.

Beginning with : A Word from Avery Fisher
.

1. The Greatest Audio Instrument, By Ken Nelson
2. The Nature of Sound, By Hans Fantel
3. High Fidelity's Golden Decade, By Walter 0. Stanton
4. What Can You Expect from Stereo? By Lee Wilcox
5. Adding Music to the Room Scheme, By Sherman R. Emery
6. How High the Hi-Fi Sights, By Ivan Berger
7. Solid State Stereo, By Leonard Feldman
8. The Long and Short of Short Wave, By Roland Gelatt
   
   auf der nächsten Seite The Fisher Book 67/68 Teil II kommt dann :
   
   
9. The Stereo Mods, By Norman Eisenberg
10. Speakers, Large, Small & In Between, By Bob Marx
11. How to Judge Speaker Quality, By Larry Klein
12. Room Acoustics, By Peter Sutheim and Larry Klein
13. From Record Changer to Automatic Turntable, By Julian Gorski
14. The Proper Storage and Handling of Records, By Charles A. Fish
15. How To Buy a Tape Recorder, By Paul Edwards
    
    auf der nächsten Seite The Fisher Book 67/68 Teil III kommt dann :
    
    
16. High Fid elity Terms: A Technical Glossary
17. The Complete Stereo System
18. The Stereo Receiver
19. The Speaker System
20. The Tuner
21. The Amplifier
22. Outstanding Features and Specifications of Fisher Components
23. Exclusive Fisher Audio Accessories
24. Who Owns A Fisher?
25. Why Fisher Owners Keep On Being Fisher Owners
26. Fisher Firsts

.

.... have probably introduced more people to the basics of hi-fi and stereo than all other publications combined. And it was a thorough introduction.

But it came to our attention that a small, enthusiastic group of beginners had found an even more exhaustive source of information. They simply began to read every available magazine on high fidelity plus the hi-fi columns of the general magazines and newspapers-and kept at it for a year or two.
This we couldn't continue to observe without doing something about it. So we prepared this new Handbook.

We gathered together scores of copies of the audio and high fidelity magazines, read hundreds of articles and made a selection of those we believed would provide a comprehensive coverage of the entire subject.

Then we took one further step and condensed these articles to eliminate the more technical and detailed portions, while taking great care to preserve the essence of each. We were most pleased that each author concurred in our judgment. The result is an entirely new Handbook that covers just about everything you should know and may ever want to know about high fidelity components. We sincerely hope that you will have as much pleasure in reading this new Fisher Handbook as we had in creating it.

.

One of the important powers of the hearing system comes into play when you are judging an audio system. You can concentrate on a particular instrument or group of instruments, choosing, by an act of will, to exclude all the other sounds from the forefront of your attention. A conductor, of course, must have
this ability to a very high degree. He must be able to hear exactly what the oboe did during the last fortissimo passage-and the next time through it, judge the phrasing of the cello players! Piano tuners also develop this concentration highly, because they must listen to the relations among the very weak harmonics, or overtones of the notes struck, while ignoring the much louder fundamentals of the tones.

The audio experimenter has to use the same ability when judging an audio system. How good is the bass? He must concentrate on the double basses, bass tuba, or big drums long enough to determine how the bass quality compares with the standard, or with his long-ingrained knowledge of the recording. He never does two things at once-after finishing with the bass, he perhaps turns attention to the highs. A series of cymbal crashes, or snare drum, or top organ notes, give him clues to the handling of the highs. Now middles-do violins or woodwinds sound "honky"? And so on through all the important characteristics of the sound.

This concentration process is apparently one you learn, at least to some extent. If you find it hard at first, you are like most people. Conductor and piano tuner get their super-sharp powers only through long training. One way of leading into the process is simply by following a theme carried by instruments that you want to hear. This is similar to hearing a melody clearly, along with an accompaniment. By using this trick, plus conscious effort at concentration, you can learn to do it in a short time.

