ETA  AUDIO

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Ethics Statement

On reviews, bias, and the hobby we share

ETA Audio LLC

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ETA Audio designs and builds headphones. We also work with many people who build amplifiers and partners who bring our products to market. We are proud of that work. This is exactly why we have a short statement about a decision we have made.

The decision

ETA Audio will no longer publish reviews of competing audio products. No scores, no rankings, no “best of”, no head-to-head verdicts. We are not a neutral party, and we will not pretend to be. We have a commercial stake in this space and pride in our own designs — any review we publish would carry those interests. Reviewing the same products we sell is not something we can disclose our way out of, so the honest move is to step out of reviewing entirely.

Why now

In 2026 we started taking on more collaborations. We believe that any collaboration — no matter the size, and no matter our creative influence, financial incentive, brainstorming, or consultation — is enough of a stake to call for an official statement. We have been doing this unofficially for a while; now it’s official.

What this covers

To be clear about scope, we will not review, score, rank, or issue buying verdicts on products in any of these categories:

What we will still do

We will keep making content — educational, technical, and explaining how things work. We will be at meets and shows to listen, learn, and talk shop.

Moderators of the culture

Stepping back from reviews does not mean stepping out of the hobby. If anything, it clarifies our role. We do not want to be the judges of this culture — we want to be its moderators. A judge hands down verdicts and crowns winners. A moderator keeps the room worth being in.

That means making space for many voices instead of installing ours above them. It means welcoming newcomers rather than gatekeeping them, crediting the builders and ideas that came before us, and turning down the temperature on hype, tribalism, and the race to rank everything against everything else. We moderate by showing up: hosting and attending meets, answering the technical questions, publishing what we learn, and keeping the conversation pointed at listening rather than scoreboards. A moderator’s job is not to be the loudest voice in the room — it is to protect the thing that brought everyone into it.

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“We owe it to the enthusiasts to maintain their enthusiasm.”

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This hobby runs on enthusiasm — the late nights, the forum threads, the meets, the joy of hearing something for the first time. That enthusiasm depends on trust, and trust erodes the moment a company that sells gear also appoints itself judge of everyone else’s. We would rather protect both. So we will do what we do best: design headphones, collaborate with people who build remarkable amplifiers, and share what we learn — and leave the reviewing to those who can do it without a stake in the outcome.

— The ETA Audio Team