Welcome to Reference Recordings

We at RR believe that how a recording sounds is as important as the music itself. "Prof." Keith O. Johnson, our chief engineer and Technical Director, is a true audio legend, having designed and patented many innovative products in the professional and consumer fields. The RR Sound comes from his singular methods and equipment, hand-built or extensively modified by him. Microphone techniques range from single-point Blumlein to spaced omnis to complex studio mixes, depending on the musical forces and the performing space involved. Our goal is to recreate the sound of real musicians making music in real space.

"Prof." Keith Johnson has spent over 30 years developing a reputation for innovative thinking, technical achievement and musicianship which has elevated him to a position in the audio industry occupied by only a handful of visionaries. His intensive investigation of electronic behavior and acoustic perception have led most recently to his development (with digital engineer Michael Pflaumer) of the revolutionary High Definition Compatible Digital encoding process, produced and marketed by Pacific Microsonics (recently acquired by Microsoft). HDCD is widely considered to be the most accurate recording process ever invented.

For more than 20 years, Keith O. Johnson has served as Technical Director, Recording Engineer and partner in Reference Recordings. His 100-plus recordings for the label have long been considered the standard for high fidelity, and include three GRAMMY award-winners and eight additional GRAMMY nominations.

HDCD®
Titles marked "HDCD" have been recorded with an advanced new digital system co-invented by our own "Prof." Johnson. HDCD brings a new level of accuracy and musicality to digital recordings. Heard on a standard CD player, their sonic superiority will be evident. However, the finest levels of resolution, imaging and spatial information will be revealed when these CDs are reproduced on players with HDCD decoding, now available from many manufacturers.
NOTE: This Swedish website has a very comprehensive alphabetical listing of HDCD titles. NOTE: This website also has an english language version.

AWARDS AND NOMINATIONS

2004--TWO GRAMMY NOMINATIONS--AND A WIN!

ARGENTO: Casa Guidi (RR-100) was engineered by Keith O. Johnson using HDCD (High Definition Compatible Digital) technology, which he co-invented. It was produced by J. Tamblyn Henderson, Jr., 1998 Grammy nominee for Best Classical Producer. Recording sessions with Eiji Oue and the Minnesota Orchestra were in Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis, 2001-2002; it was released in 2003. Mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade was nominated in the category "Best Vocal Performance," and composer Dominick Argento was nominated for "Best New Classical Composition"--and WON!

GRAMMY® NOMINATION, 2003 ("Best Engineered, Classical"):

RACHMANINOFF (RR-96) was engineered by Keith O. Johnson using HDCD (High Definition Compatible Digital) technology, which he co-invented. It was produced by J. Tamblyn Henderson, Jr., 1998 Grammy nominee for Best Classical Producer. Recording sessions with Eiji Oue and the Minnesota Orchestra were in Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis, May 31– June 1, 2001; the release date was October, 2001.
This is "Prof." Johnson's sixth nomination for a GRAMMY engineering award.

GRAMMY NOMINATION, 2002 ("Best Engineered, Classical"):

RESPIGHI (RR-95) was engineered by Keith O. Johnson using HDCD (High Definition Compatible Digital) technology, which he co-invented. It was produced by J. Tamblyn Henderson, Jr., 1998 Grammy nominee for Best Classical Producer. Recording sessions with Eiji Oue and the Minnesota Orchestra were in Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis, September 28-29, 1999; the release date was March 14, 2000.
This was "Prof." Johnson's fifth nomination for a GRAMMY engineering award.

Earlier GRAMMY-nominated titles:

MALCOLM ARNOLD OVERTURES (London Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by the composer), RR-48

BOLERO (Eiji Oue/Minnesota Orchestra), RR-92

STRAVINSKY: The Rite of Spring, The Song of the Nightingale, The Firebird Suite (Eiji Oue/Minnesota Orchestra), RR-70

BRUCKNER: Symphony No. 9 (Stanislaw Skrowaczewski/Minnesota Orchestra), RR-81

GRAMMY WINNER:

CHICAGO PRO MUSICA ("Best New Classical Artist') RR-2102

THE ABSOLUTE SOUND GOLDEN EAR AWARDS:

RACHMANINOFF: Symphonic Dances, etc. (Eiji Oue/Minnesota Orchestra), RR-96

RIMSKY-KORSAKOFF: Scheherazade, etc. (Jose Serebrier/London Philharmonic Orchestra), RR-89

THE ACADEMY ADVANCING HIGH PERFORMANCE AUDIO & VIDEO AWARDS:

BRUCKNER: Symphony No. 9 (Stanislaw Skrowaczewski/Minnesota Orchestra), RR-81

FROM THE AGE OF SWING (Dick Hyman),RR-59

ARNOLD OVERTURES (Arnold/London Philharmonic Orchestra), RR-48

NAIRD "INDY" AWARDS ("Best Original Recording"):

RESPIGHI: Belkis, Queen of Sheba, etc. (Eiji Oue/Minnesota Orchestra) RR-95

TRITTICO (Frederick Fennell/Dallas Wind Symphony), RR-52

Compact Disc
RR compact discs are made from digital masters on all recordings made since 1985. (Earlier titles were transferred from analogue masters, and these are clearly marked ADD.) Currently, our recording equipment includes "Prof." Johnson's highly customized microphones and hand-built electronics, Pacific Microsonics digital converters operating at high sampling rates, and storage on tape decks by Tascam. We record two-channel masters at 176.4 kHz, 24-bits, and discrete five-channel masters at 88.2 kHz, 24-bits for future release in high-resolution surround sound.

How To Contact Us:

Reference Recordings
PO Box 77225
San Francisco, CA 94107

Phone: 800-336-8866

How To Order on the RR website/FAQs

Thank you for visiting the RR website
and happy listening!