CARTRIDGE

Photo-electric pick-up cartridge
Made by: Digital Stream Corporation, Kanagawa, Japan
Supplied by: Soundfowndations Ltd, Berks
Telephone: 0118 9814238
Web: www.ds-audio-w.biz; www.soundfowndations.co.uk
Price (inc. equaliser): £2295

DS Audio DS-E1

LEFT: Threaded holes in the DS-E1’s
alloy body ensure it can be bolted tight,
though its shallow profile requires care inadjusting rear arm height. The sapphireand boron cantilevers used in the top DS
models are replaced by an alloy tube here

Following a flow of revolutionary, hugely desirable but astronomically-priced ‘optical’cartridges, DS Audio introduces the DS-E1 – could ‘E’ stand for ‘Everyman’?
Review: Ken Kessler Lab: Paul MillerT

his is the second review this monththat’s been tough for me to write
if, in this instance, for entirely
positive reasons. You see, theDS Audio DS-E1 is actually too good, andthe asking price of £2295 is the reason.
I do not want to inflict any hardship upon
DS Audio, which offers three models above
this, but, like an entry-level Rolex, Leica CL
camera or Porsche Cayman, it begs thequestion: why pay more?
While still a fair chunk of change tomost people, by today’s measure £2295
is not an extreme amount to pay fora true high-end cartridge of sublime
performance together with, in this case,what is effectively a phono stage. Yes, youread that correctly: this includes all that’s
needed to feed your vinyl into a line-levelonly preamp, integrated or receiver.

BODY SHOP
That’s because the DS Audio DS-E1,
like its far dearer siblings, requires a
dedicated energiser that also provides
RIAA equalisation [see PM’s boxout, p55].
All models have corresponding energiser
boxes, but these are interchangeable.
Where DS Audio’s models differ is incantilever and stylus type, as well as
body and illumination colours for easy
identification. The DS-E1’s prowmounted lamp glows green and its
body is a semi-matt silver.
This commonality is a boon whenswapping from one model to the next(for retailers or reviewers!) because
the 8.1g weight, overhang, VTA andtracking force of 1.7g are identicalfor every model. Thus, what you
are paying for are differing bodymaterials, better cantilevers/styli andsuperior energisers. Working fromthe top of the range downward, they
comprise: DS Master 1 [HFN Dec
RIGHT: Close-up view of the DS-E1’sunderside reviews the miniature PCB
holding the LED light source, immediately
underneath the alloy cantilever. The
green ‘Cylon’ strip is separately illuminatedReprinted from Hi-Fi News | www.hifinews.co.uk

HFN May DS Audio DS-E1 Reprint.indd 55’17] with ‘ultra-duralumin’ body, sapphirecantilever and Micro Ridge stylus; theDS-W2 [HFN Jan ’19] with aluminium body,boron cantilever, Micro Ridge stylus; andDS-002 [HFN Jun ’17] with aluminium bodyand cantilever, plus Shibata stylus. The DSE1 shares the body and cantilever materials
with the DS-002, but thestylus has an elliptical profile.
As for the energisers,
they vary in their power
supplies, features andother details, and they dosound different. This also
provides enthusiasts witha major test and upgrade
opportunity – imagine a deck with four
identical tonearms, like a TechDAS Air
Force III [HFN Sep ’16], or V [HFN Jan ’19],
feeding the various DS models into theirrespective energisers, then swappingthem around, ultimately trying them all
into the DS Master 1 energiser. You would

soon hear how different cantilevers, styli
and even body materials affect the overall
performance. As do the energisers.
So let’s get the latter out of the way:after listening to the energiser that comeswith the DS-E1 and playing with its twobass settings – I preferred Output 2 with
its flatter low frequency
response [see PM’s Lab
Report, p57] – I did allof the critical listening
through the DS Master 1
equaliser with balancedoutput. I simply heard‘more’ through it, but thatis not to say that theDS-E1’s energiser is unsatisfactory. Indeed,at the price, there’s nothing unsatisfactory
about this cartridge.
Well, there is one consideration,common to the entire DS range. The
cartridges have uncommonly shallow
bodies and certain arms – those that taper
at the front and are wide at the back, or
have massive cross-section/diameter tubes– might cause clearance issues with theedges of warped or extra-thick LPs.
As I do not like the idea of inserting
spacers between cartridge and headshell
to enable easier arm levelling and VTA
setting, I would ask DS to produce thenext generation of cartridges with 1mm
or 2mm-taller bodies. The slight weightincrease would not cause a problem.
Once installed, the DS-E1 behaves
like any other cartridge, with the samerequirements for gentle handling,occasional stylus cleaning, careful
cueing and so on. What you will not beprepared for, upon hearing this or any
DS cartridge for the first time, is theutter absence of background shmutz.

‘I still detest
the song, but
I can now sit
through it!’