Finally, let us consider some characteristics of the ear as it relates to stereophonic reproduction. Foremost is the ability to tell the direction of the sound, another of the ear's super-tricks. We perceive direction, by comparing what happens at the right ear with what happens at the left. If a sound is off to the right, for instance, it reaches the right ear a little sooner and a little stronger than the left.

To locate a sound within one or two degrees, we have to sense which ear gets a sound first when the two are only about 6 microseconds apart (which is to say, six-millionths of a second). How the nerve system does this is still something of a mystery, because it takes many times as long for the impulses to travel up the nerves to the brain.

This is just one more of the many phenomena which make the ear the greatest audio instrument of them all!
Condensed from Audiofan St. Regis Publishing Company

Now, since hi-fi components must reproduce this pattern accurately if the sound is to be faithful to the original, it can be seen that a wide-and uniform -range of frequency response is necessary. Suppose an oboe is playing a note with a basic frequency of 1500 Hz. Its overtones would be: 3000 Hz (1500 x 2), 4500 Hz (1500 x 3), 6000 Hz (1500 x 4), and so on. To do justice to the sound of the oboe, the system must reproduce these overtones in the exact strengths and phase relationships in which they occur in the original.

Even instruments such as the bass violine, the tuba, and the kettledrum - the lowest-pitched instruments in the orchestra - produce higher frequency overtones that give them their particular tonal flavors. This accounts for the seeming paradox that a sound system must have a frequency range up to at least 15,000 Hz in order to reproduce instruments whose basic pitch is in the lowest octaves of the musical range.

Another requirement for faithful reproduction of timbre is the absence of harmonic distortion. This type of distortion occurs when an electronic component, in effect, adds to the sound some overtones that were not contained in the original music. Such additions falsify the tone color because they alter the overtone pattern of the original.

Any discussion of the principles of sound must also include a brief explanation of its two fundamental attributes-pitch and loudness. These, together with harmonic structure, are the elementary physical realities of musical sound, the absolutes against which the performance of a high-fidelity system must be judged.
Sounds are fast-moving areas of high and low air pressure-created by the "pumping" action of a sound source such as a plucked string, the vibrating body of an instrument, or the resonant action of an enclosed air mass. The air adjacent to these vibrating elements is driven back and forth, thus forming a series of pressure peaks and nulls that are first sensed by the eardrum and are then passed on and perceived as sound by the brain.

The lowest sounds audible to the human ear (the roll of distant thunder, for instance) have a frequency of about 16 Hz. The lowest musical notes, such as the pedal notes of an organ, are in the vicinity of 30 Hz, although it is a rare musical note that falls below 50 Hz. A sound system with a bass response extending down to the 40- or 50-cycle range is therefore quite adequate for music reproduction.

The upper limit of human hearing varies with age. As a rule, only the young can hear frequencies above 20,000 Hz. The limit for adults usually lies around 16,000 Hz, declining with age (in most cases) to 10,000 cycles or less. No musical instrument has a basic pitch higher than about 5000 Hz. But music played on a radio or phonograph that is limited to a top frequency of 5000 Hz sounds stripped of tonal richness - and it is, for the overtones that lend each instrument its characteristic tone color fall mainly in the 8000 to 15,000 Hz frequency range. A frequency response that extends to at least 15,000 Hz is therefore essential if the reproduced sound is to bear any relation at all to the original.

In addition to pitch and timbre, each musical note also has a certain loudness. And this, of course, means that there is yet another basic requirement for high fidelity equipment; it must be able to render different loudness levels in natural proportions, doing equal justice to delicate pianissimi and to riotous orchestral outbursts.

To many people the notion of music running through a wire seems quite uncanny. Indeed, the transformation of physical energy (sound) into electrical energy-and back again-is a marvelous process, although it is a commonplace event that happens-to give only one example-every time we speak into a telephone. If you really understand the relationships between physical sound and its corresponding electrical and mechanical expressions, you have, essentially, the key to the mystery of audio reproduction.
Condensed from Stereo Hi Fi Directory. Copyright by Ziff-Davis Publishing Co.

Transistorized circuits have given rise to new values in equipment and to new convenience for the user: The compact, combination component - the stereo-receiver - is easy to hook up, offers such applications as AM radio, FM, stereo FM, phono and tape inputs, and controls for all. The earlier tube unit was bulky and heat-producing; the solid-state unit with its tiny transistors does the same job, at the same or lower cost, with not nearly the bulk or heat. The transistor trend is a prime example of the continuing research and development that takes place to push what we consider the ideal to new levels of perfection.

Not all of the progress during the past ten years has been so obviously dramatic. Phonograph cartridges, for example, haven't changed very much in appearance-except that the stereo models are four-pronged at the output end instead of two-pronged. The audiophile may be excused if he did not notice that the moving mass of the cartridge - already minute - has diminished even more, and that its compliance (its ability to be moved by the record groove and return to rest) is very much greater. These accomplishments can quicken the heartbeat of an engineer who has been puzzling over how to achieve them, but they are not readily discernible to the eye of the cartridge buyer.

What do these improvements in cartridges mean in terms of sound? More definition in the high highs, silky-smooth highs, and a solid mid-to-low range. Anyone who hasn't replaced a cartridge in the past five years can do so with the confidence that greatly improved performance will result.

Improvement in record playing mechanisms has proceeded apace. Distortion factors stemming from variations in turntable speed have been whipped by continuing refinement. And such gross problems as rumble can only be detected by laboratory instruments in order to determine the degree of their inaudibility. Today, manufacturers turn from the problems that may have plagued them a decade ago and vie with each other in creating better convenience features for the user.

What's ahead? It's hard to say, except that additional progress will be made. For high fidelity sound reproduction is not a fixed point. To a manufacturer of such equipment, it's more a state of mind -striving for excellence. And as long as the will to do it better is present, ever higher fidelity will be the predictable result.
Condensed from Modern HiFi & Stereo Guide. Copyright by Maco Publishing Co., Inc.
.

Since you hear with two ears, you hear, in a sense, two sounds - a left ear sound and a right ear sound. Even the slight distance between ears is distance enough for sound to be slightly modified. Sound travels relatively slowly - 1,087 feet a second. The slight time lag in reaching one of your ears is one of several ways you decide where sound comes from. It also helps to single out one sound from other sounds.

Stereo recreates the poly-sourceness of sound. If you were to compare a monaural to a stereo recording of cocktail party chatter, you would find significant differences.

The monaural version would tend to be indistinguishable babble; just noise. If you were present at the party, you would not find the babble all that indistinguishable for you would be paying attention to this person and then that. You would choose what to listen to and "tune out" the rest. The stereo recording of the cocktail party would not choose what to listen to for you, but it would present the sound more as it actually was so that you would find yourself fairly well able to distinguish one conversation from another. Not quite as easily or as thoroughly as when you were there in person - nothing is quite as good as being present - but better than the monaural recording permitted.

This comparison illustrates the qualities of "separation" so often referred to (Joe is heard on the left, Agnes on the right) and identification or definition (individualization of sounds, voices, words, conversations) . This individualization of sounds that the stereo effect recreates has been described as the surrounding of each instrument or sound with an "envelope" of sound. It gives perspective to recorded sound.

If you have top quality monaural equipment, it probably sounds better than poor quality stereo. Furthermore, no matter how good the stereo equipment may be, the effect can be no better than the tape, record, or broadcast. There can be no weak links in the stereo chain. Some stereo "dub" recordings and even some original stereo recordings are not really stereo at all.

Don't forget that some music and some "talk" records are not improved by stereo. A single instrument (Bach's "Suites for Unaccompanied Cello" for example) is not usually improved by stereo. Because of its large size, the solo piano may be given a more realistic sound by stereo. Compare, if you can, the monaural to the stereo version before you buy a record.

