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The Complete Guide to High-End Audio
This newly revised directory brings readers up to speed on the latest in cutting-edge audio equipment. Included are updates on multichannel music reproduction, surround sound, DVD-Audio, and Super Audio CD. Extensive tips on how to listen critically and judge audio-equipment quality, how to optimize the performance of an existing system, and how to best allocate an audio budget are included. Practical techniques for improving the acoustics of existing stereos and listening rooms are also featured.
- GenresMusicNonfictionReference
640 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1995
140 people are currently reading
156 people want to read
About the author
Robert Harley
22 booksLibrarian Note: For the 18th Century Earl of Oxford, see Robert Harley Oxford. For the 20th Century railway expert, see Robert J. Harley
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
July 19, 2012
When I first heard about this book I almost didn't buy it. I thought it would be too technical and that I wouldn't be able translate it to usable information. I figured it was only for those who had a masters degree in electrical engineering and a $50,000 budget to spend on equipment. But then I read the preface. When I bought the book and started reading, I knew by the end of page 1 that I made a good investment. And halfway down page 3 I couldn't stop smiling in anticipation of all the great things I would learn. And learn them I did!
Now 18 years after reading it for the first time, it is still my go-to book for setting up my audio system. The principles I learned from this book are all I have ever needed to get the maximum out of my budget and the maximum out of the system I have.
Now 18 years after reading it for the first time, it is still my go-to book for setting up my audio system. The principles I learned from this book are all I have ever needed to get the maximum out of my budget and the maximum out of the system I have.
March 4, 2025
A good book with knowledge about the audiophile hobby that is accurate, I love the part where he shares about the single-ended triode (SET).
February 4, 2018
Do you remember home stereos? Do you ever actively listen to music, instead of merely having it play in the background while you do something else? Do you have any interest in learning how to listen to music that sounds better than what you hear when you stream music on your phone through a pair of earbuds? Then this is the book for you.
The organization of the book is clever, given the wide range of knowledge readers are likely to bring to the book. After some introductory chapters, the book proceeds through a home stereo system component-by-component. The chapters start with a general overview and some thoughts on what to look for when buying the relevant pieces, before digging deeper and deeper into the technology and important issues around each unit. The reader only needs to go as deep as they like before proceeding to the next link in the chain. While the focus of the book is on home stereos, there are also very helpful chapters on home theaters and personal digital technology (portable players, headphones, etc.).
I consider myself an audiophile, but I still learned a tremendous amount from this book. It will be a regular trusted resource as I continue to upgrade my home system in the years to come.
Note: this review relates to the Fifth Edition, published in 2015 (not the Third Edition pictured).
The organization of the book is clever, given the wide range of knowledge readers are likely to bring to the book. After some introductory chapters, the book proceeds through a home stereo system component-by-component. The chapters start with a general overview and some thoughts on what to look for when buying the relevant pieces, before digging deeper and deeper into the technology and important issues around each unit. The reader only needs to go as deep as they like before proceeding to the next link in the chain. While the focus of the book is on home stereos, there are also very helpful chapters on home theaters and personal digital technology (portable players, headphones, etc.).
I consider myself an audiophile, but I still learned a tremendous amount from this book. It will be a regular trusted resource as I continue to upgrade my home system in the years to come.
Note: this review relates to the Fifth Edition, published in 2015 (not the Third Edition pictured).
music-fondly-remembered
July 10, 2022I have read the fifth edition of this book and now I am reading the sixth, with a lot of reprinted text. So I have to disagree with the author's opinion right from the preface: "This book is meant to be used as a reference, rather than read straight through from beginning to end." No, this is not a reference book, this is a textbook. It includes a lot of opinions with which one might disagree, but to understand all the points it has to be read fully and in order. The advantage for serious listeners is that it focuses on audio only (including home theatre), but excludes video and television.
An excellent true and compact reference book, which includes video and TV, is Practical Home Theater: A Guide to Video and Audio Systems.
An excellent true and compact reference book, which includes video and TV, is Practical Home Theater: A Guide to Video and Audio Systems.
November 8, 2022
For decades I was into "High-End Audio." Eventually I came to view it as a religion. Bad religion. This book just confirms it. Get it, read it and see that Harley actually seems to believe the crap that he is dishing out. Better to spend $50 on this book than $5000 or even $50000 on high-end audio equipment.
November 10, 2017
Most of this over my head (not to mention WAY over my budget), but it's a good reference manual to have lying around if you're making incremental improvements to your stereo system.
