From system to production
The MR1 was not left on the test bench.
Studio Sound reported in April 1995 that AGM Digital Arts, described as developer and manufacturer of the digital MR1 “soundfield” microphone system, was preparing its own classical label featuring recordings made with the system.
The first sessions were the Chamber Academy Quartet in Grieg and Sibelius string quartets, produced by Anthony Morris with AGM’s 20-bit system and Nagra-D recorders. The same report also describes a Berlin session of Brahms and Strauss lieder and Ravel songs.
Perfectum Est
The article states that the recordings were intended for release on the Perfectum Est label through the new AGM Digital New Media company. This gives the MR1 a useful piece of provenance: it was being used as part of an artistic production chain rather than merely demonstrated as engineering.
Why this belongs beside the product page
It is easy for technology archives to turn into lists of specifications. The recording sessions show the opposite end of the system: musicians, repertoire, recording decisions and a finished release programme. That connection between engineering and an artistic result is one of the recurring threads in AGM’s history.