META - Tech Library (Recommended Books)

GroupDIY Audio Forum

Help Support GroupDIY Audio Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Mark Burnley

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 3, 2004
Messages
820
Location
Liverpool UK
META - Tech Library (Recommended Books)

This is a meta-thread, made to allow you to keep track of the posts concerning this single issue - I will continue re-editing this first post.

- All should be contained in this first post - which is re-edited regularily.

- Everyone is welcome to reply with comments and pointers to things they consider relevant. This will be copy/pasted into the first post, if the meta-keeper finds it relevant. (I deeply dislike censorship, but here it seems necessary for the sake of overview)

- On a regular basis, all posts but the first are deleted, and bumped up to the top.

-------------------------
[quote author="NewYorkDave"]You can never have too many books![/quote]

Categorised list of books that Members have found useful in their DIY and research/study (in no particular rank):
Basic/General Electronics

Getting Started in Electronics Forrest M. Mims III, Pub: Master Publishing, Inc., ISBN: 0945053282
This is one of the most accessible books for beginners looking to get started in electronics. The author is an incredibly talented teacher and writer with the ability to present even complex concepts in very easy to understand format. Highly Recommended!

The Art of Electronics by Paul Horowitz and Winfield Hill, 2nd Edn., Pub: Cambridge University Press, ISBN: 0521370957
This really is a great book. The all-in-one aspect of it sets it apart from other beginners guides- it takes you from basics but quickly "ramps up" to more challenging aspects. Hands-on and practical in it's approach, it encourages you to develop a "feel" for electronics by using rules-of-thumb and engineers shortcuts.

Most parts of 2.nd ed. (excl. chapter 1) available from Archive.org - https://archive.org/details/fe_The_Art_of_Electronics_Horowitz_Hill

PDF download: https://archive.org/download/fe_The_Art_of_Electronics_Horowitz_Hill/The_Art_of_Electronics_Horowitz__Hill.pdf

Student Manual for the Art of Electronics by Thomas C Hayes and Paul Horowitz., Pub: Cambridge University Press, ISBN: 0521377099
Useful as a practical guide to some of the experiments, but not essential for understanding the main book.

The Art of Linear Electronics by John Linsley Hood, Pub: Newnes, ISBN: 0750637463 Latest edition appears to be 1998.
A useful overview of analogue electronics with some useful history of preamplifiers and power amplifiers.

Transistor Circuit Techniques by G J Ritchie, Pub: CRC Press, ISBN: 0748740759
One of my favourites, a solid introduction to semiconductor principles and basic transistor gain stages, including discrete power supply regulators and power output stages.

Troubleshooting Analog Circuits by Bob Pease, Pub: Newnes, ISBN: 0750694998
Lots of great tips from The Man Himself. This is no armchair electronics expert- Bob has gained this knowledge from hours of bench work with his sleeves rolled up- and he shares some great insights in this book.

IC op-amp cookbook by Walt Jung, Pub: Prentice Hall, ISBN: 0138896011
Walt Jung has long been associated with Audio Electronics- his articles have been published in many respected audio journals. His earlier book "Audio IC op-amp Applications" has been out of print and collectable for many years. I've never seen a copy, but I find the "IC op-amp Cookbook" to be continually useful. It takes you from basic op-amp theory to advanced applications.
Check his site: Walt Jung Homepage

Op Amp Applications Handbook by Walt Jung, Pub: Analog Devices/Newnes, ISBN: 0750678445
A mammoth book covering everything you need to know about op-amps. Especially interesting are the chapters on the history of op-amps (including some nice shots of valve, discrete and hybrid models) and chapters dedicated to audio! There's some great information about line drivers and receivers. Available for download 
here. And here's a review.

Radio Designer's Handbook by F Langford-Smith, 4th Edition
This book came out in numerous editions, and it increased in size with each edition! My 4th has a list of editions in the front- the earliest being 1934, with the 2nd edition a year later in 1935. 3rd and 4th were 1940 and 1953 respectively. The 4th was continually printed way into the 1960's, with addenda to earlier printings. It really is worth all the fuss- it effectively combines all the aspects of traditional valve/tube electronic engineering, with hard-to-find information on transformers and inductors.
A quick search of this site for RDH4 or something similar should bring up the goods...

Basic Electricity by A. Van Valkenburgh, Pub: Delmar, ISBN: 0790610418
These consist of 5 and 6 volume sets of books designed for the US Navy. They're actually great books for newbies and have a lot of great data in them. They are part of a "programmed learning" course, so they can plod along quite slowly. But the visual method of learning can be very effective- the illustrations are fantastic! I'm not sure of the availabilty, but I've seen them 2nd hand in the UK a lot- and I'm sure there are plenty in the US.

