⌈ A test pressing is a vinyl record created during the production process to ensure the quality and accuracy of the final product. It serves as a quality control step before mass production begins. Test pressings are made in limited quantities and are typically sent to artists, producers, record labels, and other key stakeholders for evaluation and approval.

⸜ What Is A Test Pressing?, → ATLASRECORDS.co.uk, accessed: 9.09.2024. ⌋

THE AWAY MEETING of the Krakow Sonic Society had been luring in intergalactic space for quite some time. The first time the proposal for such an event came from Marcin Ostapowicz, head of JLAY, JCAT and XACT, during the 136th KTS meeting, back in 2022. At that time, he suggested that we visit him one day and listen to the S1 file transport in his system, with SPEC amplifiers and YG Acoustics speakers; more → HERE ˻PL˺.

The proposal made us curious and excited. Yet time flew by and we failed to mobilize to put the plan into action. The invitation is still waiting, or at least that's what Marcin says, so there is a chance that someday the meeting in Wroclaw will happen. The more so because at the end of August we were finally able to go with our “comrades” outside of Krakow. Our destination was the headquarters of the J.Sikora company in Lublin.

Preparations on our part, which consisted of endless arranging who was going with whom, when and how, began long before we poured our first cup of espresso and our first, and then our second (and maybe third) glass of wine, and some of us fired up our first cigar. Yes, that's how we partied :) Fortunately for my side, one evening was enough to choose and select the right records. And it was all about Test Pressings.

I had already touched the topic before, as I hosted an intimate meeting with our readers during the Audio Video Show 2023, dedicated to this very topic; more → HERE ˻PL˺. This time, however, I wanted to significantly expand the range of topics, to fil in four hours, preparing both the test pressings, as well as LPs and related test pressings for comparison.

So we traveled to Lublin with an agenda, but the host company also had its own. For our meeting was an opportunity to make the first official presentation of the Standard Max Supreme 15th Anniversary turntable. This is a special version of the Standard Max turntable, meant to honor the company's 15th anniversary. And there is something else. The copy we were to listen to was one of three that bore the “High Fidelity” 20th Anniversary logo.

I don't know if you are already after reading the review of this turntable that was published on September 1st, and I might add that it was also featured on our cover, so let me remind you some basic information about this wonderful machine; more → HERE.

Let's start again. The J.Sikora Standard Max Supreme 15th Anniversary turntable is a mass-loader, uncoupled, belt-driven design with two motors. It weighs 98 kg and is much more compact than the Reference, as it measures 620 x 350 x 410 mm. Press materials read:

The new Standard Max Jubilee is an exceptional turntable. It uses unique combination of metals and alloys, known from the Reference model. Aluminum components have been replaced with brass ones. Separators at the base of the platter are made of steel, copper and solid brass plates. The motor housings, as in the Reference turntable, are made of 1 cm thick stainless steel with special improved internal damping, and the bases are made of 2 cm thick brass slices.

Material changes have also been made to the armboard. The new armboard is made of brass, steel and aluminum. The use of brass in key areas of the turntable has brought its performance closer in most sonic aspects to the benchmark level set by the Reference turntable.

⸜ 15th Anniversary, → JSIKORA.eu, dostęp: 27.08.2024.

The turntable was presented in the company's listening room, which is located just a few meters from the factory where all the company's designs are made. The signal from the cartridge made by Lithuanian company AIDAS CARTRIDGES, Mammoth Gold, was routed via SOYATON interconnect to the LampizatOr Vinyl Phono VP4 SILVER, and from there, again via Soyaton cables, to DOSHI's V3.0 preamplifier and Evolution Monoblock Amplifiers.

Signal to the speakers was sent again via Soyaton cables, although this time it was a new version, still in pre-production form, to POPORI ACOUSTICS WR1 electrostatic speakers. And these stirred up no less excitement than the recordings themselves and the turntable. And that's because their sound is completely different from what we are used to when listening to classic dynamic speakers. And, I might add, all KTS members listen to music in just this way.

Standing next to them were the magnificent JOSEPH AUDIO Pearl Graphene designs, which were originally supposed to be the speakers we were to use. However, as Robert Sikora, managing director of J.Sikora, said, it was their new acquisition and they failed to eliminate bass problems in time. There was nothing we could do about it. I'll also add that the power was purified in a top AC power conditioner from GIGAWATT, and everything stood on racks from ROGOZ AUDIO.

Having said that, I can't help but draw your attention to an interesting thing. I mean the selection of devices in this system. For it so happens that a large portion of them were included in the summary of “20 for XX PL”, in which we highlighted a little over twenty Polish companies and their devices that seemed particularly interesting to us during the twenty years of our magazine.

