THE AUDIOPHILE SOCIETY REFERENCE LACQUER
Hear the Master Before It Becomes an LP
A conventional LP passes through several manufacturing stages before reaching your turntable.

A Reference Lacquer eliminates those intermediate generations. You hear the groove cut directly from the approved master—the format used in the mastering process itself.

No plating. No stamper. No pressing.
THE DIFFERENCE
Normal LP
Master → Lacquer → Father → Mother → Stamper → Vinyl → Your turntable
One-Step LP
Master → Lacquer → Stamper → Vinyl → Your turntable
Reference Lacquer
Master → Lacquer → Your turntable
Fewer generations. No pressing process. Exceptionally low surface noise. More of the ambience, space and low-level information of the master remains intact.

It isn't a better pressing. There is no pressing.
CUT ONE AT A TIME
Every Reference Lacquer is individually cut from the approved master.
Each disc is:
  • Individually cut 
  • Numbered 
  • Dated 
  • Signed or stamped by the cutting engineer 
No two are quite the same. Each is a unique physical artifact from its own cutting pass.

CUT AT MASTERDISK
Each Reference Lacquer is cut at Masterdisk Studios on a Neumann VMS82 lathe with an SX74 cutter head and diamond stylus.

High-resolution masters are converted through a Merging Technologies Anubis Premium DAC at their native sample rate.

The objective is simple: preserve as much of the approved master as possible—all the way to the groove.

A DIFFERENT KIND OF RECORD

A Reference Lacquer requires more care than a conventional LP. It should be allowed to cure before playback and played on a properly set-up turntable and cartridge.
Properly cared for, it can provide many extraordinary listening sessions.

IN THE WORDS OF MASTERDISK'S SCOTT HULL
“If you want to hear what I heard the moment I approved it, that’s what this is.”
THE AUDIOPHILE SOCIETY REFERENCE LACQUER

The master. The groove. Nothing in between.