Editorial policy

Independence

This publication is independent. It is not owned by a manufacturer, a distributor, a retailer, a record label or a media group, and no outside party has a right of veto over what is published. There is no advertising sales team with an interest in keeping a brand happy, because there is no advertising sales team at all.

No manufacturer, PR agency, advertiser or affiliate partner sees an article before publication, and none may approve a verdict, a headline or a conclusion. Coverage is never traded for access, for review units, for event invitations or for advertising spend. Where a commercial relationship exists it is disclosed on the page it affects, under the affiliate and sponsorship disclosure.

Where review gear comes from

The strongest position to review from is the one every reader is in: having paid for the thing. So equipment is bought at retail wherever the budget allows. When it is not bought, the article says exactly how it was obtained — a manufacturer loan, a distributor loan, a permanent sample, or a unit borrowed from a reader — in the article itself, not in a footnote.

Loans are returned when testing ends. If a manufacturer declines to arrange collection, the item is either kept for long-term testing or donated, and the article states which. Conditions attached to a loan — embargoes, copy approval, veto rights — are refused, and the fact that they were requested is reported.

How things are tested

A review is only worth reading if you know what the writer actually did. Every review on this site therefore states:

• Time with the product — how long it was used, and in what kind of work. First impressions are labelled as first impressions.
• The signal chain — the source, interface, amplification and cabling used, so that results can be compared against your own setup.
• The room — approximate size and treatment, because a monitor review without a room description describes nothing.
• Reference material — the recordings used for listening, named so that you can hear the same passages yourself.
• The comparison set — what the product was heard against, and at what price.
• Price and availability — the European street price at the time of writing, with the date, because both move.

Listening is done sighted and that limitation is acknowledged rather than dressed up. Where a claim can be verified objectively — latency, gain structure, connectivity, build, software behaviour — it is verified rather than assumed. Where a judgement is subjective, it is written as a judgement, in the first person, not as a fact about the universe.

No scores, and why

There are no numeric ratings, star counts or percentage scores here, and there will not be. A single number implies that products can be ranked on one axis, which is precisely what audio gear cannot be. The same monitors that are excellent in a treated studio are the wrong purchase for a shared flat; the interface that is perfect for a solo songwriter is inadequate for a small band.

Instead, every review ends with a plain-language verdict that answers three questions: who this is right for, who should look elsewhere, and what you would give up by buying the cheaper alternative. Buying guides name a specific recommendation and explain the reasoning, rather than listing ten products and calling them all excellent.

Sourcing and accuracy

Factual claims are checked against primary sources: manufacturer documentation, published standards, retailer listings for prices, and direct testing. Where a figure comes from someone else’s measurement or reporting, it is attributed and linked. Where something is unknown, the article says it is unknown instead of guessing.

Press releases are treated as claims, not as facts, and are labelled as such when reported. Rumours and unconfirmed leaks are avoided; when they are covered, the sourcing and the uncertainty are stated in the first paragraph.

Use of AI tools

Articles are written and edited by people. AI tools may be used for background research leads, transcription or proofreading, in the same way a search engine or a spellchecker is used, but no article is published as machine-generated text and no listening impression is ever synthesised. Any future change to this position will be stated on this page and dated.

Corrections

Everyone gets things wrong. What matters is what happens next. When a factual error is confirmed, it is corrected as quickly as possible and a dated correction note is added at the foot of the article describing what was changed and why. Small typographical fixes are made silently; anything that alters meaning, a figure or a conclusion is disclosed.

Articles are not deleted to make an error disappear, and headlines are not quietly rewritten. If a piece is withdrawn entirely, the URL stays live with an explanation in its place. To report an error, send the page URL and the specific passage to [email protected] or use the contact form. Corrections take priority over everything else in the inbox.

Right of reply

Any company, product team or individual criticised by name here may reply. Send the response through the contact form and a fair summary, or the statement in full where length allows, is published alongside the original article. Disagreement with a conclusion is not grounds for removing it; a demonstrated factual error is, and will be corrected.

Sponsored content

If sponsored content is ever published, it is labelled “Sponsored” or “#ad” in a banner at the top of the page, before the first paragraph. It is excluded from reviews, buying guides and recommendation lists, it is never presented in the voice of an editorial review, and it is separated from editorial content in the site’s navigation. Sponsors have no influence over any other article.

Conflicts of interest

Contributors declare any relationship with a company whose products they cover — employment, paid consultancy, endorsement deals, artist relations arrangements, family ties — and are reassigned where the conflict is material. Where a lesser connection exists but the writer is still the right person for the piece, the connection is disclosed in the article.

Policy questions