Awards went to our hosts' Reference model, which stood right next to the Standard Max Supreme 15th Anniversary model, and was one of three grand prizes. A prize went to Gigawatt's conditioner, which stood politely on the center rack, another grand prize. And Mr. Janusz Rogoz racks themselves were also highlighted in this article. If I add that one of the guests, along with Zbyszek Bielak, whose interview you will read in the same issue of “High Fidelity”, was ADAM CZERWIŃSKI, founder and owner of the AC RECORDS label, which received the award as the most important Polish audiophile publishing house, we will have the full picture. Simply put, as it seems to me, good gravitates to good.

▌ SOUND

HOW WE LISTENED • I brought two bags filled with records to Lublin, because I wanted to present the widest possible range of possibilities. And there are quite a few of those. In general, the whole point of LPs is that the earlier a record is pressed from new matrix, the fewer errors it has. That's why collectors scramble for such releases, which bear A1/B1 markings on the runners or, if the first matrix was faulty, subsequent ones.

In the real world, you can get to the first copies, even before commercially pressed ones, in several ways. The first is so-called “master discs”. These are copies made from an accepted batch, intended to be compared with subsequent batches. These comparisons were made by workers - most often - sitting at turntables and listening to excerpts of randomly selected copies of records with their master, i.e. the aforementioned record, throughout the day. The disadvantage is that they are almost always quite badly deteriorated.

The second possibility is records made for radio stations and DJs working in them, a practice particularly popular in the US. Called “white labels,” by which they are confused with test presses, they were made right after the latter and after master discs. They have white liner notes with full descriptions and usually printed on the cover stating that it's a Not For Sale record. Usually DJs would get a few of them and leave one for radio, selling the rest. You can get them in very good condition.

And there are finally test pressings. But there are test pressings and test pressings, so to speak. Classic records of this type were made in several, rarely a dozen versions. When you buy one of them, you usually don't know whether it's the final, accepted version, or one with errors and ultimately rejected. But a few years ago, major labels such as Impulse!, Blue Note, Verve and Deutsche Grammophon decided to earn something from it and offered test presses of the accepted lacquers, pressing first 50, then 100, and more recently 200 copies. They can be purchased from the official online stores of these labels.

When preparing for this away meeting I reached for records that represented all these varieties. And at the very end Adam Czerwinski played us an authentic lacquer, which still swept every other version away. Which goes to show how the process of pressing a record is fraught with errors, and how much craftsmanship it takes to produce a truly excellent record.

» RECORDS USED FOR THE TEST ⸜ a selection

» SESION I: SOUND

˻ 1 ˺ KABARET STARSZYCH PANÓW, Piosenki wybrane, Płyta wzorcowa ⸜ 1962 | ˻ 2 ˺ LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN, IX Symfonia d-moll, Orkiestra Gewandhaus W Lipsku, Chór Radia w Lipsku, Płyta wzorcowa ⸜ 1962 | ˻ 3 ˺ ELLA FITZGERALD The Lost Berlin Tapes, Test Pressing ⸜ 1962 → 2020 | ˻ 4 ˺ ALICE COLTRANE FEATURING PHAROAH SANDERS, Journey In Satchidananda, ⸜ 1971/2022 | ˻ 5 ˺ MILES DAVIS, Water Babies, Demonstration disc ⸜ 1976 | ˻ 6 ˺ JACK DEJOHNETTE, Special Edition, Test Press ⸜ 1980 | ˻ 7 ˺ SZTYWNY PAL AZJI, Europa i Azja, Test Press ⸜ 1988 | ˻ 8 ˺ DIANA KRALL, The Look Of Love, Test Press ⸜ 2001/2024 | ˻ 9 ˺ DEPECHE MODE, Ghosts Again (Remixes) , Columbia 44-321915, 45 RPM, № 323 ⸜ 2024 | ˻ 10 ˺ TREVOR HORN Echoes, Ancient & Modern, Test Press ⸜ 2001/2023 | ˻ 11 ˺ IGGY POP, TREVOR HORN, PHOEBE LUNNY Personal Jesus ⸜ 2023

