High-End Audio Archiving Services by Experts

Contact us now to find out what we can do to resolve your individual case.

Audio tapes and discs are now obsolete and they often deteriorate unnoticed. Maintaining playback equipment in top condition, for numerous formats, gets more difficult rapidly, routine transfer will end soon. The only way to preserve these sounds in the long term, and to keep them accessible for future generations, is their digitization or conversion to files, digital archiving, data integrity verification and migration. Many institutions have already secured all or part of their valuable inventory, but due to negligence a substantial quantity of audio content will be lost eventually.

The technical guidelines of relevant organizations are followed and surpassed, e.g. IASA (International Association of Sound Archives), ARSC (Association for Recorded Sound Collections), EBU (European Broadcast Union), LOC (The Library of Congress), AES (Audio Engineering Society), SMPTE (Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers)

Credits overview (excerpt):
- Salzburg Festival (various labels, more than 1500 CDs)
- Vienna State Opera (various labels, more than 500 CDs)
- 150 Years Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra (Deutsche Grammophon, 12 CDs)
- Johann Strauß Edition Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra (Deutsche Grammophon, 11 CDs)
- Birgit Nilsson - The Great Live Recordings (Sony Music, 22 of 31 CDs)
- Soundtrack for the movie "Comedian Harmonists", music restored from worn original shellacs

- Soundtrack for the 1962 movie "Der Rosenkavalier"

     (Vienna Philharmonic, Schwarzkopf, Karajan, director Paul Czinner), music restored from original magnetic film

- Digitization of the archives of Universal Music, EMI Music, Sony BMG Ariola

Our works have been published on these labels (excerpt):

EMI Music, EMI Classics, Capitol, Sony Music, BMG Classics, Reverso, RCA Victor, Bluebird, Universal Music, Deutsche Grammophon, Decca, Amadeo, Teldec, Chesky Records, Andante, Naïve Classique, Altus Music, Platz, Oehms Classics, ASV, Col Legno, Orfeo International Music, Decca, Hitsquad, Solo Musica, TDK Media, Belvedere Edition, Arthaus Musik

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Our services include ...

Transfer of analog tapes:
- Cleaning and scanning for edits and physical damages
- Detection and repair of sticky and detached edits
- Individual playback machine alignment for best audio quality, mono compatibility and treble stability,

     for each tape, or for each segment of tape
- Correct appication of playback equalization, also for historical and non-standard tapes
- Transfer with film sound pilottone (Neopilot, FM-Pilot), in sync to digital clock
- Assessment and documentation of the audio quality, description of flaws and other noteworthy incidents,

     as necessary for subsequent restoration and publication
More than 35 analog tape machines with different features and paramters available:
- Tape widths - 0.15, 0.25, 0.5, 1, 2 in, as well as historical widths
- Tape speeds - 15/32, 15/16, 1 7/8, 3 3/4, 7 1/2, 15, 30 in/s, = 1.9, 2.38, 4.75, 9.5, 19, 38, 76 cm/s, as well as non-standard and historical speeds
- Track layouts - full track, half track, Butterfly stereo, quarter track, 4-track, 8-track, 16-track, 24-track, pilottone
- Musicassette - 15/16, 1 7/8, 3 3/4 in / s, = 2.38, 4.75, 9.5 cm/s, 2-track, 3-track, 4-track
- 14 different compander systems for correct decoding - Dolby A, B, C, S, SR, Telcom, dbx, ...
- Rescue the content of deteriorated or unplayable tapes
- Using our proprietary methodes
- Using our proprietary huge database for tape types

- Using precision measurements

Transfer of analog discs, LPs, Singles, Shellacs or other historical discs
- Individual selection of best stylus
- Using precision measurement microscopes for determining groove geometry

- Assessment and documentation of the audio quality, description of flaws and other noteworthy incidents,

     as required for subsequent restoration and publication

Transfer of audio CDs, CDRs, CDRWs to files
- Using modified CD-players and software for error flag indication to ensure files are free from playback errors

- Assessment and documentation of the audio quality, description of flaws and other noteworthy incidents,

     as required for subsequent restoration and publication

Transfer of obsolete digital audio tapes or media to digital files
- Individual adjustment of tracking for best results, where available
- Using playback error flag indication to ensure files free from playback errors

- Assessment and documentation of the audio quality, description of flaws and other noteworthy incidents,

     as required for subsequent restoration and publication

Conversion of digital audio file formats
- Converting obsolete or unusual formats

- Detecting and removing obsolete digital emphasis
- Converting sampling rates
- Converting from polyphonic to monophonic format, and vive versa
- Extracting tracks from polyphonic multitrack files
- Rescueing digital files with incorrect, defective or missing file header

Expert assessment of archives
- Determining archiving conditions

- Determining type and status of media
- Assessment of audio content, including genres
- Check for completeness, missing tapes, missing parts, unusable or erased passages
- Written expertise on the status of the archive

- Archive risk management

Mass storage service
- File storage with periodic check for file integrity, without repeated listening

Advice and training
- Advice for archiving of analog and digital media, optimized for different media types

- Advice for archiving of digital content

- Training of archive employees

- Supervision of operation

High Resolution, Specialties
- Sampling rates PCM 44,1 kHz, 48 kHz, 88,2 kHz, 96 kHz, 176,4 kHz, 192 kHz, 352,8 kHz, 384 kHz

- DXD (352.8 kHz), DSD64 (2.8 MHz), DSD128 (5.6 MHz), DSD256 (11.3 MHz)
- We get the maximum audio quality out of the media or source, analog or digital
- With multiple versions, we can determine what is a copy, the original or the best version
- Determinig non-documented compander systems by ear (Dolby A, B, C, S, SR, Telcom, dbx, ...)
- Adjusting compander by ear for correct decoding, when alignment tones are missing or incorrectly documented
- Re-syncing asynchronous or drifting audio to picture

- Restoration of mechanically or chemically degraded and defective material

- Cleaning, disaster recovery, removal of mold, mildew, fungus with special consideration for later playability

- In numerous cases we did achieve almost impossible recovery results

Second step - restoration and optimization of sound

- Removing or reducing clicks, crackling, hiss
- Removing or reducing interfering tones, print through, cough sounds or other unwanted sounds
- Compensating for imperfect recording or deteriorated content
- Restoring dynamics of compressed audio

Third step - world-class mastering
- Mastering for different applications, e.g. download, streaming, CD, broadcast, cinema, High-End, special requirements
- "Apple Digital Master" provider (former iTunes), certified by Apple Music

- Creation of an Album from several mixes that can be listened to without any adjustments by the listener

- Matching loudness and subjective impression of sound by ear

- Correcion of any imperfections, applying pauses, crossfades and fade outs

- Over the decades we developed skills to detect and to cancel out unwanted gain riding manually
- With flawed recordings, we are able to re-create the sound of the original performance as close as possible
- Mastering for movies in a calibrated cinema listening environment
- Loudness normalization for broadcast according to EBU R128, ITU and ATSC
- Loudness normalization with additional requirements, e.g LRA, True Peak, Momentary or Short Term values
- Mastering with low, medium, high or original dynamics
- Performed by an experienced Grammy-nominated and multi-award winning music producer

For more credits click here