Martin Colloms is an independent electroacoustics engineer in the UK who has seen over 200 of his high fidelity audio and speaker designs put into mass production. Martin has worked as a loudspeaker critic--publishing over 1,500 high fidelity speaker reviews--and is the technical editor of HIFICRITIC.
This is the seventh edition of what has long been a standard work on the subject�the first edition appeared in 1977! The current edition has been brought thoroughly up to date. It includes, for example, such recent developments as the Devialet Speaker Active Matching (SAM) system. Over the years, the book has steadily expanded in size and scope. And the present edition includes not only the information on specifics of speaker design of the early editions but also surveys the whole subject of assessment of loudspeakers, both technically and in listening terms. The book has now grown to considerable size�more than six hundred pages�and it represents a summation of Martin Colloms� long career as a speaker reviewer and design consultant. The fruits of extended experience and impressive expertise are very much on display here. This is an indispensable work for anyone who has a serious interest in speakers, who wants in particular to go (far) beyond the informal scuttlebutt of on-line forums and Internet reviewing. Robert E Greene, The Absolute Sound (May 1st , 2019) In the seventh edition�s 10 chapters, each with up to 30 subchapters, Martin has expanded the sections on analysis and modeling, and included new sections on the increasingly popular Klippel and Comsol Multiphysics systems, as well as on the finite element analysis (FEA) of magnetic systems. He has added two new chapters, one on DSP integration into system design, and the second providing a worked-through example of the loudspeaker design process�High Performance Loudspeakers: Optimising High Fidelity Loudspeaker Systems, Seventh Edition, is a must-have addition to the bookshelf of any audiophile who wants to learn everything there is to know about the art and science of loudspeaker design. John Atkinson, Audio Critic, Stereophile Magazine (April 2019 issue) The reader will gain a solid grounding in the design principles and the necessary trade-offs, allowing the individual to map out a design before diving into one of the now ubiquitous enclosure design software packages. If you buy just one book on the subject, this is it, as there�s much to learn at the same time as enjoying a satisfying read.- Stan Curtis, Audio Designer, HIFICRITIC Magazine OCT-DEC 2018