This educational material is compiled by John Lenard Burnett and is continually being updated. It is dedicated to the enjoyment of music and not meant as an isolated academic text. There are many excellent books on each subject. Most honored is 'Acoustical Engineering' by Harry F Olson, humorously referred to as 'The Gospel according to Olson'.
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People of different backgrounds have traditionally managed electro-acoustics (acoustics, electronics and speakers) with limited communication between them. I am hoping this will help as a catalyst addressing the integration of these technologies.
www.sound.au.com by Rod Elliott is being referred to throughout this text. Rod has an exceptional talent in fundamental research and education. His explanations give precise detail and humour on many points that are generalized in this text. We have both taught Electronics and Audio Engineering for many years. Rod is also responsible for many of the electronic design principles in the Lenard products.
www.micrographia.com by John Walsh is a magnificent site on microbiology and an inspiration to us all for web based education. John Walsh has an award-winning knowledge of classical music and a vast vinyl collection. His site also includes microscopic views and discussions on stylus and vinyl care.
Introduction
Albert Einstein when asked what he did not like about physics answered "The way it is taught at school" His humorous response referred to measurement, which without application has no meaning. Physics is the science of measurement.
Music and physics reflect each other and create our technological world. Music masterfully performed transforms our feelings of relationship to the world. How we hear music defines who we are.
Go with children on an excursion to hear a symphony orchestra. Watch how they are captivated and inspired by the richness and detail of the music. The same music through an average sound system can be unrecognisable. As we get older, the superficial world of marketing and pop culture dominates our lives. A small sound system to hear melody and words being all that is necessary, pushing complex and orchestral music into the background.
Bringing the miracle of music to life. At 14 I heard a sound system that gave startling realism and it became the focus of my life's work. This technology (active) is more complex; arranged in order, similar to the music it reproduces. The music spectrum is divided into 4 sections by an electronic crossover. Four speakers similar in size to the instruments they are reproducing, cover the musical range.
'Active' is each speaker managed by its own amplifier, as musicians playing their own instruments.
(1in for harmonics) (4-5in for upper voice) (8-10in for lower voice) (12-15in for sub bass)
Analogue technology governs how music is heard. The amplifier with separate cabinet of woofer and tweeter (passive) has changed little in 50 yrs. Changes to this analogue technology, changes the way we hear the music.
Digital technology manages and stores recorded music in Computer format, Including C.D. and D.V.D. without loss of fidelity. Critics of digital argue the old vinyl analogue format was superior.
Marketing. The success of computer technology resulted from modern marketing procedures, which allowed expensively created products to be available at affordable prices. High-end sound equipment is trapped by past, high profit marketing regimes similar to the fashion industry. Small passive systems are the standard, supported by compliant non-critical reviews, often claiming that expensive gimmickry transforms sound quality, and has its following (audiophiles').
Audiophiles' became one of the most bizarre cults of the previous century. Claiming to be gifted with golden ears, audiophiles can hear electrons traveling in wires, and have the ability to channel thought into crystals to ward off evil harmonics. Cloaking themselves in mystical terms unrelated to music and physics, they can be heard chanting model numbers and superlatives. This delusional mix of paranoia and marketing hype, where descriptions attain to greater meaning than the described, exists in all areas of society.
High Fidelity includes
1. Accurate aural judgments.
2. Integrity of electronic signal path.
3. Neutralization of acoustic environment.
4. Efficiency and dynamic range of transducers.
Webster defines Fidelity as 'exactness, as in a copy'.