A Practical Introduction To Electronic Circuits by Martin Hartley Jones, Pub: Cambridge University Press, ISBN: 0521478790
Another book I'd recommend for newbies- it has one of the best introductions to FETs and BJT transistors I've seen for a long time. Lots of time devoted to the differential amplifier too. Feedback theory is covered, and there are lots of circuits to try that actually work!

Op Amps for Everyone by Ron Mancini
Great free 464 page op-amp book from Texas Instruments.

Noise Reduction Techniques in Electronic Systems, 2nd ed. by Henry Ott, Pub: Wiley-Interscience, ISBN: 0471850683
The grounding and noise reduction bible.


Audio Specific

Handbook for Sound Engineers, 4th ed. By Glen Ballou, Pub: Focal Press, ISBN: 0240809696

Electronic Projects for Musicians by Craig Anderton, Pub: Music Sales Ltd,ISBN: 0825695023
This book is aimed at the musician/hobbyist, and has projects with PCB layouts for a range of useful guitar and studio accessories.

Guitar Gadgets by Craig Anderton, Pub: AMSCO Music, U.S., ISBN: 0825622948 
Similar to "EPFM" above, but with updated components and more guitar orientated.

Audio Systems Design And Installation by Philip Giddings, Pub: Focal Press, ISBN: 0240802861
Comprehensive studio equipment installation guide- everything from grounding to patchbays is covered in this book. Ensure you do it right from the start!

Valve and Transistor Audio Amplifiers by John Linsley Hood, Pub: Newnes, ISBN: 0750633565
Overview of the history and development of hi-fi amplifiers. With useful information on designs such as the Quad 405 "current dumping" topology and "The Willimason" among others.

Audio Electronics by John Linsley Hood, Pub: Newnes, ISBN: 0750643323
I haven't got my hands on a copy, but I believe it's similar to the above, with more info on CD and other formats, missing out the RF chapters of the above.

Small Signal Audio Design by Douglas Self, Pub: Focal Press, ISBN: 0240521773

Audio Power Amplifier Design Handbook, 5th ed. by Douglas Self, Pub: Focal Press, ISBN: 0240521625

Self on Audio, 2nd ed. by Douglas Self, Pub: Newnes, ISBN: 0750681667

Valve Amplifiers, 3rd ed. by Morgan Jones, Pub: Newnes, ISBN: 0750656948
Great reference for tube audio design.  Written in very easy to understand language with very little math.

Book Suppliers

www.abebooks.com - Lose a few hours surfing for those rare books! Great site- almost as cool as rooting through dusty bookshops for electronics books  :cool:

www.powells.com - The largest independent bookstore in the world.

Obviously you've got your large commercial suppliers, but let's try and get some "alternative" suppliers together- maybe any booksellers worldwide who specialise in Technical and Scientific books. Let me know if you've got any interesting links.
 
Can I recommend add these 2:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Designing-Power-Supplies-Valve-Amplifiers/dp/0956154514/ref=sr_1_6?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1357383724&sr=1-6
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Designing-Tube-Preamps-Guitar-Bass/dp/0956154506/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_y

they helped me quite a bit
 
http://groupdiy.com/index.php?topic=63335.0

"Get this book" - Operational Amplifiers: Theory and Practice, James K. Roberge, John Wiley & Sons, 1975
..and link to 2nd. edition, 2007

Jakob E.
 
The Art of Electronics by Paul Horowitz and Winfield Hill, 2nd Edn., Pub: Cambridge University Press, ISBN: 0521370957
There's finally a Third Edition of this that came out a couple years ago, after 25 years of the Second Edition having a growing reputation. This is a definite must-have. I only got my copy a couple months ago (used prices are down to about half list price, but bewarned about forgeries). It covers much the same ground as the 2nd, but doesn't include everything from the 2nd, so if you're a completist there can be reason to have both.

Here's a discussion thread on the new edition, featuring one of the authors:
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/the-lounge/268729-art-electronics-3rd-ed-april-2015-a-2.html

Website for the book, includes free download of Chapter 9 (power supplies), parts mentioned in the book, and how to spot forgeries:
https://artofelectronics.net/
 
Robert B. Tomer - "Getting the Most Out of Vacuum Tubes" (1960)

http://tubebooks.org/Books/Atwood/Tomer%201960%20Getting%20the%20Most%20Out%20of%20Vacuum%20Tubes.pdf

..thanks to user Sc for finding this..
 
Archives of Classic magazines on pro audio (Audio Engineering/Yape Recording Magaz/dB Magazine/):

https://thehistoryofrecording.com/Magazines/

Thanks to Henrik Ø. for pointing me there

/Jakob E.
 
the SynAudCon (Synergetic Audio Concepts) newsletter -
https://www.prosoundtraining.com/synaudcon-library/  -

this seem to be really detailed information on often really obscure audio-electronics related material, much of it a real pleasure to read..

Like the https://www.prosoundtraining.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/NLV11N3.pdf article on the transversal equalizer (this the reason I found this goldmine of obscure information)

/Jakob E.
 
Back
Top