About the Book
Self on Audio: The collected audio design articles of Douglas Self, Third Edition is the most comprehensive collection of significant articles in the technical audio press. This third edition features 45 articles that first appeared in Elektor, Linear Audio, and Electronics World.
Including expanded prefaces for each article, the author provides background information and circuit commentary. The articles cover both discrete and opamp preamplifier design, mixing console design, and power amplifier design. The preamplifier designs are illuminated by the very latest research on low noise and RIAA equalization. The famous series of 1993 articles on power amplifier distortion is included, with an extensive commentary reflecting the latest research on compensation and ultra-low distortion techniques. This book addresses the widened scope of technology that has become available to the audio designer over the last 35 years.
New materials include:
Prefaces that explain the historical background of the articles, why they were written, and the best use of the technology of the day
Extensive details, including schematics, of designs that preceded or followed the design in each article, giving an enormous amount of extra information and a comprehensive overview of how author's design approaches have evolved
New directions for the technology, describing new lines of thought such as curvilinear Class-A
Table of Contents:
Introduction
Preamplifiers and related matters
1 Advanced preamplifier design (Wireless World, November 1976)
2 High-performance preamplifier (Wireless World, February 1979)
3 Precision preamplifier (Wireless World, October 1983)
4 Design of moving-coil head amplifiers (Wireless World, December 1987)
5 Precision preamplifier '96, Part 1 (Electronics World, July/August 1996)
6 Precision preamplifier '96, Part 2 (Electronics World, September 1996)
7 Overload matters (phono headroom) (Electronics World, February 1997)
8 A balanced view, Part 1 (Electronics World, April 1997)
9 A balanced view, Part 2 (Electronics World, May 1997)
10 High-quality compressor/limiter (Wireless World, December 1975)
11 Inside mixers (Electronics World, April 1991)
12 Electronic analogue switching, Part 1: CMOS gates (Electronics World, January 2004)
13 Electronic analogue switching, Part 2: discrete FETs (Electronics World, February 2004)
14 Preamplifier 2012: Part 1: Line input and tone control? (Elektor, April, 2012)
15 Preamplifier 2012: Part 2: Phono? (Elektor, May 2012)
16 Preamplifier 2012: Part 3: Power supply and level indicator (Elektor, June 2012)
17 Self-Improvement for Capacitors (Linear Audio, Volume 1, April 2011)
18 Low noise preamplifier (Linear Audio, Volume 5, April 2013)
19 Optimising RIAA realisation (Linear Audio, Volume 7, Mar 2014)
Power Amplifiers
20 Sound mosfet design (Electronics World, September 1990)
21 FETs versus BJTs: the linearity competition (Electronics World, May 1995)
22 Distortion in power amplifiers, Part 1: The sources of distortion (Electronics World, August 1993)
23 Distortion in power amplifiers, Part 2: The input stage (Electronics World, September 1993)
24 Distortion in power amplifiers, Part 3: The voltage-amplifier stage (Electronics World, October 1993)
25 Distortion in power amplifiers, Part 4: The power amplifier stages
(Electronics World, November 1993)
26 Distortion in power amplifiers, Part 5: Output stages (Electronics World, December 1993)
27 Distortion in power amplifiers, Part 6: The remaining distortions
(Electronics World, January 1994)
28 Distortion in power amplifiers, Part 7: Frequency compensation and real designs (Electronics World, February 1994)
29 Distortion in power amplifiers, Part 8: Class A amplifiers (Electronics World, March 1994)
30 Power amplifier input currents and their troubles (Electronics World, May 2003)
31 Diagnosing distortion (Electronics World, January 1998)
32 Trimodal audio power, Part 1 (Electronics World,June 1995)
33 Trimodal audio power, Part 2 (Electronics World, July 1995)
34 Load-invariant audio power (Electronics World, January 1997)
35 Common-emitter power amplifiers: a different perception? (Electronics World,July 1994)
36 Few compliments for non-complements (Electronics World, September 1995)
37 Loudspeaker undercurrents (Electronics World, February 1998)
38 Class distinction (Electronics World, March 1999)
39 Muting relays (Electronics World, July 1999)
40 Cool audio power (Electronics World, August 1999)
41 Audio power analysis (Electronics World, December 1999)
42 A New Kind of Power Amplifier: Crossover Displacement (Electronics World, November 2006)
43 The 5532 OpAmplifier: Part 1 (Elektor, October 2010)
44 The 5532 OpAmplifier: Part 2 (Elektor, November 2010)
45 Inclusive Compensation & Ultra-Low Distortion (Linear Audio, Volume 0, Sept 2010)
Index
About the Author :
Douglas Self studied engineering at Cambridge University, then psychoacoustics at Sussex University. He has spent many years working at the top level of design in both the professional audio and hifi industries, and has taken out a number of patents in the field of audio technology. He currently acts as a consultant engineer in the field of audio design.
Review :
Small Signal Audio, 2nd edition
"His book exudes skilful engineering on every page, and I found it a very refreshing, enjoyable and inspirational read." Hugh Robjohns, Sound-On-Sound, January 2015
Audio Power Amplifier Design, 6th edition
"The latest, most up-to-date, rigorous electronics discussion of power amplifier design... the dominant reference in the audio power amplifier electronics field." Peter Delos, Audioxpress, May 2014
"...I consider this book to be a must have for anybody serious about power amplifier design." Jean-Pierre Vanderreydt, Linear Audio, Sept 2013
