The Audio Cynic·Terms
Terms
The short version: read The Audio Cynic, and be decent about it.
Using this site, making an Insider account, or subscribing means you accept these terms.
Who runs this
The Audio Cynic is published by Bill Leebens, Colorado, USA (bill@leebens.com). Day-to-day questions are handled by the desk at talk@tomasetti.shop. Hosting and operations are provided for the publication; the publication speaks for itself.
What this site is
A magazine about audio, honest equipment coverage, and the Ask Tj desk. "Insider" is the paid membership that opens every piece. The shop at shop.audiocynic.com is a separate, clearly-labeled satire and has its own terms there.
Who can use it
The magazine: anyone. Accounts: 16 and up. Buying a subscription or anything from the shop: 18+, or a parent's hand on the wheel. One person per account; give us a real email, because receipts and sign-in links go there.
Insider membership
- The price is shown on the Insider page before you pay, in US dollars, billed through Stripe: $5 a month, or $50 a year (about two months free).
- A membership AUTO-RENEWS every month or every year, depending on the plan you picked, until you cancel. The renewal charge is the price you signed up at, unless we tell you about a change before it renews.
- Cancel any time, one click from your account page's billing dashboard, or by emailing the desk. You keep access to the end of the period you paid for.
- If a charge surprises you for any reason, write to the desk within 7 days and we refund it, no questions asked.
The shop
shop.audiocynic.com sells jokes, says so plainly, and refunds anyone who asks within 7 days. Its terms live there and win for anything bought there.
What you may not do
Republish whole pieces without written permission; scrape the site to repost it as your own; hammer the forms or the sign-in; put illegal content in any submission; pretend to be us.
Your content
Questions and submissions stay yours. You give us permission to read them and, if we publish one, to print it without your personal details.
Our content
The pieces are copyrighted by The Audio Cynic. Quote us with a link and be happy to. Whole-piece republication needs a written yes.
About the pictures
Illustrations on this site are AI-generated drawings. The evidence labels govern the words, not the art.
Honest limits
The site is provided as is. Coverage is opinion and bench observation, not a professional guarantee about your specific gear. We aim to be right and we correct ourselves in public when we are not.
Liability
To the fullest extent the law allows, our total liability to you is capped at what you paid us in the previous 12 months. Some jurisdictions do not allow limits like this, so parts may not apply to you.
If it ends
You can cancel or delete your account any time. We can suspend an account for abuse; if we ever end a paid membership for anything other than payment failure, we refund the unused part.
Governing law
Colorado law applies, venue Boulder County. (A court outside Colorado may overrule parts where its law requires.)
Changes to these terms
We post changes here with a new date. Material changes also go to members by email. Keeping your account or using the site after a change means you accept it.
Contact and copyright
The desk: talk@tomasetti.shop. Copyright complaints (DMCA): send the piece, what it copies, and where, to the same address.
Last updated: September 20, 2026.