Robert Harley

Sort By: Post Date | Title | Publish Date
Audio Alchemy DTI•Pro 32 Jitter Filter
Digital Processor Reviews
Robert Harley  |  Aug 17, 2012  |  First Published: Mar 01, 1996  |  0 comments
With the introduction of Audio Alchemy's Digital Transmission Interface (DTI) more than three years ago, the company created an entirely new category of hi-fi product: the jitter filter. The original DTI was a good start, but didn't always improve the sound of the better-quality digital front-ends.
Continue Reading >
PS Audio UltraLink Two digital processor
Digital Processor Reviews
Robert Harley  |  Apr 13, 2016  |  First Published: Dec 01, 1995  |  0 comments
Of all the products I've reviewed or auditioned, a select few jump out as "best buy" recommendations. Almost universally, such products are liked by a wide range of audiophiles, and seem to match well sonically to many systems. Moreover, these products all have outstanding value; they offer a higher level of musical performance than you'd expect from the price.
Continue Reading >
The Single-Ended Amplifier: Cary's Dennis Had
Interviews
Robert Harley  |  Sep 26, 1995  |  0 comments
Cary Audio Design founder Dennis Had is largely responsible for popularizing single-ended amplifiers in America. Since appearing on the scene in 1989, Cary Audio Design has forged its own niche in the high-end audio industry. I spoke with Dennis Had about how he got started building amplifiers, and why he's so committed to single-ended triode designs.
Continue Reading >
Cary Audio Design CAD-300SEI integrated amplifier
Integrated Amp Reviews
Robert Harley  |  Sep 26, 1995  |  0 comments
As strongly as I believe that the listening experience is the most reliable method of judging the quality of audio equipment, I've been biased against single-ended tube amplifiers because of their quirky measured performances. Without having heard single-ended under good conditions—much less living with an SE amplifier—I had concluded that many listeners must like them because they're euphonically colored by large amounts of low-order distortion and impedance interactions with the loudspeakers. SE amplifiers seem to be a departure from the goal of making the electronics transparent. Moreover, the range of loudspeakers suitable for SE amplifiers is so restrictive that I wondered why anyone would bother with these underpowered distortion-generators. I had fallen into a trap that I've repeatedly railed against: drawing conclusions without firsthand listening experience (footnote 1).
Continue Reading >
Infinity Composition Prelude P-FR loudspeaker
Floor Loudspeaker Reviews
Robert Harley, Sam Tellig  |  Sep 19, 2012  |  First Published: Sep 01, 1995  |  0 comments
I can't think of two products at further ends of the audio spectrum than a single-ended triode tubed amplifier and a mass-market Home Theater loudspeaker. Single-ended tubed amplifiers are about reproducing subtlety, delicacy, nuance, and communicating the music's inner essence. Conversely, a Home Theater loudspeaker system—particularly one made by a mass-market manufacturer—would appear to put the emphasis on booming bass and reproducing shotgun blasts, with little regard for musical refinement.

What a bizarre marriage it was, then, to pair the new Infinity Composition Prelude P-FR loudspeakers with the Cary Audio Design CAD-300SEI 11W single-ended triode amplifier (reviewed elsewhere in this issue). This combination didn't happen by accident; as you'll see, these apparently disparate products are a match made in heaven.

I discovered the Infinity Preludes while surveying Home Theater loudspeaker systems for the upcoming second issue of the Stereophile Guide to Home Theater. In addition to evaluating the loudspeaker systems under review with video soundtracks, I assessed their musical qualities—or lack thereof. The Preludes were such a musical standout that I rescued them from the Home Theater room (where they had been powered by mass-market receivers and fed with a laserdisc source) and gave them a new lease on life in the larger music room, with reference-quality source and amplification components. The Preludes' extraordinary musical performance and unique design compelled me to tell you about how they performed in an audiophile-quality two-channel playback system.

Continue Reading >
Sumo Axiom CD transport & Theorem II D/A processor
CD Player/Transport ReviewsDigital Processor Reviews
Robert Harley  |  Dec 13, 2019  |  First Published: Jun 01, 1995  |  7 comments
Making digital audio sound good appears to be a much more difficult job than its developers first realized. When digital audio was in its infancy, there was a tendency to think that digital either worked perfectly, or didn't work at all. This belief led the engineering community to devise ill-considered and flawed standards that affect the musical quality of digitally reproduced music today.
Continue Reading >
HDCD: Keith Johnson, Pflash Pflaumer, Michael Ritter
FeaturesInterviewsReference
Robert Harley  |  Jul 10, 2018  |  First Published: May 01, 1995  |  11 comments
The men behind HDCD (L–R: Pflash Pflaumer, Michael Ritter, Keith Johnson

High Definition Compatible Digital® (HDCD®), the proprietary process for improving the sound of 16-bit digital audio, has finally arrived. More than a dozen digital processors using the technology are on the market, and the professional encoder used to master HDCD discs is following closely behind.

Continue Reading >
Spectral SDR-2000 Professional D/A processor
Digital Processor Reviews
Robert Harley  |  Jul 03, 2020  |  First Published: May 01, 1995  |  3 comments
Spectral is a bit of an enigma in the high-end audio world. Although nearly 20 years old and one of the founders of the American high-end audio industry, Spectral isn't a name that comes quickly to mind when considering the best of the best in high-end.

Spectral's low profile is of their own choosing. They advertise very little, their products are demonstrated in a small number of stores, they almost never send products to magazines for review, and they are very quiet about their accomplishments.

Continue Reading >
Krell KPS-20i CD player
CD Player/Transport Reviews
Robert Harley  |  Apr 03, 2009  |  First Published: Apr 03, 1995  |  0 comments
The Krell KPS-20i (KPS stands for "Krell Playback System") is essentially a CD transport and digital processor in one chassis. What make the KPS-20i different from a CD player are the unit's five digital inputs, which allow the KPS-20i to function as a digital/analog converter for external digital sources.
Continue Reading >
Quality Lies in the Details
ReferenceFeatures
Robert Harley  |  Mar 29, 1995  |  1 comments
Time to 'fess up: How many of you actually read the "Measurements" sections of Stereophile's equipment reports and understand what's being measured, and why? I suspect that many readers skip over the technical assessment of the reviewed product and make a dash for the "Conclusion."
Continue Reading >

Pages

X