When LITTLE BIG BEAT STUDIOS moved to the current premises in Eschen in 2013, we had the luxury of being able to choose between two control rooms. The smaller one was more practical and became home to our SSL console and Studer tape machines; the larger room turned into a storage space – and a rather unglamorous back-stage area.

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Years later, in 2021, Little Konzett was sitting in the middle of the large room, in-between a bunch of cardboard boxes and a huge pair of Tannoy speakers, when inspiration struck: couldn’t he make better use of this space by turning it into a dedicated listening area, with a vinyl-based music system, comfy lounge chairs and thousands of books? From playing drums in front of bookcases, he knew that masses of paper can have a positive effect on acoustics.

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Little relayed his plans to Arthur Gassner, a music lover and friend of the studio’s. Arthur was intrigued, and when he stopped by a few days later he said, “Look, I’ve amassed so many LPs that my listening room is bursting at the seams. How about I lend you part of my collection for this project?”

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Little loved the idea! After some considerations of feasibility and extensive planning with architect Thomas Burtscher, construction began under the working title “Magic Room” (obviously, the name stuck). Custom-made LP shelving with HUE®-controlled LED lighting from Austrian LED Works was installed covering almost the entire wall area. Beautiful solid oak flooring was laid and various music systems and loudspeakers were installed. Then, over the course of several days, nearly fifty thousand LPs from Arthur’s collection were hauled into the building.

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Considering that, among other things, the room was meant to be used as a “serious” listening space, an acoustician told us that walls lined with thousands of LPs would never work. But Little had a gut feeling that it would! Complemented by concealed absorption, bass traps and ceiling diffusors, Arthur’s vinyl collection provides great acoustics and a wonderful setting to relax, browse LPs and delve deep into the music.

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Even before the finishing touches were completed, the Magic Room became a natural extension to all of the other facilities at LITTLE BIG BEAT. It instantly felt right, as if it was always meant to be there. We use the Magic Room every single day to check test pressings, listen to masters, cut lacquers, or simply chat with guests and enjoy some music. A large, sound-proof window looks into our main recording area, so a pane of glass is all that separates the art of music production from the tradition of music reception. The Magic Room is where all of our work at LITTLE BIG BEAT comes full circle.