Rating: 
Summary: GREAT BOOK! (Ignore the "Reader from Boston")
Review: Amazon should not allow anonymous reviews. The negative reviewer from Boston probably did not even read the book. I am a budding audiophile who wanted to know more about the details of high-end audio. This book gave me all the information I was seeking in this regard, while being not just easy but actually enjoyable to read. Now I understand all the magazines reviews, my system sounds better, and I even enjoy music more thanks to this book. A beginning audiophile simply must have this book. It is full of practical information about selecting and auditioning components, setting up your listening room, even critical listening. Mr. Harley also references works that go into more depth for some areas, such as the science of acoustics or building your own listening room. I give this book my highest rating.
Rating: 
Summary: Four stars and a half .
Review: Anyone who wants to improve the sound performance of his/her audio setup will find in this books the nuts and bolts to achieving the task. Fully comprehensive texts without entering in too scientific issues. This by no means makes a book ¨full of errors¨ as someone wrote elsewhere. This is NOT an electronic or acoustic engineering textbook. Everyone should note it is intended to the audiophile whether he/she is or most probably not a graduate in audio engineering.
Consider investing a couple of bucks more in your audio gear budget. After all, this book costs only a tiny portion of the cheapest device you'll probably buy. You'll not be dissapointed.
Rating: 
Summary: Some useful info. Too much silliness
Review: As long as the author sticks to straight-forward info (such as explining why a pre-amp is often needed between a source component and a power amp) the book is useful. Too often, though, it degenerates into high-end silliness about interconnects, speaker wire, digital dither and the like. The author gets a bit pretentious when declaring that price and sound quality are not always related when he gives an example of $10,000 speaker vs. a more "affordable" product that goes only for $4,000!It's an ok book provided the reader keeps his/her BS detector powered up.
Rating:
Summary: A Great "How To" for Budding Audiophiles
Review: Consumer Audio is a field rife with baloney. The higher end you go, the sillier *some* of the hype gets as well. There are a number of honest, high quality boutique audio manufacturers that can get lost in the shuffle with all the dubious claims made by some firms. Audio shops can also be very intimidating as well - especially when you don't know how to ask the right questions or what they might be. How can a budding audiophile put together the a great sounding system he or she can afford while avoiding spending a lot of money on things that don't matter and cut through the baloney? First thing - aside from reading materials - is locate a store where you can rely upon the experience and knowledge of the people to steer you to the right system - and one that is interested in your business long term (Audiophilia is a life long pursuit with upgrades, subtractions and additions over a few decades). Second thing - self education. A lot of people pick up magazines and read the reviews - and this set would likely be interested in a book like this, written as it is by the founder and editor of The Absolute Sound. This book, unlike most audio magazines, does not review equipment, but is a road map through the embarrasement of riches that high end has become. How do you evaluate speakers and, as the author said - find the 2% of speakers worth owning? How can you evaluate a system to find if it is right for you? If you are going to buy a high end CD player - what things make a high end player sound good? How does the current round of SACD and DVD-Audio disc players work - and are they worth it to a prospective audiophile? How does a turntable work - and what considerations do you have to give when you go and purchase one? How important are interconnects? How much of your budget should you spend on source, preamps, amps and speakers? Some people when reading the book may be distressed that there might be some technical details in the explanations might not be to their liking or there are a few errors. To dismiss this book (the only one of its kind in wide circulation, BTW) is to throw the proverbial baby out with the bathwater. Given that the author has listened to, evauated, panned a lauded more equipment that most readers will ever see in a show room let along personally evauate, the "how to put an enjoyable system together that sounds great that will fit your budget" part of the book (and a valiant attempt on EXPLAINING the technology behind the components and speakers!) makes it a "must buy" to someone contemplating dropping some kilobucks on a sound system. I purchased the second editions and was able to use it to put together a great sounding system for less than I though. I especially liked his explanation on how to allocate the budget for your system.
Rating:
Summary: For MUSIC lovers, but NOT for physics PHD's...
Review: First things first: This book is one of the most comprehensive books I've come across in regards to high-end audio and its in's and out's. It's helped me get the most out of my equipment, and the sound that comes out of my system is just incredible! Now on to secondaries: Q: Who should NOT buy this book?
A: Anyone who likes to bicker and get into some pee-ing contest over how they're so inclined on their technical knowledge of "physics" that they blatantly forget what this book is all about, namely high-end audio! Q: Who SHOULD buy this book?
A: Anyone who appreciates music and the reproduction thereof from a stereo system. It not only covers all aspects of components but also the intricacies of connecting them to each other. In fact, it contains quickly accessible information on how to improve your system's sound within a short period of time. It has helped me go from a great system with GOOD sound to a great system with GREAT sound just by adding an AC line conditioner, per the author's recommendation. Overall evaluation: This guy (Harley) may NOT be a physics guru, but he surely knows his HIGH-END audio systems; hence, the book is entitled "The Complete Guide to High-End Audio" and NOT "The Complete Guide to Physics of High-End Audio."
Rating:
Summary: For MUSIC lovers, but NOT for physics PHD's...
Review: First things first: This book is one of the most comprehensive books I've come across in regards to high-end audio and its in's and out's. It's helped me get the most out of my equipment, and the sound that comes out of my system is just incredible! Now on to secondaries: Q: Who should NOT buy this book?
A: Anyone who likes to bicker and get into some pee-ing contest over how they're so inclined on their technical knowledge of "physics" that they blatantly forget what this book is all about, namely high-end audio! Q: Who SHOULD buy this book?
