Editorial Standards

We want you to read Sound Technology and know exactly where the information came from — whether it’s a pair of speakers we lived with for a month, a DAC we A/B’d against three others, or a spec sheet we pulled straight from the manufacturer.

Reviews

Every review is tagged as one of two things:

• Tested. We (or a named contributor) have actually listened to the product in a real system. The review names the reviewer and describes how we used it, in what room, with what partnering gear, and any quirks or faults we ran into.
• Research-based. We’ve analysed published specifications, measurements, long-term owner feedback and demos, but we have not had the product in our own rooms. We say this clearly at the top of the page.

Ratings are on a 5-point scale weighted across sound quality, build, usability, reliability and value. The scale is consistent across categories — a 4.5/5 DAC and a 4.5/5 loudspeaker have cleared the same bar for their price.

Buyer’s guides

Our “best X for Y” guides only recommend gear that at least one of our reviewers has listened to or researched in depth, and we explain who each pick is for and where it compromises. Prices and availability change constantly — we link straight to the retailer so you always see the current price.

Images — manufacturer first

Product photography on Sound Technology is, wherever possible, the official image of the exact model and variant, sourced from the manufacturer’s own website or press materials and used editorially alongside our review. We verify that the image matches the specific product we’re writing about — a near-identical predecessor or sibling model is not good enough. We don’t use AI-generated product images and we don’t restage other publications’ photos. Where a manufacturer image isn’t available, any lifestyle or illustrative imagery is clearly that, and is properly licensed.

Use of AI

We use AI tools to help draft, summarise and edit — much as most publications now use grammar and research tools. Every piece is reviewed by a human editor before publication, and any factual claim about a product is verified against a primary source (usually the manufacturer’s own specifications). We do not publish AI-written content without human editing.

Corrections

If you spot a factual error — a wrong spec, an outdated price, a discontinued product, anything — let us know via our contact form. We correct quickly, and for material changes we add a dated correction note at the bottom of the affected page.

Sponsored content and loan units

If a brand pays for a piece of content, the page is marked “Sponsored” at the top. If we were lent a product to test, the review says so. Brands never have sign-off on our words or ratings; if they want that, we decline the partnership.

Last updated: 19 June 2026