SILENCE IS GOLDENAs I soon realised, upon learning about
and hearing a DS cartridge for thefirst time, the technology completely
eliminates the low-level hum present inall cartridges using some combinationof magnets and coils. No matter how
low the hum, it’s still there. These‘optical’ pick-ups bring vinyl closer to one
of digital’s inarguable benefits: much
reduced background noise.
As payoffs go, this one is huge, theDS-E1 being just as discreetly quiet as its
dearer siblings. Immediately apparent
when used through high-resolution
systems, are gains in transparency andthe audibility of low-level information. On‘Live And Let Die’, from the new editionof Wings Greatest [MPL/Capitol 0256737240], the DS-E1 nearly matched theMaster 1 for conveying the bombasticslam of the explosions, while neverobscuring the barely audible information
underneath the detonation.
Again, my comments are about thecartridge via the superior energiser, soI could assess its mettle more readily thanvia the base-level box. Nevertheless, theDS-E1 kept confounding me because it is so
close to the sound of the Master 1. By wayof comparison I even forced myself to listen
to songs I find so dire that I knew I could
not be distracted by the music. So, sticking
with Wings, I queued up the schmaltzy,
soporific dirge that is ‘Mull Of Kintyre’ justto hear the bagpipes, an instrument that
holds little pleasure for these ears.

ALTERED STATE
Miracles don’t happen that often, so
I’m not keen to attribute metaphysicalproperties to the DS-E1, but damn, it
sounded nearly listenable, and this is a tunethat makes ‘Silly Love Songs’ sound like‘Ace Of Spades’.
The DS-E1’swonderfulmarriage

LIGHT THERAPY
In common with all DS Audio’s proprietarypick-ups, the DS-E1 employs a derivative of thetechnology it developed along with Microsoft
some 20 years ago – the optical computer mouse.
Inside the DS-E1’s alloy body a miniature LED is positioned between the stylus
tip and cantilever fulcrum, its light output modulated by an extremely fine
optical plate, just 100μm thick, fixed to the rear of the cantilever. This shines ona photocell which generates an electrical current, directly mirroring the passageof the stylus through the analogue groove. Traditional MM/MCs are velocitysensitive devices whose voltage output increases with groove excursion andincreasing signal frequency. By contrast, DS Audio’s photo-electric conversion
is sensitive only to the amplitude of the movement of the stylus. Nevertheless,while this system has the potential to offer a lower moving mass – stylus/
cantilever/optical plate – than the stylus/cantilever/magnet or coils of a MM/MC
design, it still requires a proprietary phono stage [inset picture] to power-up theLED and correctly compensate for the LP’s RIAA replay characteristic. PMof lushness and scale, augmented
by precision and detail of lab-grade
analytical prowess actually altered theexperience for me. I still detest the song,
but I can now sit through it.
For something far more pleasurable,
I reached for the new MoFi pressing ofSimon And Garfunkel’s Parsley, Sage,
Rosemary And Thyme [Mobile Fidelity
MFSL1-484]. The sweetness of theharmonies, the airiness of the acoustic
guitar – this is a cartridge capable ofgreat finesse. Its miracle-working abilities
faltered at the risible ‘A Simple Desultory
Philippic’, which remains Paul Simon’s mostembarrassing moment, but the lushness
and delicacy of ‘Scarborough Fair/Canticle’wrapped the song in an embrace thatsuited it to its core.

BEGGARED BELIEF
You’d almost believe that Simon andGarfunkel were British rather than a braceof New Yorkers, for this portrayal of thesong captured the atmosphere of the lyrics
with a skill that beggared belief at thisprice. It’s as if DS Audio leap-frogged over
the arbitrary expectations we have which
are based on cost. Returning, too, to the
DS-E1’s equaliser/energiser showed less ofa sacrifice than I anticipated. There was alittle loss of slam or power when the music
grew punchy – back tothe explosions on ‘Live
And Let Die’ – but
overall, the twowork together sowell that there’s
certainly no urgent
case for upgrading.
Proving further
that the DS-E1 isa bargain was thestupendous 50th anniversary edition ofThe Band’s Music From Big Pink [Capitol0602567480525], the album remasteredand offered on two thick slabs of vinyl
playing at 45rpm. Here I turned to theorgan that dominates ‘Chest Fever’, to hear
the overwhelming sound of Garth Hudson’sLowrey, the DS-E1 digging deep – almost
as deep as the Master 1... at ten times theprice. (Yes, you read that correctly.)
By this point, I was growing
disconcerted. I love the Master 1 andit has been my reference cartridge forwww.hifinews.co.uk | Reprinted from Hi-Fi News

23/04/2019 12:02

LABREPORTDS AUDIO DS-E1

ABOVE: Rear view of the DS-E1 PSU/equaliser. The pick-up’s internal LED is powered
via the R– and L– pins while the output is returned via R+ and L+, all via the ‘Input’RCAs. The equalised outs are also on RCAs (Output 2 with a deeper subsonic filter)over a year. I recognise the Law ofDiminishing Returns. I understanda reviewer’s responsibility is tothe reader, not the manufacturer
or advertiser, but the DS-E1 wasupsetting my apple-cart.

