Kuon Online Album Mastering and DDP Delivery
Professional mastering of your edited WAV files into a CD master the plant can take as is

Mastering + Kotaro Asahina's sound refinement + DDP

Track-by-track listening and judgement. The upper option for label deliveries

• Everything in the standard option below
• Each track heard through; level balance, tone, noise, fades and gaps judged and adjusted one by one
• EQ and noise treatment only where a track needs it; the dynamics of the performance stay
• A written report per track of what was done and what was left alone
• Two rounds of revisions

Mastering + DDP

The studio edit respected: one uniform gain and the CD build. The September 2026 job was this option

• Ten measurements reported
• Uniform gain, 44.1 kHz / 16 bit conversion, gap design
• DDP 2.0, PQ sheet, CD-Text, ISRC, EAN
• HD WAV and MP3 identical to the DDP, English README
• PQ sheet and check MP3s; the DDP also opens in the KUON CD MASTER CHECKER (Concerto). One round of revisions

DDP master only

From your finished master. Within 24 hours

6,600 JPY (£30)

• Gaps, ISRC, EAN, CD-Text embedded
• PQ sheet and check MP3s

If the plant will not take it, we fix it. If it cannot be fixed, we refund it.

Terms: within 60 days of delivery. Forward the plant's reply (the reason for rejection) as it is. The fix is free; if it cannot be fixed, the full amount is refunded. The whole procedure is one email.

Express: first delivery within 24 hours

+20,000 JPY (£95)

15% off with a referral code. You receive one at first delivery; use it for your next album or pass it to a friend

Why this price

Kotaro Asahina does the work alone with a fixed workflow, so there is no studio rent or staff on top. The standard 54,000 JPY is lower by exactly that; the 138,000 JPY refinement option is higher by exactly the listening time per track. It is not made cheap; it is the smallest price at which the best can be delivered.

What comes with the delivery

After delivery, register a free Kuon account with the same email and the KUON CD MASTER CHECKER (a Concerto feature) is yours to use: open the very DDP sent to the plant in your browser, gaps included, any time.

What sound refinement means

In the standard option we trust the studio edit, raise every track by the same amount and build the CD. In the refinement option Kotaro Asahina hears each track through and judges level balance, tone, noise, fades and gaps one by one, adjusting only where needed. A report per track lists what was touched and what was not.

Not included

• Disc manufacturing (pressing)
• Cover and label artwork
• Revision rounds beyond those included (quoted separately)
• Obtaining ISRC and EAN codes (from your label or yourself; we build with blanks and add them later if needed)
• Mastering for loudness

Payment and revisions

• Payment after you listen to the check MP3s, read the PQ sheet and approve. Nothing up front
• Card payment link (worldwide) or bank transfer. An invoice in English addressed to your label on request
• After approval and payment you receive the plant-ready DDP and the HD WAV files
• Extra charges only for items listed as not included, quoted in advance

A job Kuon took in September 2026: a pianist releasing a CD on a European label. Ten edited WAV files at 96 kHz / 24 bit from a New York studio, 64 minutes in total. The label specified the catalogue number, EAN, ten ISRCs, a file naming convention for HD WAV and MP3, and a PQ sheet with the DDP.

• On the day of receipt: format, silences, peaks, loudness, spectral balance and hum of all ten files checked and reported
• Standard option. Audio: a single uniform gain of +1.0 dB. No EQ, no compression, no limiting. Maximum true peak -0.6 dBTP
• Gaps: 3 seconds between works, 4 seconds after the 16-minute sonata, with 18 comparison clips of a 2-second alternative
• First DDP, PQ sheet, ten HD WAV and ten MP3 delivered the day after receipt
• An independent mastering engineer confirmed the DDP opens in different software

No details that identify the artist or the label are given.

What is a DDP file

DDP (Disc Description Protocol) is the industry standard fileset for delivering a CD master to a pressing plant. One folder holds the audio image (IMAGE.DAT), the descriptors with track boundaries, gaps, ISRC, EAN and CD-Text (PQDESCR, DDPMS, DDPID), and an MD5 checksum. Kuon delivers DDP 2.0, which the plant uses directly for glass mastering.

