Sony DADC Austria

Discs made by Sony DADC Austria were manufactured either in Anif or in Thalgau, both cities in Salzburg, Austria. It's not known how to distinguish discs from these plants.

History

Founded as DADC Austria in 1986 (a 100% daughter of Sony Corporation). Production of optical media started July 29th, 1987 when the DADC Austria - Opening Commemorative Disc was provided in their facility in Anif/Niederalm, Salzburg. In 1991 a sister facility was opened in Thalgau, at first mainly for the production of DVDs. DADC Austria was renamed into Sony DADC Austria AG in 1997 and re-branded to Sony DADC in approximately 2000, at which time Sony DADC first appeared in the matrix of CDs manufactured there.

With the purchase of a plant in Southwater in 2006 and the establishment of a facility in Pilsen, CZ in 2010 (packaging and distribution), the Austrian branch was renamed to Sony DADC Europe Limited, Zweigniederlassung Österreich.
In approx. 2017 it was renamed to Sony DADC Europe Limited Austria Branch.

In 2019, the CD production in Anif was closed, making Thalgau the only one remaining in Austria. In 2020 the company was renamed to Sony DADC Europe GmbH.

Matrix Details

Matrix indicators:

MANUFACTURED BY DADC AUSTRIA most probably in use until 1988, MASTERED BY DADC AUSTRIA most probably until 1994, solely DADC AUSTRIA or <DADC Austria logo> most probably until 1998, then solely DADC and from approx. 2000 Sony DADC or Sony Music.
Until approx. 1994, the matrix code was mirrored (readable from the top side of the disc - until 1993, when fully printed discs were introduced).

SID Codes:

From 1994, Sony DADC Austria glass masterings can also be identified by mastering SID code IFPI L55x.
The mastering SID code appearing on Blu-ray discs or the SACD layer of more recent releases is IFPI LY2x.
Discs pressed in Anif or Thalgau have mould SID codes IFPI 94**.

Typical CD matrix:

1987-present: [broker logo, label cat#, etc.] BB CC (e.g. <logo> CDCBS-450152 43 A1)
1991-1997: nn-xxxxxx-yy BB CC (e.g. <logo> 01-468884-10 13 A12) - these nn-xxxxxx-yy numbers appear also on the face of the CD but only when manufactured for the Haarlem production cycle.
1995-present: Axxxxxxxxxx-yyzz BB CC (e.g. <DADC Austria logo> A0100181635-0101 15 A1, Sony DADC A0100404359-0101 11 A0, etc.)
or, for Sony Music releases: Sxxxxxxxxxx-yyzz BB CC (e.g. Sony Music S12489869613-0101 64 C1)

- yy indicates the disc number (always 01 for single-disc releases; 02 and onwards are used for multi-disc releases), while zz indicates the number of discs in the release (again, always 01 for single-disc releases). SACDs/DVDs/Blu-rays use different numbering for the yyzz part.
- BB is a two digit number, e.g. 11, 25, 32. The first digit indicates the glass master version. The second digit indicates the laser beam recorder (LBR) used for writing the glass master. It is the same as the last digit of the mastering SID code (e.g. 14 with IFPI L554 or 31 with IFPI L551).
- CC is a 2 or 3-character code and stamped into the matrix ring, e.g. A1, A00, A01, B1, etc. Since early 2010s CC is often part of the glass master and usually A00. Since the closure of the facility in Anif, no discs with machine-stamped codes have been seen.

Hybrid SACD matrix:

SACD layer matrix is located on the outer ring in the following pattern:
Sony DADC Axxxxxxxxxx-A911 BB CC or Sony Music Sxxxxxxxxxx-A911 BB CC
CD layer matrix is located on the inner ring, nearest the center spindle hole, in the following pattern:
Sony DADC Axxxxxxxxxx-B911 BB CC or Sony Music Sxxxxxxxxxx-B911 BB CC

- For SACD releases the 'A' in A911 represents the SACD layer and 'B' in B911 represents the CD layer.