The Japanese manufacturer DS Audio makes special turntable elements. Coils and magnets are removed and the movements of the needle are read optically. DS Audio introduced the new DS-E3 entry-level system and a number of other new products during High End Munich.
DS Audio at High End Munich
The DS-E3 system consists of the DS-E3 optical element and the DS-E3 EQ, both of which are also available separately. The new model is of the third generation and successor to the DS-E1 that has been on the market for some time.
Optical elements do not use coils and magnets to generate sound, but LEDs and light-sensitive cells. A very light and thin ‘shadow plate’, mounted at the end of the cantilever, creates a shadow play between these two elements and thus generates the music signal. The signal is not processed in a normal phono stage, but in a specific ‘eq’ that also supplies the element with power.
Just like its third generation predecessors, the DS-E3 has a higher output voltage, greatly improved channel separation and an even lighter beryllium shadow plate. The cantilever is made of aluminum and has an elliptical needle shape. The EQ has been given a symmetrical structure and the power supply has been even better stabilized.
In addition to the new element, a phono amplifier with tubes was also presented, which will be launched on the market during the course of the year. The price will probably be somewhere between 15,000 and 20,000 dollars. According to the manufacturer, we can expect a product with a ‘lively and big sound with a special shiny texture on voices’.
In addition to elements, the brand is also developing other analog products with some radical and brilliant ideas and they are always working on developing even better optical elements. If we hear news about this, we will certainly mention it.
