Reference Recordings
Reference Recordings
The Californian specialists for sonorous recordings at the highest technical level took a long time to really try out everything before finally presenting LPs again. This process took more than three years, as they didn't want to be just one of many who are now releasing vinyl again, but wanted to be at the forefront of what is technically possible.
Originally they tried to cut their own recordings with a typical lacquer cutting machine at the RTI pressing plant in Camarillo, but the dynamic range of the recording was simply too large for the machines there and the lacquer cut already contained distortions. The next step was to go to Germany and have a half-speed DMM cut and a test pressing (at Pallas in Diepholz) carried out. Dynamically, the result was excellent, but the sound was almost identical to that of a CD. This might have been desirable in the 80s, but today the expectation of vinyl is much higher and Reference Recordings is no exception.
The LPs now being released were cut on a newly built half-speed machine in Paul Stubblebine's studio in San Francisco. This machine cuts classically in lacquer foil and uses a special design by old master Nelson Pass as a cutting amplifier. The final piece of the puzzle, however, was the new record pressing plant at Acoustic Sounds in Kansas. The company has been working with Reference Recordings for decades and presses 200g vinyl in a completely rebuilt factory. A special feature is a 30-second stop groove before the run-out groove, which allows the cartridge to be lifted before the end of the LP.
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