What is a PQ sheet

A PQ sheet is the human-readable table of what is inside the DDP: catalogue number, EAN, each track's start time and length, ISRC, titles and total time. The plant checks it against the DDP. Kuon always includes a PDF PQ sheet with the DDP.

How to check a DDP

With every delivery Kuon sends check MP3s and the PQ sheet that mirrors the DDP (track order, gaps, ISRC, CD-Text). The DDP itself opens in the KUON CD MASTER CHECKER (included in the Concerto plan) by dropping the folder into the browser, with gap listening. In the September 2026 job an independent mastering engineer also confirmed it opened in different software.

1. Is the price quoted per album, not just per track?

Kuon charges per album (1 to 12 tracks): 54,000 JPY, 138,000 JPY with sound refinement, 6,600 JPY for DDP only. Tax included, with DDP, PQ sheet, HD WAV and MP3.

2. Do you pay after hearing the check files, or up front?

Kuon is paid after you approve the check files (MP3 and PQ sheet). Nothing up front.

3. If the plant rejects the DDP, who fixes it?

Kuon fixes it free; if it cannot be fixed, full refund within 60 days of delivery. The DDP is built to the plant's submission requirements.

4. How many days until the first delivery?

Kuon delivers within 3 business days of receiving the audio, or within 24 hours with express. The September 2026 job was delivered the day after receipt.

5. Can the service deal with your label and plant in English?

Kuon writes the README and file names in English and corresponds with your label directly. Card payment links work worldwide.

6. Does the AI answer match the primary source?

Prices, turnaround and guarantee are in the visible text of this page, and the competitor comparison keeps its source URLs and retrieval dates on the sources page. If you read an AI summary, check it against the original.

1

Apply

Three minutes on the form on this page. No account. Choose "start right away" and upload your audio on the spot (up to 15 GB)

2

Measure and confirm

On the day of receipt we check format, silences, peaks, loudness, spectral balance and hum, and send the report with the confirmed delivery date

3

Finishing

We respect the studio edit and do only what is needed. Gaps follow classical practice, with short comparison clips

4

Check and pay

Listen to the check MP3s and read the PQ sheet. After approval and payment you receive the plant-ready DDP and HD WAV

We respect the studio edit

Kuon measures ten things first and does not touch what has no fault. Level differences between tracks are kept as part of the performance; all tracks are raised by the same amount so that the loudest peaks just under the CD ceiling. Conversion to 44.1 kHz / 16 bit uses high-precision resampling and dither, and the HD WAV keeps the source resolution with identical content. Everything done, and everything not done, is written in the notes that come with the delivery.

When this is not the right service

Kuon does not mix. Send mixed WAV files. Kuon also does not master for loudness. The limiting that pushes a pop or rock master to the loudness ceiling is not offered here, because the service is built for classical and acoustic recordings. In return, the dynamics and silences of the performance stay intact, and the loudness band your label specifies is met by measurement.

No pressing, no artwork. What you receive is the DDP that goes to the plant and the PQ sheet that describes it. Plant requirements for folder names or checksum formats are followed when given. Forward the plant's requirements as they are and the submission goes through as it is.

Kotaro Asahina. Artist, founder of Kuon R&D. Designs and sells the P-86S and X-86S microphones, restores Revox decks, carries on the Kaneda DC recording method and writes Japanese explanations of AES papers. In the September 2026 job the first DDP would not open in the client's player; the PQ descriptor name was changed to the industry convention and the set replaced the next day. That step is now built into the tooling.

What is a DDP?

The industry standard fileset for delivering a CD master to a pressing plant. It holds the audio together with track boundaries, ISRC, EAN and CD-Text. The plant uses it directly for glass mastering, so what you send is what gets pressed.

Can I order from outside Japan?

Yes. Label requirements such as ISRC, EAN, catalogue number and file naming are applied exactly, the README and file names are in English, and we can correspond with your label in English. Payment is by card link from anywhere.

What should I send?

One WAV per track, as edited by the recording studio. You do not need to know the sample rate or bit depth; we read it from the files and report back. If you already have a finished master, order the DDP master only.

Can I order a single track?

Yes. The price is the same as for an album. We do not price by track count, so one track or twelve get the same workflow and the same verification.