Join the digital audio revolution! Tens of millions of users are embracing digital music, and with Digital Audio Essentials, you can, too. Nearly every personal computer built in the last few years contains a CD-burning drive; MP3 and other portable player sales dominate the consumer electronics industry; and new networkable stereo equipment lets you use your digital music collection to power your home entertainment system. Whether it's downloading music, ripping CDs, organizing, finding, and creating higher quality music files, buying music players and accessories, or constructing a home stereo system, Digital Audio Essentials helps you do get it done. An indispensable reference for music enthusiasts, digital archivists, amateur musicians, and anyone who likes a good groove, Digital Audio Essentials helps you avoid time-consuming, costly trial and error in downloading audio files, burning CDs, converting analog music to digital form, publishing music to and streaming from the Web, setting up home stereo configurations, and creating your own MP3 and other audio files. The book--for both Mac and PC users--includes reliable hardware and software recommendations, tutorials, resources, and file sharing, and it even explains the basics of the DMCA and intellectual property law. You may (or may not) already know the basics of ripping CDs or downloading music, but Fries will show you so much more--including advice on the multitude of MP3 players on the market, stereo options, file formats, quality determinations, and the legalities of it all. Both a timely, entertaining guide and an enduring reference, this is the digital audio handbook you need to make the most of your expanding digital music collection.
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.5 / 5.0
Well written! Well worth reading!!!:
I've made a spot on my bookshelf for Digital Audio Essentials from O'Reilly Publishing. Bruce and Marty Fries are authors par excellance. Rarely will you encounter the fine points of audio so eloquently expressed. I've read several books about digital audio. Typically, as the author attempts an failed explanation I find myself thinking, "Boy, if I didn't already fully understand that concept, I'd be totally stumped!" Although I have several years of experience with analog and digital audio, I gained... more info
useful information...............:
the value of this text will ultimately be a function of one's mathematics background as well as the degree of familiarity with audio. personally, i found the book to be an excellent "update" to the previous text..!! keep in mind that the field of digital audio is changing SO RAPIDLY that it is virtually impossible to keep up with the changes ...from an authors standpoint........ be that as it may, most will derive more than satisfactory information from the revised edition.!
Virtually every facet of the latest technology being used to capture and edit music:
Bruce and Marty Fries' Digital Audio Essentials shows how to legally download and share music, how to hook a PC or Mac to a home stereo, how to record music to hard drive: virtually every facet of the latest technology being used to capture and edit music. Newcomers in particular will appreciate clear explanations of digital audio features, tutorials which are easy to follow, and both hardware and software recommendations.
Condescending yet opaque:
I didn't learn much from this book, and I don't think it was just me. I'm afraid it is one of those books written by knowledgeable people for a general audience, without much understanding of who are in that audience or what they might want to know. Example: "Rumble is very low-frequency noise caused by acoustic feedback, tone arm resonance, motor vibration, and other problems in a turntable." How many readers need to know what "rumble" means but already know about "acoustic feedback" and "tone arm... more info