» SESION II: COMPARISONS

˻ 1 ˺ FRANK SINATRA, Sing And Dance With Frank Sinatra, Columbia CL 6143/Impex Records IMP6036 ⸜ 1950/2020 | ˻ 2 ˺ BILLIE HOLIDAY, Body And Soul, Verve Records MG V-8197 ⸜ 1957 • a) Vital Series, Verve Records ⸜ 2018 | 2019 (GZ Media) | b) „Acoustic Sounds Series”, Verve Records/UMe 602465124552 ⸜ 2024 (Sterling Sound) | ˻ 3 ˺ ART BLAKEY AND THE JAZZ MESSENGERS, First Flight To Tokyo: The Lost 1961 Recordings, Blue Note 00602435952864 ⸜ 1961 → 2021 | ˻ 4 ˺ ESTHER OFARIM, Esther, HÖR ZU SHZE 367/Audio-Trade ATR LP 001 ⸜ 1972/2023 | ˻ 5 ˺ PATRICIA BARBER, Café Blue, Premonition Records 90760-1/Impex Records IMP-6035-1 2 x 45 RPM, ⸜ 2011/2020 | ˻ 6 ˺ AIDAN BAKER & IDKLANG, In The Red Room ˻ A-1 ˺ Karlrecords KR021, ⸜ 2015 | ˻ 7 ˺ EUGÈNE YSAŸE, Six Sonatas For Violin Solo Op. 27, wyk. Hilary Hahn, Deutsche Grammophon 486 4177, No. 12/100 ⸜ 2023 | ˻ 8 ˺ ADAM CZERWIŃSKI, WOJCIECH PADJAS, J.S. Bach Music Of The Heavens, AC Records ACR 031 ⸜ 2024

»«

RYSIEK B. (KTS) • It won't be a typical discussion, as the meeting was different than usual. Inviting us to the headquarters and manufacturing section of J.Sikora was the first in the 20-year history of KTS, so new to us and a special event.

It has happened in our history that so far, through 146 meetings, when listening, comparing and evaluating we have based it all on familiar systems with specific acoustics. This creates a friendly environment and a familiar baseline for evaluating the equipment or sound sources under study. The previously unfamiliar listening room and at the same time the outstanding equipment of our hosts did not allow us to use our benchmarks for evaluations on the musical and equipment side.

Wojtek, our Editor-in-Chief, prepared us a listening material in the form of records and test pressings, he amazed me with, because I had no knowledge of his vast vinyl collection. My brief thoughts, so as not to bore readers, based on the fact that the sound I heard in J.Sikora's studio is exactly what is at stake on my scale of valuing and listening to music. In short: clear scaling, timbres, showing the aura of the instruments, faithfully describing the acoustic space, rendering the dynamic scale as close as possible to a real piano, homogeneity, tonal balance and stage size.

Now about the advantages and disadvantages. This system showed with Wojtek's records what importance the quality of recording, mixing, mastering and pressing has. There was no leniency, so to speak, all differences were clearly shown. Unfortunately, communing with the most outstanding setup, we must reckon that listening to low-quality discs will expose their musical and sonic poverty in a special way. Instead, we have a chance to drift away listening to, I'll be boring: Ella Fitzgerald, Phaorah Sanders, Diana Krall and Patricia Barber and the rest.

I will conclude by saying that I am impressed after seeing the production line, admiring the knowledge and talent of the owner of the company J.Sikora. I was very happy about sharing almost all my sonic opinions with those of Mr. Robert Sikora. This is a good omen for the company's future :) Thank you for the open and cordial welcome!

ADAM (J.Sikora) • I've had the opportunity to listen to test presses a few times, but usually they were two or three discs listened to in some show conditions, such as at the Audio Video Show in Warsaw, presented as curiosities. This time, at the KSS meeting at J.Sikora's headquarters in Lublin, it was different: familiar listening conditions and an equipment configuration I am familiar with. The huge number of records and, at the same time, the opportunity to directly compare test pressings with regular releases of the same material, it was a real challenge. At the same time, this is an extremely interesting experience offering an idea of how the presentation of music changes at different stages of vinyl record production.

During the listening sessions, I “worked” as a DJ, usually standing somewhere off to the side, so I can't comment on details related to stereophony, localization of phantom images or stage building - I can only focus on the sound in general. All the test presses I listened to, in my opinion, had two things in common: greater dynamics and a tonal balance shifted toward the treble. It is this, this brighter “treble” that I would find unacceptable, as it would be too tiring in the long run and would diminish the pleasure of listening to music from vinyl records.

Personally, I like the presentation of music closer to natural, and I don't mind a slight warming of the treble at the expense of surgical analytics, which is probably why when listening to the test presses I had the impression of their lesser musicality compared to the regular pressings. It was an interesting experience to compare the same material (J.S. BACH Music Of The Heavens) in three versions: test press, regular release on transparent vinyl and regular release on black vinyl.