GUTS AND ENERGY
Conversely, there are things thatthe best moving-coils do which
elude DS’s optical designs – acertain warmth seems unique toMCs, and you will never wrest myKoetsu Urushi from my tonearm
while I still breathe. And while theDS-E1 is a fine tracker, there weremoments where it was slightly
agitated, where, say, the top MCs
and certainly the better MM designs
would prove unflustered. But
nobody listens to test discs, anddigging out an old Telarc just to be
nasty would prove nothing.
What clinched it for me was
the new pressing of Ted Hawkins’swan song, The Next Hundred Years[Analogue Productions APB124].
For intense, textured vocals, asurfeit of emotion and a plethoraof guts and energy even when themusic turns quiet and introspective,
Hawkins was the maestro. The sheer
presence of this powerful vocalist,
one of roots/blues greatest losses,
was palpable to a degree that wasalmost the textbook definition ofwhat high-end systems should be
able to accomplish.
What the DS-E1 achieves is amultitude of triumphs, not leastin closing the gap between theaffordable and the unobtainable.
DS Audio, just like Porsche andthe 911-vs-Cayman situation, has
ensured that the pecking orderremains intact. What’s different
is the intensifying of the Law ofDiminishing Returns.

GAME CHANGER
Even more relevant than the caranalogy is that of wine. I have had
simply staggering £20 offerings fromthe same wineries that produce
superior growths at £250 a bottle.
Only an educated oenophile will
taste the difference.
For the rest of us, we should
simply revel in our ignorance andbless the arrival of a bargain sooverwhelming that I think it could
be the sixth biggest game-changer
in cartridges in three decades. The
other five? Its older siblings.

HI-FI NEWS VERDICTABOVE: The DS-E1’s pins are clearlymarked and separated. Just visible is thealloy cantilever, tie-wire suspension andelliptical stylus [see also p54]

There are clear parallels between the performance of this ‘entrylevel’ DS-E1, the flagship Master 1 [HFN Dec ’17], the DS-002[HFN Jun ’17] and the DS-W2 [HFN Jan ’19] – see boxout, p55. All
three ‘optical pick-ups’ employ a similar, if not identical, ‘tie-wire’suspension so although the choice of cantilever material andstylus profile becomes more exotic further up the range, their
8.1g bodyweight(s) are all offset by a low-ish 15/20cu dynamiccompliance, conferring a moderate ~10Hz subsonic resonancein medium effective mass tonearms. The DS-E1 may employ amore basic crimped alloy cantilever and elliptical stylus but,tested at a 1.7g downforce, it proved a slightly more secure
tracker, clearing the maximum 80µm groove pitch (65µm on theright channel) and the most severe +18dB modulation (315Hz
lateral cut, re. 11.2μm) at just 0.75% THD. As with DS Audio’s
other designs, distortion at –8dB re. 5cm/sec is typically ~0.7%(lateral) and a higher ~1.3% (vertical) with a big peak up to ~10%
THD between 6-8kHz [see Graph 2, below].
The latter feature is a direct reflection of the boost to its
2nd harmonic distortion by the stinging +8dB treble peak at 1214kHz [see Graph 1, below]. As a matter of design, bass output
is also boosted, reaching +4.5dB/20Hz via Output 1 (1st order
30Hz roll-off) and +1.1dB/20Hz via Output 2 (combined 50Hz
and 30Hz roll-offs). The latter option is strongly recommended
for use in systems with large, reflex-loaded loudspeakers. Finally,
the partnering PSU/equaliser unit’s output is a moderate 750mV(re. 1kHz/5cm/sec): this is more than the quoted 500mV andperfectly sufficient to drive a typical preamp line input. PM

What can I say? Being offered thislevel of performance at a fractionof the cost of what came before
is a godsend at a time when mosthigh-end brands seem blissfully
unaware that value-for-money
matters more now than it hasfor decades. If the thought ofa radical change in technology
doesn’t scare you, the DS-E1
provides the chance to hear yourLPs as you’ve never imagined. I’mstill shaking my head in disbelief.

Sound Quality: 89%
0-------- 100

ABOVE: Frequency response curves (–8dB re. 5cm/sec) lateral (L+R, black, Output 1; dashed, Output 2)
versus vertical (L–R, red Output 1)

ABOVE: Lateral (L+R, black infill) and vertical (L–R, red)
tracing and generator distortion (2nd-4th harmonics)
vs. frequency from 20Hz-20kHz (–8dB re. 5cm/sec)

HI-FI NEWS SPECIFICATIONSGenerator type/weight

Photo-optical / 8.1g

Recommended tracking force

1.6-1.8mN (1.7mN)

Sensitivity/balance (re. 5cm/sec)

750mV / 0.30dB (from Eq unit)

Compliance (vertical/lateral)

15cu / 20cu

Vertical tracking angle

25 degrees

L/R Tracking ability

80μm / 65μm

L/R Distortion (–8dB, 20Hz-20kHz)

0.70–16% / 0.35–11%

L/R Frequency resp. (20Hz-20kHz)+8.0 to –5.3dB / +5.9 to –7.5dB

Stereo separation (1kHz / 20kHz)

28dB / 20dB

www.hifinews.co.uk | Reprinted from Hi-Fi NewsHFN May DS Audio DS-E1 Reprint.indd 57

23/04/2019 12:02