If you are thinking of buying stereo equipment, take a good stereo recording of a familiar work and listen to it on the equipment you are considering. Keep the volume at a comfortable level (loudness and stereo are not the same thing) and move about in front of the speakers until you can hear how the sound is separated. Be sure there is a "middle" - that the two sources of sound meet and give you a full spectrum of sound. Try the volume low and then high. Settle on the medium volume that your own living room will allow, balance the speakers to your liking, sit down and listen. Does the music sound more real, more live, more as if you were in the room with the performers, than your present equipment? If it does, that's the stereo effect, and that's what you can expect.
From House Beautiful. Copyright by Hearst Corporation.

Speakers should rate first consideration in your budget. With stereo requiring two speakers the old guideline of spending half your budget on them still makes sense, despite the rise in quality of lower-priced speakers. Spending one-third the cost of a phonograph system on its speakers would seem a sensible minimum, since no other component will affect the system's sound to as great a degree.

As to speaker types-bass reflex, acoustic-suspension, electrostatic and the like-each tends to color the sound in a characteristic way. But the better the speaker, the less its coloration; each type can give good sound if properly designed and made.

Your speaker selection should influence your choice of amplifiers. A less efficient speaker calls for a more powerful amplifier. So does a large room, or one with very "dead" acoustics. Fifteen watts (IHF) per channel (30 total) is about the minimum in good quality amplifiers; 70 IHF watts (35 per channel) will suffice for even the least efficient speakers; and power beyond 120 watts or so is significant mainly in terms of a further reduction in already negligible distortion. You may, however, find it necessary to buy more power than you really need to get the best circuits and widest selection of features. Aside from the extra cost, there's no harm done.

Depending on their power, good amplifiers run about $120 to $150 up (and up!), with $250 to $300 a practical ceiling. But many seductive units await the perfectionist at prices well above these figures.

FM tuners should be equipped with a stereo/mono switch, a tuning knob, a station dial, and a meter or "magic eye" tuning indicator (either type does nicely). Other features are again just frosting, though they may appeal effectively to your particular tastes. As to the relative merits of AM/FM versus FM-only tuners, let your listening habits be your guide. If you now listen to your AM radio, by all means include AM in your audio system.

Power amplifiers, tuners, and preamplifier control units can be had as discrete components or variously agglutinated as "integrated amplifiers" (power amp plus preamp) or "receivers" (power amp, preamp, and tuner) on a single chassis. Discrete components cost more but offer greater flexibility in swapping off components as the system grows.

On the other hand, combination units are easier to connect together and operate, and - though only since the advent of transistors - are equally reliable.

The same arguments, of course, hold true for "compact" systems, which combine an integrated amplifier or receiver and a record player in a single unit, with satellite speakers included in the package. The savings are greater, but so are the limitations on your possibly upgrading the system at some future date.

Record players are either manual or automatic and units of high quality are found in both camps. Manual tables are simpler and good ones are therefore less expensive and potentially more reliable than good automatics. Against this, automatic enthusiasts balance the convenience of automatic shutoff at the record's end and the delicate precision of a tone arm that settles untouched by human hands into the lead-in groove.

Expect to pay at least $90 for a good automatic, and at least $50 (better yet, $75) for a good manual turntable with arm. Unless you are both precise and handy, avoid tonearms which you must mount on the turntable yourself.

The pickup cartridge, though the smallest component, is not the least significant. Good cartridges are available for as little as $10 or so, with the very best ones costing between about $50 and $80 - but you'll probably get the most for each dollar spent in the $20 to $40 range.
That leaves only tape recorders to puzzle one - but they're complex enough to rate an article of their own.
Condensed from Saturday Review. Copyright by Saturday Review, Inc.

This cost differential, however, is rapidly vanishing. In my opinion, when evaluated in the light of reliability, no tubes to replace, compactness, and general convenience of installation, whatever cost differences still prevail are fairly well offset.

