Brandon, I suspect that you may not have studied too much highly technical audio material because if you had, you wouldn't be very impressed with much of Bob Harley's book. The basic stuff about setting up a system is okay, but you probably knew most of that already. Then he gets out of his depth in attempting to explain technical information he's copied from other sources but either doesn't understand or deliberately twists in an attempt to justify the high-end myths which make up much of the book. I borrowed it from the library a few years ago and haven't felt the need to refer to it since.
Some of his colleagues in high-end writing greeted the book warmly, but more knowledgeable readers greeted it with derision. There's a mildly unfavorable review
here and I'm familiar with the Audio Critic review it mentions, but unfortunately apparently it isn't available online. Dr. David Rich, a professor of electrical engineering in NYC, after describing a few of the numerous errors he found, concludes as follows: "The conclusion is simple. If you do not understand chemistry and physics, you may think you can turn lead into gold. If you do not understand electronics, you may think amps and preamps sound different and color the sound more than loudspeakers. The Complete Guide to High End Audio is an important document because it makes it clear that the "experts" in high-end audio are not experts at anything but B.S. and charlatanism". Following Dr. Rich's review the editor commented in part: "Would you have considered it possible that a 450-page book, potentially a sourcebook for future practitioners, would be lovingly prepared and published with nothing but the most egregious technical misinformation in it?"
It's no more likely that Ian or others(note Alan's dismissive comment of Harley a few weeks ago) at Axiom would use this as a source of information than a surgeon preparing for a delicate operation would seek to consult with a witch doctor. Do yourself a favor and use a more reliable source of information.
