, directional characteristics, sensitivity, maximum sound pressure, own noise, signal-to-noise ratio, dynamics, impedance
2.2.3. Wireless microphones 40
Questions 41
2.3. Mixing consoles (mixing tables) 41
2.3.1. Tasks of the mixing console 41
2.3.2. Construction of an analog mixing console 42
Preamplifier, insert, low-cut filter, two-point equalizer, three-point color regulator, four-point equalizer, parametric controller, multi-parameter parameter adjustment,
volume control, pan control, send, busbar, groups, control indicators, distance from override, knobs location, important technical parameters
Questions 58

2.4. Processors of spatial effects 58
2.4.1. Echo-delay 58
2.4.2. Revolutionary devices - reverb 59
2.4.3. Flanger, chorus 63
Questions 64

2.5. Dynamic processors 64
2.5.1. Compressor 65
2.5.2. Limiter 68
2.5.3. Expander 69
2.5.4. Goal 70
2.5.5. Compandor 71
2.5.6. Equalizer - graphic equalizer 72
Questions 73

2.6. Digital devices 74
2.6.1. Processing analogue signals into digital signals 74
2.6.2. Digital mixing console 77
Description of operation, digital inputs and outputs (AES / EBU, SPDIF, TDIF, ADAT, Word clock) automation, automation
Questions 81

2.7. Virtual mixing tables 82
Questions 84

2.8. Power amplifier 85
Construction, security, parameters, work in the bridge
Questions 91

2.9. Speakers, loudspeakers 92
2.9.1. Construction and operation principle 92
2.9.2. Technical parameters of the loudspeaker 93
2.9.3. Passive speaker units 95
2.9.4. Active loudspeakers 97
2.9.5. Public address systems 98
Questions 100

2.10. Headphones 101
Questions 102

Chapter 3
Sound system 103
3.1. Introduction 103
3.2. Basic principles of conduct during the implementation of sound systems 103
3.3. Preparatory work prior to the sound of the concert 105
3.3.1. Preliminary analysis of acoustic conditions 105
3.3.2. Locating the loudspeakers of the main sound system 105
3.3.3. Calibration of transfer characteristic 105
3.3.4. Connection of a mixer and microphones 107
3.3.5. Adjusting the input sensitivity (GAIN, TRIM) 107
3.3.6. Color adjustment of individual instruments 107
3.3.7. Setting the volume ratio 107
3.3.8. Panorama adjustment 108
3.3.9. Spatial effect depth adjustment 108
3.3.10. Setting the listening session on stage 109
3.4. Sound system for small rooms 111
3.5. Sounding of churches and other facilities with a very long reverberation time 113
3.6. Sound system of open spaces 114
Questions 116

Chapter 4
Realization of recordings 117
4.1. Introduction 117
4.2. Sound recording devices 117
4.2.1. Analogue tape recorders 117
4.2.2. Digital DAT 119 tape recorder
4.2.3. CD-Recorder 121
4.2.4. Mini-Disc (MD) 122
4.2.5. DCC 123 tape recorder
4.2.6. Digital DTRS multi-track tape recorders 124
4.2.7. Multi-track tape recorder ADAT 125
4.2.8. Digital reel-to-reel tape recorder DASH 126
4.2.9. Magneto-optical recorders - MO-recorders 126
4.2.10. Hard disk recorders - HD recorders 127
4.2.11. Registering on a hard disk in a computer 128
4.2.12. Registration on a 129 type portable computer
4.2.13. Recorder for Compact Flash (CF) card 130
4.2.14. Summary 132
Questions 132

4.3. Methods of recording recordings 132
4.3.1. Introduction 132
4.3.2. Registration method XY 133
4.3.3. AB method (differential phase) 135
4.3.4. The AB + M 136 method
4.3.5. The XY + M 136 method
4.3.6. The XY + ambience 138 method
4.3.7. Combined method XY / AB 139
4.3.8. Blumlein method using two microphones with the octal characteristic of 140
4.3.9. MM method - using multiple monophonic microphones 141
4.3.10. MS Method (German: Mitte - measure, Seite - page) 142

4.4. General principles for making music recordings 143
4.4.1. Choosing the right recording method 143
4.4.2. Microphone setting 144
4.4.3. Input sensitivity adjustment (GAIN, TRIM) 144
4.4.4. Correction of sound 145
4.4.5. Adjusting the volume ratio 145
4.4.6. Panorama adjustment 146
4.4.7. Adjustment of the spatial effect 146
4.4.8. Setting the recording level in the tape recorder 147
4.4.9. Arrangements for subsequent assembly 147

4.5. Realization of the recording during the concert 148
4.6. A few notes about assembly 150
4.7. Renovation of archival recordings 151
4.8. Mastering - final processing of sound material 152
Questions 154

Chapter 5
Wiring 155
5.1. Introduction 155
5.2. Balanced connections 155
5.3. Unbalanced connections 155
5.4. Speaker cables 156
Questions 157

Answers to questions 159
Glossary 164
Tables 169
Table 1. Typical settings of the 169 compressor
Table 2. Ways of setting microphones for instruments 169
Table 3. Frequency ranges of instruments 172
Table 4. Connections of plugs and wires 173
Bibliography 174
CD - musical examples and tests 175