Cartridges by DS Audio
A bold concept. If you've been around the block a few times, you know that cartridge manufacturers endeavor to reduce the moving mass of the generator system - the cantilever assembly and the coils wrapped around them (the moving coils).
The most ambitious efforts use minimal wire toward this end, which is why the output on some cartridges is so low (some, as low as .1mV).
While reducing the coil count (wire) most certainly works, DS Audio worked to perfect a next-level approach to mass reduction, using photons!
Analog that runs at lightspeed.
Overview
An overview of the concept can be found here.
In brief, the stylus/cantilever/suspension is traditional, but the motor assembly (the magnet and coils) has been replaced by LEDs and a shading plate which in combination, sense the movement of the cantilever.
This "motor" assembly has 1/10 of the mass of a typical, low mass moving coil cartridge!
The architecture requires a dedicated phono stage, due to the nature of the output from the cartridge, as well as to furnish power for the optical drive system.
A normal tonearm cable is employed, and the cartridge is powered from the two ground leads - right (green) and left (blue) cartridge pins.
Because there are no coils and magnets, the low frequency cutoff isn't limited by coil inductance (because there is none), and for this reason, you'll note that the phono stages have a low frequency taper adjustment feature, in order to provide fine-tuning of the low end response to your system.
While the concept is some 40 years old, it remained ignored and unperfected - initially due to the limitations of technology of the day (heat produced by LEDs, which impacted the suspension systems). With the birth of digital, analog designers lost track of this technology ... until now.
Open Source!
To their credit, DS Audio has published the technical design on their website. Manufacturers are free to submit their designs to DS Audio for certification.
Models
The 5 phono stages are compatible with all 5 cartridges. Each cartridge has a matching phono stage with the same name.
The first price (specified below) is for the system, and the prices in parenthesis are the individual ones for the cartridge followed by the phono stage.
We also have product upgrade as well as generational upgrade allowances (gen. 2 to gen. 3) available.
3rd Generation
DS Audio is rolling out their 3rd generation, and as of September, 2022, the Grand Master, DS W3, and DS 003 have been released.
The key update involves implementation of independent LEDs and photo-detectors for the left and right channels. This results in:
- Output voltage increasing from 40mV to 70mV which improves the S/N ratio (lower noise floor).
- Optimized positioning of the shading plate, which has been further updated to reduce the mass (changing from aluminum to beryllium) for a 50% reduction over 2nd generation cartridges.
- Additional low frequency contouring in the phono stage (depending on the model), as well as additional circuit updates in support of the cartridge changes.
Rebuilds / Re-tips
Inquire for details and pricing.
DS Grand Master Extreme
The Grand Master Extreme employs a 0.22mm square one-piece diamond cantilever, where the diamond cantilever and the needle tip are crafted from a single diamond.
Typically, the diamond tip of the cantilever and the needle tip are bonded together using adhesive.
However, with the one-piece diamond cantilever, the cantilever and the needle tip are integrated into a single unit, enabling a more direct transmission of information from the needle tip.
DS Grand Master
Price: $60,000 ($15,000 / $45,000)
Cartridge Features:
- 3rd generation design
- Independent LEDs and photo detectors per channel
- 75% higher output
- 50% lower moving mass
- Micro-ridge stylus with Diamond cantilever
Phono Stage Features:
- RCA input
- 6 outputs (RCA and XLR) / low-frequency cutoff points
- Discrete dual-mono analog circuit
- Dedicated power supply chassis
DS Master 3
Price: $22,500 ($7,500 / $15,000)
Cartridge Features:
- Micro-ridge stylus with Sapphire cantilever
Phono Stage Features:
- RCA input
- 3 outputs (RCA and XLR)
- low-frequency cutoff
DS W3
Price: $13,000 ($4,500 / $8,500)
Cartridge Features:
- 3rd generation design (like the Grand Master)
- Micro-ridge stylus with Boron cantilever
Phono Stage Features:
- RCA input
- Dual RCA and XLR output pairs for tuning low-frequency cutoff points
- Oversized power supply
DS 003
Price: $6,000 ($2,500 / $3500)
Cartridge Features:
- 3rd generation design (like the Grand Master!)
- Line Contact stylus with Aluminum cantilever
Phono Stage Features:
- RCA input
- Dual RCA output pairs for tuning low-frequency cutoff points
DS E3
Price: $2,750 ($1,250 / $1,500)
Cartridge Features:
- Elliptical stylus with Aluminum cantilever
Phono Stage Features:
- RCA input
- 1 RCA output with 2 low-frequency cutoff points