Acoustic Sounds, Inc.

Acoustic Sounds, Inc. is a mail-order business specializing in the sale of audiophile vinyl LPs, Direct Stream Digital/PCM downloads (SuperHiRez.com), SACDs, Reel-To-Reel album reissues (Analogue Productions Ultra Tape), DVD-Audios, high-quality CDs and high-end stereo equipment. Located in Salina, Kansas, United States. The business is owned and operated by Chad Kassem and as of 2016 employed 98 people.

Kassem started Acoustic Sounds in 1986, initially running it solo out of a two-bedroom apartment. Precisely when CDs were being introduced to the public and people were dumping their LP records in favor of CDs, Kassem was purchasing collectible high-quality LPs and then reselling them via buy-sell-and-trade advertisements in various record collector and audiophile magazines. Kassem's record collection grew until he literally lived in a field of Vinyl records. LPs stacked in the living room, the bedrooms, the closets, the kitchen and finally even the bathroom. A small apartment shrunk to only a few pathways — one from the listening position to the kitchen; another from the listening room to the bathroom; and one to each of the bedrooms. Orders grew and Acoustic Sounds was born.

That was 1988, and Kassem’s budding success allowed him to purchase a four-bedroom, ranch-styled house. Initially, it even looked like a home. But soon came more records. They devoured the basement, where Kassem’s now full-time business had added a few employees. They started climbing the stairs and soon controlled the living room and bedroom. This time the bathrooms were spared, but little else in Kassem’s workplace and home escaped the vinyl. He hired more employees for a shrinking workspace. Finally, when 18-wheelers started pulling up to Kassem’s residential address to deliver pallets, it was time to move.

In 1991, Kassem scouted out a 3,500-square-foot former dance studio in this mid-sized Kansas downtown. At first the space was a dream. There was room for shelves to stock inventory. There was a conventional shipping-and-receiving area. But Acoustic Sounds continued to grow. In 1992, Kassem launched a reissue label called Analogue Productions. Kassem contracted with record labels – majors and independents – and licensed the original analog master tapes of choice recordings. He then had those titles remastered and pressed on a superior grade of vinyl and then offered the finished product for sale through his Acoustic Sounds catalog and to wholesale accounts around the world. Analogue Productions now has more than 450 titles in print. Also during this time, in 1993, Kassem began APO Records (Analogue Productions Originals), an original record label focused on recording the most authentic and legendary blues artists still living. APO’s first title – Jimmy Rogers/Blue Bird – won the 1995 W.C. Handy Traditional Blues Album of the Year. APO Records as of 2011 had 43 titles available.

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