Posthorn | The New Stereo Soundbook, Third Edition

Since it was first published in 1991, The New Stereo Soundbook has gained recognition as an industry-standard reference and basic textbook for audio and recording professionals, students, and lay enthusiasts. The Second Edition (1998) and now the Third Edition (2006) have added new material to the chapters on microphone techniques, and updated the examination of multi-channel and surround sound.

This book's fourteen chapters explore the auditory and technical processes by which the "stereo illusion" is perceived, recorded, and reproduced. They trace the development of stereo from the 1881 experiments of Clement Ader through the latest concepts in surround-sound recording and home-theater presentation.

Numerous diagrams and photographs are employed to complement the conversational writing style. To augment the fourteen chapters, The New Stereo Soundbook also includes a comprehensive glossary, extensive references to other literature, and the complete text of Alan Blumlein's seminal 1931 patent on stereo techniques. The Index has been lauded as a valuable reference resource in itself.

In his AES Journal review of the Second Edition, John Eargle commented: "Psychoacoustical subjects are discussed throughout the book and add an important dimension that is not normally found in recording books... The book is a pleasure to read, primarily because it relies on graphical explanations rather than mathematical ones."