My feelings were that, again, the regular pressing on black vinyl was the most enjoyable to listen to, and the clear vinyl version closely resembled the sound and tonal balance of the test press. Personally, I will stay with buying and listening to regular releases, accepting a minimally less analytical approach, gaining more pleasure from listening to music instead, and I will treat the test pressing as a stage of vinyl production not intended for everyday listening.

MARCIN (KTS) • First of all, I would like to thank our hosts for such a nice and warm welcome. The atmosphere of the meeting was super!.

But getting back to music the matter for me is quite difficult. New place, new setup, and these speakers. The host changed his standard speakers for electrostatic ones. For me it was a novelty. I had heard this type of system but only on the occasion of Audio Video Show or other shows, so I wasn't entirely comfortable with this sound. I wasn't able to 100 percent judge how much of what I was hearing was the influence of the turntable, and how much was just added by the speakers.

But overall the system played very consistently. The sound was detailed and well-filled, massive, although I personally lacked that deep bass. I also noticed that with some female vocals, “rough artifacts” crept in, as if the disc was worn out or the speaker was getting into some kind of resonance.

I was most impressed by electronic tracks, such as DEPECHE MODE and IGGY POP (incidentally, a cover of Depeche Mode’s Personal Jesus). DIANA KRALL and, of course, ADAM CZERWIŃSKI's album were positively etched in my memory, while the first song played - Kabaret Starszych Panów - was sort of a traumatic experience. It was simply one big pop&cracks storm. Fortunately, it only got better further on :)

JANUSZ T. • Every encounter with a turntable and vinyl records is for me a step back in time. And I don't mean a technological step back, but a sentimental one. Going back to the sweet moments, where sounds were enriched with pops&cracks, and the picture on TV was not only quite snowy, but also black and white. It's a kind of journey into times when everything had a different flavor and was perceived differently.

Already the first record that found its way onto the platter of the beautiful turntable produced by J.Sikora featuring the “High Fidelity” logo confirmed my conviction that this will be an exceptional meeting. KABARET STARSZYCH PANÓW Piosenki wybrane was full of crack, and terribly noisy, but nevertheless the sound, for the poor condition of the sampler record, smuggled the “spirit” of the era in which it was recorded. I would love to listen to more such songs with a glass of wine in my hand sitting on the couch at home, as long as I had a turntable ;).

The topic of the meeting was the comparison of the so-called “test pressing” versions with normal releases. The differences were very palpable and different for each record. In most cases, at least for me, the test versions sounded brighter and had more detail. Did this always translate into an overall perception? - Both yes and no. For example, TREVOR HORN's album Echoes, Ancient & Modern and track Personal Jesus with a guest appearance by IGGY POP sounded better from the regular release. The sound was weighted down and had a rock nerve. The test version had more detail, but was too dry in this particular repertoire.

Things were different on the ADAM CZERWIŃSKI & WOJCIECH PADJAS J.S Bach Music Of The Heavens album. The test version stunned me with the sound of Alicja Smietana's violin, the regular version softened the texture of the instrument while emphasizing the others. If I wanted to listen to the emotion the violin conveyed, the test press was the only choice, and if I wanted to play music accompanying dinner for my guests, as background music, the regular version would be preferable. Eh, dilemmas, dilemmas.... None of the presentations provided an answer to what is better, on the contrary, they reinforced the idea that it depends on what we really expect from the sound. That's probably why there was so much discussion after each listening.

And one more observation, what Adam Czerwinski presented at the end of the meeting on the lacquer exceeded my wildest expectations in terms of what can be achieved with vinyl. We listened to the Hollywood Trio album (Goldings, Oleszkiewicz, Czerwinski). Clarity, transparency, maybe a touch more weight would be appreciated. But is that how vinyl can play? Hats off to it!

JULIAN SOJA (Soyaton, KTS) • Summing up the Krakow Sonic Society's away meeting in Lublin more than two weeks after this fantastic event I wouldn't dare get into nuanced comparisons of test pressings vs regular releases, which at the time - in the heat of the moment - evoked plenty of emotions and - at times fierce - polemics.

Unfortunately, memory is no longer what it used to be, and we listened to a lot of records over those few hours, so I'll limit myself to general impressions, albeit with one exception, as undoubtedly the most impressive and a great WOW! was the AC Records lacquer (acetate) prepared for Adam Czerwinski at the famous Abbey Road Studios (the Hollywood Trio record), which to me sounded simply like a Master Tape, with the usual incredible depth and dynamics.

