Page 41 - Fall2013

Books and Publications
Allan D. Pierce
Acoustical Society of America Publications Office West Barnstable, MA 02668
Acoustics Today welcomes suggestions for what books and publications might merit having an independent and critical review published in this magazine. The primary desire is to inform our readership of the existence and merits of new and lesser known older books on acoustics, but Acoustics Today also desires open and frank criticism. Authors are welcome to submit comments on reviews that have been published in the magazine.
On occasion, when a copy of a book is not available for critical review and when a timely announcement of publication seems appropriate, Acoustics Today may publish an edited version of the publisher’s information about a book.
Title: Electroacoustics
Author: Mendel Kleiner
Publisher: CRC Press, Taylor and Francis Group ISBN: 978-1439836187
Pages: 628 (with 1226 illustrations)
Binding: Hardcover
Publication date: February 26, 2013
Price: $119.05
40 Acoustics Today, October 2013
Mendel Kleiner, the author of this book, is a Fellow of the Acoustical Society of America and a former Associate Editor of the Journal of the Acoustical Society of America. He is a widely recognized expert on architectural acoustics and electroacoustics. At the time of this writing, the Editor has not actually seen the book. However, given the stature of the author and the length of the book, it is likely to be viewed by subsequent reviewers as an authori- tative textbook on the subject. What follows below is extracted from the information given on the web pages for the publisher, CRC online.
The publisher’s announcement asserts that the book
(1) offers a modern introduction to loudspeaker and microphone engineering design principles, (2) covers a broad range of topics, including arrays, planar transducers, radi- ation impedance, loudspeaker enclosure design, and more, (3) supplies background material on electrical circuits and filters, sound absorbers, and room acoustics, and (4) explains how the rooms in which transducers are used influence their acoustical behav- ior and how those properties are accessed.
The book includes study questions and problems. A solutions manual is available to professors who use this book in the teaching of a course.
The publisher’s description points out that electroacoustic devices such as microphones and loudspeakers are used everywhere from cars and mobile phones to homes, places of worship, and sports arenas. They are a key part of the modern communication society, help- ing to transmit information to our ears. This particular book funishes a contemporary intro- duction to the subject and explains the scientific and engineering principles behind the design of sound transducers. It also examines the compromises that are necessary when designing transducers for use in the real world. It is based on the author’s extensive experi- ence teaching electroacoustics to advanced graduate and graduate students and makes use of the concept of electrical circuit analogies to help readers with electrical engineering backgrounds grasp the fundamentals of acoustical and mechanical systems. The book cov- ers both traditional electrodynamic audio and ultrasonic transducers and includes more
Editor’s Note—The items printed in “Books and Publications” are reported for informational purposes only and are not nec- essarily endorsements by the Editor, Acoustics Today, or the Acoustical Society of America.