What is Quiet Mark?

By DAVID LUDLOW, Home Technology Editor for TRUSTED REVIEWS

Our homes are packed full of technology and appliances, but many of them create noise (unwanted sound) that permeates our homes. World Health Organisation research has shown that noise pollution can affect mental and physical health. With more of us spending more time at home, it’s an issue that will only get worse.

Quiet Mark’s mission is to help us all find quieter, less intrusive products through its certification programme, where only products deemed quiet enough get the coveted logo.

The trouble with sound measurement

Many products are sold with a decibel rating (dB) to guide how loud they are, but this system has its issues. Foremost is that it’s a logarithmic scale, so a three-decibel increase in sound represents a doubling of sound intensity. This can make the results hard to interpret.

Beyond this simple measurement, we all have a complex relationship with sound. How sound is perceived depends on context, location and even emotional state. Then, there’s the added complexity that tone and frequency of sound can also have an impact: let’s face it, some sounds are just more annoying than others, regardless of volume.

Quiet Mark considers all of these factors when measuring the sound that a product generates. With its strict set of criteria for each product category, Quiet Mark analyses the sound beyond a simple dB reading and then awards those less intrusive products.

Partnership with Trusted Reviews

Trusted Reviews stands for quality testing. Every product that we review goes through a rigorous set of tests so that we can accurately compare performance, helping you make the right buying decision. The one piece of the puzzle that was missing was sound quality.

Trusted Reviews and Quiet Mark have partnered to raise awareness of noise pollution and help you find the quieter products to buy and use in your homes. You’ll see this partnership in two ways on the site.

First, look out for product reviews and buying guides with the Quiet Mark logo. This will help guide you you find those products that will better blend into your homes.

Secondly, we’ll be running dedicated lab testing alongside Quiet Mark, from laptops to headphones, to white goods and kitchen appliances. Combining our testing data with Quiet Mark’s testing, we’ll have new criteria for awarding the best products available.

Poppy Szkiler, CEO and CoFounder of Quiet Mark explained the partnership as a key step in the ongoing battle to help reduce background noise pollution.

“Because sound is invisible it is often overlooked. Investing in the best acoustic products in the hub of your home is an investment in the health and happiness of your loved ones because sound profoundly affects our stress levels, sleep patterns, productivity, concentration, brain waves, heart rate, and all our physical rhythms,” she said.

“Trusted Reviews shared passion to champion lowest sound levels across home technologies is a leadership example in understanding how to truly care for their readers along with Quiet Mark’s other established acoustic testing partners. Especially at this time of great global change where family and work life is now often all under one roof daily, solutions to support peace in the home have become a must have.”

Where to buy Quiet Mark products

Quiet Mark awards can often be found on manufacturer’s websites and in-store, with the logo clearly displayed. Some retailers also have dedicated sections to help you find the certified products, including Argos, John Lewis and VERY.

Read the original feature on the Trusted Reviews website here.