If the "complete receiver" is so desirable, one might well wonder why alternate choices continue to exist. The answer must be found in a rule of fewer units of higher quality appealing to a relatively smaller audience, and at higher cost. This rule is true of all products-from wrist watches to automobiles. In audio it often has been stated that the first three hundred dollars spent on high fidelity gear will render the greatest measure of audible improvement over the table model or "low-fi" radio or phonograph. The next seven hundred dollars or more, goes the canard, will result in barely discernible improvement in sound quality for most listeners. Nevertheless, as more and more buyers come to appreciate high quality sound in the home, the number of listeners able to detect this last measure of performance must be increasing as well.

Then, too, an initial investment of, say, three hundred dollars on a preamplifier-amplifier (omitting FM radio, at the outset) is bound to result in higher quality (or higher power output, for the person who plans to have many speaker systems in various rooms all fed from the same electronics, for example) than one could obtain if the same investment were made in an all-in-one receiver. Many stereo buyers, therefore, elect to purchase their preamplifier-amplifiers first. Then, at some later date, they will purchase a very high quality separate tuner, gradually assemblying their system in more or less piecemeal fashion.

Carrying this approach a step further brings us to the third alternative, that of a separate power amplifier, a separate preamplifier, and a separate tuner. This type of system has an appeal to the all-out perfectionist who can select the elements from among the very best separates currently available or at least from those separates that offer unique features-such as the highest possible amplifier power, or the last word in control versatility.

From an installation standpoint, the completely separate unit approach is a mixed blessing: you are dealing obviously with more individual product units for a given system, and so you must be prepared to devote more over-all space to the installation - but the very separateness of these units permits a great latitude in their arrangement.

For instance, the large power amp can be tucked out of sight, while only the preamp-control panel is exposed. Often, the tuner (if purchased from the same manufacturer) has a matching front panel for a unitized and attractive appearance, whether the components are installed side by side or one above the other. Finally, the completely separate approach lets you buy the very latest and best piecemeal, as your budget permits. It also lets you substitute new units for older ones so that your system will always reflect "state of the art" electronic design, if such is your inclination. The separates you have replaced then can be traded or sold-there is a lively market for good used equipment.

Condensed from Stereo Copyright by the Billboard Publishing Company.
.

A few short wave transmissions allow the overseas listener to eavesdrop directly on a country's domestic programs, and for me these provide the most engrossing fare of all. Here you'll encounter nothing tailored for export. What you hear over your loudspeaker is the real McCoy - a short wave pickup of a program being broadcast simultaneously to home listeners thousands of miles away.

For instance, Radio Moscow short waves its "second network" program (known as "Mayak"), which comes in strong on the East coast of North America from mid-morning until late afternoon. "Mayak" is a light program with news on the hour and commentary or interviews on the half-hour, interspersed with music. It takes a good Russian linguist to pick out more than the obvious proper names in the announcements (to say nothing of the news broadcasts), but that's enough to let you know that it's Vishnevskaya singing Rachmaninoff.

Other opportunities for eavesdropping On domestic programs are offered by the ORTF in Paris, which relays on short wave a few hours of France-Inter - another news-and-music affair, good for desultory listening and brushing up your French; by Norsk Rikskringkasting, which broadcasts an hour and a half of the home service for the benefit of nostalgic Norwegians abroad; and by the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation, whose 250-kilowatt transmitters at Schwarzenburg relay portions of the home programs in German, French, and Italian.

Australia and China (Peking variety) have extensive short wave schedules; plenty of Latin American cha-cha and rhumbas emanate from transmitters south of the border; and there are some English-language evangelical stations in such unlikely places as Ecuador and Bonaire (in the Netherlands Antilles).
Finally, a word about equipment. As mentioned at the outset, the short wave band is now showing up on a few component tuners and receivers. The advantages of having short wave incorporated in a piece of well-engineered and well-styled componentry are obvious.
And even if the fidelity is low, there's high delight at having the world at your fingertips.
Condensed from High Fidelity. Copyright by the Billboard Publishing Company.
.