Robert Harley

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Frozen CDs?
As We See It
Robert Harley  |  Oct 20, 1990  |  0 comments
Just when you thought it was safe to put green paint around the edges of your CDs without ridicule, there's yet another CD tweak that's sure to bring howls of laughter from the skeptics: cryogenically freezing CDs. They won't be laughing for long, however, when they hear for themselves the sonic results of this process.
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Genesis II.5 loudspeaker system
Floor Loudspeaker ReviewsAudacious Audio
Robert Harley  |  Oct 08, 2009  |  First Published: Jan 08, 1995  |  0 comments
Whenever anyone marvels at the enormous Genesis II.5 loudspeakers in my house, I'm quick to tell them that the II.5 is the smallest, least expensive loudspeaker made by Genesis Technologies. In fact, the company makes two larger speaker systems, the $33,000 Genesis II and the $70,000 Genesis I (footnote 1).
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Genesis Technologies Digital Lens
Digital Processor Reviews
Robert Harley  |  Jul 25, 1996  |  0 comments
Let's say you play a CD on a poor-quality CD transport and store the digital audio data in a massive computer memory. You then repeat the process, but this time play the CD into the memory from the finest CD transport extant (say, the Mark Levinson No.31). A week later you feed the two sets of data from the massive memory into a digital processor and listen to the music. Would the CD transports' sonic signatures be removed from the signal? Could you hear a difference between the transports a week later?
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Genesis Technologies Genesis III loudspeaker
Floor Loudspeaker Reviews
Robert Harley  |  May 21, 2013  |  First Published: Aug 01, 1993  |  0 comments
The loudspeaker designer's art has changed radically over the past 20 years. Although the goals are largely the same, today's designer employs tools and techniques unimaginable two decades ago. Computer modeling, powerful and affordable FFT machines, and sophisticated new driver technologies are just a few of the advantages enjoyed by the modern designer. The high-tech result is a vastly better loudspeaker—even inexpensive products today are significantly better than those of even five years ago, never mind 20.

The new Genesis III loudspeaker shows just how sophisticated the designer's art has become. The Genesis III is as far removed from the cones-in-boxes loudspeakers of yesterday as a Ford Taurus is from a Pinto. Combining a radically different cabinet with unusual custom drive-units, the Genesis III is a paradigm of how high technology has transformed loudspeaker design.

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Hales Audio System Two Signature loudspeaker
Floor Loudspeaker Reviews
Robert Harley  |  Oct 29, 2006  |  First Published: Jul 29, 1990  |  0 comments
When a loudspeaker designer produces a world-class product, it is usually the result of years, perhaps decades, of experience gained from designing less ambitious products. To review a particular designer's product history is to witness the learning curve in action as both his skill and technology advance. Successfully battling the laws of physics to produce a truly exceptional loudspeaker is thus thought of as the domain of the seasoned veteran whose vast knowledge and experience culminate in the pinnacle of his career—a world-class loudspeaker. Moreover, it is just these designers, working their way up to their masterpiece, who are the most successful at getting an ambitious design right. The high-end loudspeaker business is littered with the remains of companies that attempted to build a first product far too lofty for their skills.
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Hales System Two loudspeaker
Floor Loudspeaker Reviews
Robert Harley  |  Feb 08, 2011  |  First Published: Apr 01, 1991  |  3 comments
Last July I reviewed the $4850/pair Hales System Two Signature loudspeakers and enthusiastically recommended them. In fact, they displaced the B&W 801 Matrix 2 as my reference loudspeaker, and have become a fixture in my listening room. Over the past seven months, my impressions of the Signatures have been largely confirmed: transparent and uncolored midrange, resolution of fine detail, precise imaging, superb transient abilities, and, most importantly, an ability to thoroughly involve the listener in the music. These qualities earned the Signature a Class A recommendation in Stereophile's "Recommended Components." I've greatly enjoyed the many hours spent with the Signatures.

Hales Audio makes another loudspeaker—the System Two reviewed here—that is very similar to the Signature, but much less expensive (footnote 1). Because the System Two is such a close relation to the Signature—it uses identical drivers, a nearly identical crossover, and similar cabinet construction—and costs nearly 2 kilobucks less, I was eager to hear what the smaller system had to offer. Because the Signature was recommendable at $4850, the System Two just might be a bargain at $3000 if it even came close to the Signature's musicality.

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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.

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High Definition Compatible Digital
As We See It
Robert Harley  |  May 01, 2009  |  First Published: Jan 01, 1993  |  0 comments
"Everybody, including myself, was astonished to find that it was impossible to distinguish between my own voice, and Mr. Edison's re-creation of it."—Anna Case, Metropolitan Opera Soprano, 1915
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Home Theater, Music, or Both?
As We See It
Robert Harley  |  Nov 05, 2004  |  First Published: Oct 01, 1993  |  0 comments
I've watched from the sidelines with great interest the recent debate in this column over Home Theater (footnote 1) At one extreme is the suggestion that Stereophile begin reviewing video and Home Theater products. The other end of the spectrum was best expressed by John Atkinson at Stereophile's 1993 High-End Hi-Fi Show in San Francisco. Hearing the booming bass overflow of a Home Theater demonstration blasting down a hallway, he said, "They've brought televisions to our hi-fi show!"
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In Defense of the CD
As We See It
Robert Harley  |  Jun 26, 2005  |  First Published: May 01, 1997  |  0 comments
Attacking the compact disc has lately become almost a blood sport among audiophiles and audio writers. Not a month goes by that I don't read—often in Stereophile—some vehement statement about how CDs are a musical abomination.
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