Unlock the Secrets of High-End Audio: A Comprehensive Guide

Kevin F: I got what was essentially a new book, even though the description said 'good'. I couldn't be happier. Support this vendor.

United States on Aug 09, 2023

Nasty Ning: Thorough and complete text book on high-end audio reproduction. Well written with plenty of references and real life examples. Highly recommended.

United Kingdom on Feb 15, 2021

rjs: Great reference.

Canada on Feb 07, 2020

Dario: This is one of the most interesting book i've ever read about music. It teaches you that is not impossible to afford an high end system and, mostly, that you have to like what you like. I recommend it, even if it's a very long read.

Italy on Oct 01, 2019

Where's Godot?: I wish I had purchased this book several years and several thousands of dollars earlier. It would have saved me a lot of aggravation and money. This book should be required reading for anyone who is interested in stereo sound and in getting the biggest bang for their buck when building or upgrading their sound systems.

Mr. Harley is extremely knowledgeable and experienced with high-end audio. He is the editor-in-chief of The Absolute Sound, one of the premier audio magazines on the market. However, despite the breadth of his knowledge he is still able to explain things in a very accessible way.

Don’t be put off by the title, specifically the “High-End” part. This book is not just for those with unlimited bank accounts – here high-end signifies the quality of the music not the cost. Of course, one can spend virtually limitless amounts on audio gear, but as Mr. Harley illustrates, (and shows you how) you can also get incredible sound with a reasonable budget.

The title “The Complete Guide to High-End Audio,” is an accurate description – it is incredibly thorough, covering every topic COMPLETELY. One of the things I really appreciated was the way...

United States on Jan 01, 2019

MIKE: First off, this book was not written by an engineer and it was not written for engineers or people who expect sound scientific, or at least experimentally reproducible statements of factual, information.

If you're interested in learning how to talk the talk on various hi-fi and audiophile themed message boards and comments threads, this is the book for you. If you're interested in a technical (or physical) basis on which to base important monetary decisions pertaining to audio equipment purchases, this probably isn't the book for you.

Look, that's not to say there aren't some decent basic explanations of things like reflected waves and the ins and outs of digital to analog conversion.

And, while technically the "accessories" section is one small part of the book, and he makes it a point to say that he's "only pointing out what's available", Mr. Harley presents numerous fallacies or unproven audiophile lore (or more accurately, advertising material from "tweak" and cable sellers) as undisputed fact - even in sections having nothing to do with accessories and tweaks - for example he says ALWAYS bi-wire your speakers if the option exists. And he claims that there...

United States on May 08, 2018

Roland Herrera, Bristol UK: Not much choice on this subject matter. Quite comprehensive this one. Please note Amazon UK erroneously list the number of pages as 99. I don't know where they got that figure from, but my copy is Fifth edition and has 555 pages. So quite a serious error on the part of Amazon ; pity about this careless oversight. Anyway, I would suggest getting this, and what little I have read today, since it only arrived today, has been informative, and good at explaining in layman terms, why a dedicated is important, and why dampening vibrations improves audio fidelity. I'm sure I will enjoy the book... I have another book by Robert Harley which is average to good... but this one seems even better. I might update my review once I have read cover to cover. Good luck, and try it, I recommend it.

United Kingdom on May 04, 2018

bonedoc: The audiophile world is infused from all directions with rules, advice, and conclusions based on nothing but opinion. And sadly, based on money. It's almost impossible to get clear objective advice based on appropriate testing. I was hoping this book might be different but it is not. There is plenty of good basic information but when you get to chapter 15 the voodoo begins to show and the authors loses all credibility. Do you ever wonder why the large audiophile magazines do not publish the prospective, blinded and controlled studies that we need to make valid conclusions regarding equipment? Can you imagine what would happen to their advertising budget if they concluded that experienced listeners could not tell the difference between basic quality copper cables and the latest "cosmic enhanced" cables that cost hundreds or thousands of dollars? This book perpetuates much of the audiophile nonsense I have become so frustrated with. On page 408 "Replacing a speaker's stock jumpers, which are often made of gold-plated brass, with ones of higher quality can improve the sound." He cites no references, doesn't even try to justify this comment, and goes on, page 409, "antistatic spray...

United States on Dec 19, 2017

jakuvee: For a non-engineer, this is very good background reading material, and it's helpful to have a go-to reference book for terminology, and the brief section psychoacoustics is eye opening for those without prior training in audio engineering (who would ever know the Haas effect?). This 5th edition covers a diverse range of products and comments on many of the on-going developments in digital processing and amplification. This is clearly an excellent reference for anyone seriously intrigued by the alchemy of high-end audio. The book isn't going to turn you into an alchemist, but almost all the advice on what to watch out for in making decisions on equipment upgrade is congruent with my own experience, except...

The one advice and assertion that Harley gives over an over again, I'm paraphrasing here, is to test the piece of equipment - any piece that you might want to upgrade, from power condition to cable to whatever - by having it installed in your own system at home and hear for yourself whether it makes the sound better (or worse). Well, I would say most people don't live in a city/area with a home-depot of high end audio around the corner. The audiophile dealerships with a...

Canada on Sep 13, 2015