I have to admit that this was not my first listening session at the J.Sikora’s showroom, which I very much like and appreciate - for the quality of sound, for the decor, but just as much for the friendliness and hospitality of the hosts of this unique place. The system itself is absolutely top-notch, starting, of course, with the J.Sikora turntables (including both the Reference and the Standard Max Supreme heard during the KSS meeting, in the anniversary edition for the 15th anniversary of J.Sikora Turntables and the 20th anniversary of “High Fidelity”), through the excellent Doshi Audio electronics, not to mention the wiring of the entire system with Soyaton cables:).

This time we listened using electrostatic speakers from the Hungarian company Popori, whose advantage for quite a large group of listeners was a very wide area of the so-called sweet spot, supported by spatiality, three-dimensionality and a large “aeration” of the stage, although this came at the expense of some (small) shortcomings and deficiencies in the lower range.

Overall a fantastic meeting and hopefully not the last in this place and with this group of people!

TOMEK L. (KTS) • I won't say anything new if I start this way: the last KSS was exceptional in several respects. The meeting was held in Lublin, at Janusz Sikora's headquarters, to celebrate the 15th anniversary of his company, and the 20th anniversary of “High Fidelity”. A beautiful STANDARD MAX SUPREME 15th Anniversary turntable was made for the occasion, and the unit we listened to was additionally numbered with the “High Fidelity” logo (No. 01). The topic of the meeting was listening to this turntable, and comparing commercial vinyl records with their test pressing versions.

To begin with, Wojtek explained to us what the difference is between demo, not-for-sale discs and test pressing is. In theory, a fresh master gives the best quality, but the best copies are the ones made after the pressing machine has warmed up, as the first ones may hum more. So it is best to have a piece with a number less than 100, but not necessarily the first one to come off the machine.

And how was it in practice? In most cases, I liked the test pressing more than the “store” version. Sometimes the differences were small, and sometimes the discs played completely different. Unfortunately, we can't be sure if we listened to the final test version, because sometimes 2-3 different versions are created before production, before everyone is satisfied with the result and gives the green light to the pressing plant.

Due to the fact that I didn't take notes, I can only point to a few titles from memory and write about the differences. TREVOR HORN Echoes and Personal Jesus with IGGY POP: the deeper, darker and more appealing vocals were on the test disc. DEPECHE MODE Ghost Again: here the test album had more energy. PATRICIA BARBER Café Blue: in this case differences were minor, opinions varied as to what appealed more to whom, because this Impex release sounds phenomenally and lacks nothing.

ART BLAKEY AND JAZZ MESSENGERS and First Flight to Tokyo: here I had a problem with the choice, and had to make a quick determination. Version one, that is, the commercial version, was authentic, clean, but raw and dry. It was as if I sat alone with the drummer and isolated myself from the world. Version two, the test version, gave space, was dense and showed the background sounds of the musicians and the audience. For me, it wasn't a comparison of the test press and the commercial release, but like listening to a completely different master. For me, a mix of both versions would be ideal.

In conclusion I recommend collecting test pressings, not only for their uniqueness and value, but also often better sound quality. Congratulations on a beautiful anniversary of the J.Sikora company and, according to me, from the looks of it, the most beautiful turntable in their portfolio, which in color, proportions of construction, beautifully flexes its muscles, having most of the best solutions that the company has developed over these 15 years. It plays as it looks, so congratulations to the lucky ones who will have them in their homes

▌ Summary

YOUR FAVORITE EDITOR HERE, AGAIN. :) From the few statements that its participants sent in after listening, one main conclusion emerges: test discs sound different from commercial discs, as do reference and promotional discs. This is a technological matter, and the observations of the participants confirm the theory. The second thing is that not everyone agreed on which version is better. Which, on the one hand, does not confirm the theory of the superiority of the first pressings, but on the other hand shows that it all depends on the system and ourselves anyway. In this case, the key to the verdicts, it seems, were the electrostatic speakers in J.Sikora's system.

If I had to decide for myself, I would always choose test pressings, always clear vinyl versions and always promotional releases. They are brighter than commercial releases, but much more resolving and dynamic. There is much more information on them, in my opinion. And the problem is not themselves, but the systems. And that's because - as it happens - regular records are mildly muffled. This can't be changed, it's just the way it is, so often subconsciously, we assemble systems in such a way as to “unclog” them. So when we play a disc with more information, often brighter, we recognize that “it's not that”.

And, as Zbyszek Bielak told me during break, “test press rules!”. But, here I have to concede the point to some KSSers and hosts, after all we build the system for ourselves, not for the recordings. We use a similar key when selecting recordings. If something “doesn't work” for us, we change it, regardless of whether it's a legitimate action or a misguided action. Ultimately, it's our and only our system, our and only our emotions. If someone says something different, even if it is, which brings us back to the beginning of this section, your favorite editor :) ●