After graduating from Duke University, Harry became a newspaper reporter and columnist, writing for several prominent publications in North Carolina, Tennessee, and Arkansas.

[3] In Arkansas, Pearson was an environmental investigative reporter for the Pine Bluff Commercial where he wrote a series of articles that were influential in the campaign to save the Buffalo National River.

[4] Harry left the Pine Bluff Commercial when he was recruited by Bill Moyers to become the environmental writer for Newsday in New York.

While working at Newsday, Harry started an underground magazine for audiophiles from his Victorian home in Sea Cliff, N.Y.[3] The first issue of The Absolute Sound appeared in the spring of 1973 with Pearson acting as editor-in-chief and publisher.

[6] This subjective style of audio reviewing was similar to that of J. Gordon Holt, the founder of the audiophile magazine Stereophile.

[7] Along with Holt, Pearson developed a new language to describe what he was hearing and thus influenced a generation of audiophiles and manufacturers in their pursuit of better sound.

[8] According to The New York Times, Pearson "laid the foundations of a philosophy and vocabulary that helped give rise to a worldwide subculture of high-end audiophiles...

In a 1992 article in The New York Times, Edward Rothstein characterized Pearson as an "unofficial spokesman for an impassioned rear guard, a group of music lovers of extreme views, an organization of Luddite fanatics...

After leaving TAS, Pearson co-founded an online audio journal and newsletter with his protégé Joseph Weiss, called HPSoundings.