June 20, 2021
Great book if you want to learn the in and outs of all things audio, from speakers, to preamplifiers, cables and DACs. Extremely informative and a fun read. Good as a reference material to go over setup detail and specifications you should be looking for. In the end though, it only matters how it sounds.
August 16, 2019
This book is informative, and though a reference book, it is pretty readable. Of course, it exposes you to the comprehensive and technical if you dig in. The appendixes get into electrical engineering a little, and no one will get past the jargon without a little patience. If you have a professional history with audio or electronics it would probably help. I don’t. I am a person interested in building a better system on a budget, partially because some of my best memories come from playing music myself, or going to concerts. I want to be able to approximate the experience while listening at home. So sometimes I had trouble with learning about the scientific aspects of hi-fi. However, I still appreciated the stuff that was over my head being in the book.
The main thing that is good about this book is it systematically covers all the bases, and is easy to search through. Want to find out about how to set up an analog, or digital hi fi system? It ’ll walk you through both of those options. Want to invest in a set of headphones, it goes through the types. Getting set in a new house and want to install a listening room? It has the information.
I also realized from reading this book that given the exact nature of the systems, the best experience would be to hear any component in your home. This book made it clear that despite all the resources you can make use of, there is no substitute for your own listening and experience, and that a specific room where music is listened to has properties as important as any of the equipment.
Every component is meaningful, but in a chain of components the last thing before the sound hits your ears is the room. The room has a shape, and the shape changes which frequencies are loud or soft. So you can spend a lot of money and still have a system that isn’t living up to its full potential. Food for thought.
Furthermore every person registers sound in a slightly different way. You can definitely use the experience of experts and dealers to shorten the list to get you closer something you would like, but ultimately it is pretty personal, equipment that is selected specifically for your own ears.
I felt comfortable reading this because I spend a lot of time reading forum posts and blogs that talk about the same issues.
If you listen at all to the PS audio company owner Paul McGowan, you’ll find that many of his responses to questions are accessible summaries of most of the subjects covered in this book. He does little videos answering letters. Another person who both writes reviews and talks about audio issues is Steve Gutenberg. But if you need a more organized taxonomic approach, you’ve got this book.
The main thing that is good about this book is it systematically covers all the bases, and is easy to search through. Want to find out about how to set up an analog, or digital hi fi system? It ’ll walk you through both of those options. Want to invest in a set of headphones, it goes through the types. Getting set in a new house and want to install a listening room? It has the information.
I also realized from reading this book that given the exact nature of the systems, the best experience would be to hear any component in your home. This book made it clear that despite all the resources you can make use of, there is no substitute for your own listening and experience, and that a specific room where music is listened to has properties as important as any of the equipment.
Every component is meaningful, but in a chain of components the last thing before the sound hits your ears is the room. The room has a shape, and the shape changes which frequencies are loud or soft. So you can spend a lot of money and still have a system that isn’t living up to its full potential. Food for thought.
Furthermore every person registers sound in a slightly different way. You can definitely use the experience of experts and dealers to shorten the list to get you closer something you would like, but ultimately it is pretty personal, equipment that is selected specifically for your own ears.
I felt comfortable reading this because I spend a lot of time reading forum posts and blogs that talk about the same issues.
If you listen at all to the PS audio company owner Paul McGowan, you’ll find that many of his responses to questions are accessible summaries of most of the subjects covered in this book. He does little videos answering letters. Another person who both writes reviews and talks about audio issues is Steve Gutenberg. But if you need a more organized taxonomic approach, you’ve got this book.
February 11, 2014
Very informative, but probably very dry for anyone but "audiophiles". If you ever find yourself reading the lab measurements in Stereophile magazine and wondering what it all means, this book will tell you... in great detail. I thought that Harley's case for hi-Rez digital music server as being the wave of the future was very compelling. We'll see. In the meantime, I am not ditching my CDs and SACDs.
July 11, 2016
An invaluable resource for anyone with a budding interest in home hi-fi. Helped me find solutions to problems when I didn't know how to ask the right question.
January 24, 2015
It's just the sort of thing you'd like if you like that sort of thing.
June 24, 2015
It was a hard read for me. Some useful info there, but also a lot of useless fluff. For some reason I do keep it around and browse through it every once in a long while.
December 24, 2013
Highly recommend and have bought for several other audio enthusiasts.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews