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About Richard Honeycutt
Dr. Richard Honeycutt fell in love with acoustics after his father brought home a copy of Leo Beranek’s landmark text on the subject when Richard was in the ninth grade. Richard is a member of the North Carolina chapter of the Acoustical Society of America. Richard has his own business involving musical instruments and sound systems. He has been an active acoustics consultant since he received his PhD in electroacoustics from the Union Institute in 2004. Richard’s work includes architectural acoustics, sound system design, and community noise analysis.

All items written by Richard Honeycutt
Hollow-State Electronics: The Orange Valve Tester MKII
September 25, 2024 by Richard Honeycutt

Hollow-State Electronics: The Orange Valve Tester MKII

The Orange Valve Tester MKII is a new microprocessor-controlled testing system from the famous British guitar amplification manufacturer. Featuring greatly improved algorithms with an updated database containing the test results of literally hundreds of new, used, and faulty valves, this MKII tester requires no knowledge of valve theory. A user simply inserts a valve into the correct socket, selects the valve type from the list, and presses the ‘OK’ button. The status of the valve under test is quickly revealed.
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Book Review: An Exploration of Rock and Pop Venues, Acoustic and Architectural Design
July 20, 2023 by Richard Honeycutt

Book Review: An Exploration of Rock and Pop Venues, Acoustic and Architectural Design

In its regular Sound Control column, Richard Honeycutt explored this book by Niels Werner Adelman-Larsen., first published in 2014. This review covers the second edition, published in 2021, which is available in e-book, softcover, and hard-cover. The book was referenced in previous Sound Control articles and details an interesting study of the acoustics for rock and pop concerts and the differences in the acoustical requirements for these types of music. An important and updated perspective on modern acoustics. This article was originally published in audioXpress, June 2023.
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Sound Control: The Ubiquitous Helmholtz Resonator
May 31, 2023 by Richard Honeycutt

Sound Control: The Ubiquitous Helmholtz Resonator

Our readers that follow Richard Honeycutt's column Sound Control know how this series of articles covers the most fundamental topics in acoustics and electroacoustics. Most people who have been around acoustics or acousticians have heard of the Helmholtz resonator. In this article, Honeycutt discusses the extraordinary scientist for whom this device is named - Hermann Ludwig Ferdinand von Helmholtz (1821–1894) - and examines how the resonator works, as well as its uses. This article was originally published in audioXpress, January 2017.
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R&D Stories: The Original Western Electric 300B Vacuum Tube Now Shipping Worldwide
June 8, 2021 by Richard Honeycutt

R&D Stories: The Original Western Electric 300B Vacuum Tube Now Shipping Worldwide

Celebrating the reintroduction of the famous Western Electric 300B triode, now out of Rossville, GA, in this article, Richard Honeycutt asked key questions to entrepreneur Charles Whitener, the main force behind the revived Western Electric venture, which is also investing in new tube audio amplifiers and tube related electronics. Since a visit to the facilities wasn't yet possible but production had resumed, audioXpress provided an inside look at Western Electric and its reestablished operations. This article was originally published in audioXpress, May 2021.
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Book Review: A Look Inside The Last Seat in the House — The Story of Hanley Sound
August 5, 2020 by Richard Honeycutt

Book Review: A Look Inside The Last Seat in the House — The Story of Hanley Sound

In this article, Richard Honeycutt reviews John Kane’s book, which examines how sound engineering pioneer Bill Hanley’s contributions in outdoor live sound helped create the entire music production industry. Through an extensive nine-year interview and archival process, Kane uncovered how Hanley and his company, Hanley Sound, impacted a developing festival and concert marketplace. This article was originally published in audioXpress, July 2020.
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Progress on Calculating Edge Effect of Acoustical Absorption
July 1, 2020 by Richard Honeycutt

Progress on Calculating Edge Effect of Acoustical Absorption

For his audioXpress monthly column Sound Control, Richard Honeycutt explored new methods to calculate the edge effect of acoustical absorption and the research behind these methods. The research focuses on the recognized fact that rooms in which Reverberation Time (RT) is important, requiring the application of absorptive wall panels, seem to achieve better results when the absorptive material is applied only to parts of each wall. The physical reasons behind this apparent anomaly are often lumped into the category of "edge effect." This article was originally published in audioXpress, December 2017.
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Book Review: A Look Inside Sensory Evaluation of Sound
February 25, 2020 by Richard Honeycutt

Book Review: A Look Inside Sensory Evaluation of Sound

Sensory evaluation is a field of study that bridges physical measurement and human perception, helping us to improve product design and aural environments. Richard Honeycutt reviews this extended work, which was edited by Nick Zacharov, exploring the latest sensory evaluation techniques, specifically applied to the evaluation of sound and audio. This article was originally published in audioXpress, February 2020.
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Predictive Acoustics and Acoustical Modeling Software: Duran Audio DDA Software
May 1, 2019 by Richard Honeycutt

Predictive Acoustics and Acoustical Modeling Software: Duran Audio DDA Software

From March to August 2014, in its Sound Control column dedicated to acoustics, Richard Honeycutt reviewed and wrote a series of articles on the evolution of predictive acoustics and acoustical modeling software, including a review of some of the available tools. This sixth and final article in the series discusses Duran Audio’s Digital Directivity Analysis (DDA) software. This article was originally published in audioXpress, August 2014.
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Predictive Acoustics and Acoustical Modeling Software: ODEON Room Acoustics Software
April 25, 2019 by Richard Honeycutt

Predictive Acoustics and Acoustical Modeling Software: ODEON Room Acoustics Software

This fifth article in the series explores the ODEON Room Acoustics Software, from the Danish company with the same name. Richard Honeycutt looks at the improved calculation methods and analysis capabilities of the sofware, incorporating an impulse response measurement system integrated to the software allowing easy comparison of calculated and measured responses. This article was originally published in audioXpress, July 2014.
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Book Review: How to Design and Specify Loudspeaker Drivers
April 10, 2019 by Richard Honeycutt

Book Review: How to Design and Specify Loudspeaker Drivers

Our longtime columnist Richard Honeycutt shares his insights on Geoff Hill’s recently released book, Loudspeaker Modelling and Design: A Practical Introduction, which demonstrates modern software and hardware being applied to the processes behind loudspeaker design and modeling. Learn more about this indispensable work, now available from publisher Routledge / Focal Press. This article was originally published in audioxpress, February 2019.
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