A: Anyone who appreciates music and the reproduction thereof from a stereo system. It not only covers all aspects of components but also the intricacies of connecting them to each other. In fact, it contains quickly accessible information on how to improve your system's sound within a short period of time. It has helped me go from a great system with GOOD sound to a great system with GREAT sound just by adding an AC line conditioner, per the author's recommendation. Overall evaluation: This guy (Harley) may NOT be a physics guru, but he surely knows his HIGH-END audio systems; hence, the book is entitled "The Complete Guide to High-End Audio" and NOT "The Complete Guide to Physics of High-End Audio."
Rating:
Summary: Truth in titling
Review: Harley has encyclopedic, unbiased knowledge of all things audio, most importantly, a passion for music. Everything in the book is predicated on the notion that what we try to achieve through our devotion to high-end audio is musical purity, a representation that brings us as close to the real thing (and as far away from the equipment) as possible. Harley gives no impression that he favors any particular brand or format, nor that he has any other ax to grind apart from the pleasure imparted by good sound. That said, for the budding and experienced gearheads alike, there is copious, well-crafted exposition of the technical minutae governing each aspect of sound reproduction, from the nature of digital and analog signals to their final output from the loudspeakers. After reading the first few chapters on the basics of listening to and buying high-end equipment, many readers may find it most useful to skip around the book and read the chapters or sections that are most appropriate to their present needs or questions. Fortunately, Harley has organized and indexed the book to make its use as a reference guide easy and exceedingly useful. I recommend it highly.
Rating: 
Summary: Unintentionally Hilarious
Review: Harley perpetuates myths. If you read between the lines, he is implying that in general you get better sound as you go up the price ladder for preamplifiers, power amplifiers, integrated amplifiers, CD players, speaker cables, interconnects, and power cords. Bull. Rigorous double-blind tests have consistently shown that much of what Harley advocates is garbage.
This book is filled with bad advice and twisted logic. Here is some of the idiocy. Flipping a two-pronged AC plug on a CD player or turntable may improve its sound. AC-power conditioners may improve the sound. Banana-plug terminations are sonically inferior to spade lugs. Liquids and coloured paints may improve the sound of CDs. A "high-quality, properly set-up LP playback system, playing a record in good condition, will sound better than any CD." Do not use fluorescent lighting in the listening room. Technical performance matters for tuners but not as much for other components. "Loudspeakers costing a little more than $2500 are often disproportionately better than those costing a little less than $2500." "The component may have a flat (accurate) measured treble response, but the distortions it introduces give the impression of too much treble." And according to Harley, double-blind tests are fundamentally flawed. Yet if it suits his agenda, he is shameless in citing a positive result published in _Stereophile_--a joke magazine among audiophiles who refuse to listen to hype.
I am not going to try to list all the stupid "advice" Harley gives, but if one could somehow compile all the bogus audio information, myths, half-truths, hype, and lunacy, this book would be the result. Harley is part of the subjectivist school of high-end audio that is more interested in hype and myth reinforcement than helping audiophiles obtain the best value for their money.
Exacting double-blind tests have repeatedly shown that the placebo effect can trick naive audiophiles into believing that expensive components can sound better than inexpensive components and that worthless treatments and accessories can be effective. Harley is aware of the placebo effect, but because it is convenient for him, he claims that it does not apply to audio. He--again, no big surprise--provides no evidence to support his preposterous claim. It is astounding how anyone can sleep well at night after writing this amazing garbage. On the back cover, there is a picture of Harley smiling. He must have been laughing at how he is going to bamboozle more gullible audiophiles into spending more money than necessary.
It is funny how Harley provides a section where he admonishes readers to be wary of disreputable audiophile magazines. "The high-end product review is thus not only more honest, but much more discriminating in determining what is a worthy product." Hilarious. If all you want is the best sound, then keep an open mind, be prepared for the possibility that your ego may receive some bruising, and do your homework. Avoid this book and, instead, go to truthful sources of information like the periodicals _Sound and Vision_ and _The Audio Critic_, the Boston Audio Society, Ian G. Masters, Tom Nousaine, and Ken Pohlmann. This is the worst book I have had the displeasure to read. Buy this book if you want a fairy tale and a good laugh. Otherwise, avoid it like VD.
Rating:
Summary: Comprehensive - very thorough treatment of the "high-end"!
Review: I very much appreciate Mr. Harley having written this book and in keeping it up-to-date with subsequent editions. (I've read thru all three editions and currently own the "Third Edition".)
If you are at all interested in high-end audio, buy this book! There is nothing else like it.
However, let me warn you: "High-End Audio" is full of a lot of nonsense along with a lot of great advice. True-to-form, Robert Harley's "Complete Guide to High-End Audio" contains both the good and bad of "High-End Audio". That is, he presents a lot of great information, great advice, and he throws in a good dose of total nonsense and mis-information as well.
The problem, for many readers, will be in figuring out which of Mr. Harley's advice is valid and which of his many statements should be discarded as nonsense.
Welcome to the world of "high-end audio". Enjoy the journey of finding out for yourself the road to audio nirvana!
Rating:
Summary: A Great "How To" for Budding Audiophiles
Review: If you are reading this review is because you are probably about to shell out some serious money on a high-end system, and you want to make a decision that you'll not regret afterwards. Unless your knowledge of high-end systems is already exhaustive, I believe that spending money without having read this book back-to-back is simply foolish. There are a number of basic rules when it comes to buying and assembling a high-end system. Some of them do not even cost money, like speaker placement, but have a tremendous effect on the quality of the sound. This book tackles this issue, and many more, like no other book does. I would have made a large number of mistakes had I not read this book carefully before buying. It probably saved me thousands of dollars (and many hours of frustation). What else can you ask for from a technical book? I recommend it highly.
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