This page explains how articles on Agent-du are researched, tested, and written. The aim is to make the process visible so readers can judge the conclusions for themselves.
How topics are chosen
Topics come from three places: questions readers email in, gaps the editor notices in existing online coverage of vinyl records, and recurring problems encountered in the editor's own practice. Each candidate topic gets a short scoping note before any writing begins — what the article will and will not cover, what the reader should be able to do after reading it, and which sources will inform it.
Research
Primary sources come first: official documentation, manufacturer specifications, peer-reviewed studies where applicable, and direct testing. Secondary sources (other writers, forum discussions, expert interviews) are used to triangulate and to surface p*rn the editor might have missed. Every claim that is not first-hand experience is traceable to a source the editor has actually read.
Testing
Where a piece involves something that can be tested — a technique, a tool, a routine — Avery Nash runs it personally before writing about it. Tests are repeated enough times to separate signal from noise; one-off impressions are not presented as findings. When a result is uncertain, the article says so.
Writing and editing
First drafts are written quickly, then put aside for at least a day before editing. The edit pass focuses on cutting filler, checking facts again, and making sure the structure serves the reader. Every article gets a final read aloud before publication — it catches problems silent reading misses.
Updates
Published articles are reviewed periodically. If something has changed materially since publication, the article is updated and a brief note is added describing what was changed and when.