A note before the first edition
The inaugural edition arrives in 4 days
Somewhere in your collection is a record you love but suspect you may not own the best version.
Every great record is a chain of decisions: who recorded it, who mixed it, who mastered it, who cut the lacquer, who pressed the vinyl, who handled the digital transfer. Each edition of Reference Checks takes one such recording, walks the story of how it got to your hands, and ends with the verdict on the version that delivers it most fully. The story is the point. The verdict is the payoff.
The bar is high. Most recordings don’t qualify. Most good recordings don’t either. No filler editions, no soft verdicts.
The first edition drops in 4 days. Subscribe today.
Reference Checks is an evidence-led publication on the recording versions worth a serious listener’s time. The reviewer’s listening chain is calibration context, named in the About page and absent from every verdict. Research backing each edition is logged in the Reference Checks research dossier with full evidence chain.