DS Audio Master 1 Optical Phono Cartridge and Equalizer

Description

MY TAKE: The DS Optical Cartridge System offers some very unique and enticing attributes, along with outstanding performance; a Super quiet background, very low surface noise, and detailed yet utterly smooth rendition. The associated preamp/equalizer eliminates the need for a conventional phono preamp and provides a line-level output for your preamp. Very highly recommended. - Galen Carol

The flagship Master 1 optical cartridge uses our newly designed “Advanced Optical-mechanical” system. This enables us to position our newly designed micro-optic sensor unit closer to the stylus, resulting in a much shorter optical path length. Together with its wire-suspended cantilever, the DS Master 1 provides the listener with the ultimate in channel separation and sound quality. 

The Micro-ridge stylus has a minimum-curvature radius and is mounted to a sapphire cantilever. This super low mass generator which eschews magnets and coils and is free of ultra-sonic ringing lets the Master 1 reproduce every bit of musical information with stunning nuance and brilliant detail for flagship-level performance. 

During the development phase of the DS Master 1, no detail was overlooked. Every aspect of the design and parts were re-evaluated to ensure the highest rigidity possible in the cartridge. From its Ultra duralumin body to its amethyst power indicator window, we have carefully selected each component to ensure that we have a built a phono cartridge of the highest quality.

How a DS Audio Optical Cartridge and Equalizer Work (Jonathan Valin, The Absolute Sound) -

"Before I get to setup and sonics, I’m going to tell you how optical cartridges and their equalizers work. Although I’ve explained this technology twice before (when I reviewed the DS-W1 and DS-002), the information is worth repeating, as the way an optical cartridge produces voltages and its equalizer
processes them is not intuitive or conventional. 
 

"First, to make this clear from the start, an optical cartridge is a completely analog device. There is nothing digital about it. Like mm’s and mc’s, it reads the information stored in record grooves by means of the mechanical vibrations of a stylus. But where mm and mc cartridges produce tiny voltages by transmitting those vibrations to a magnet or a coil, which subsequently vibrates within a magnetic field in sympathy with the stylus, DS audio optical cartridges do not transmit vibrations to relatively massive moving objects situated at the far end of a cantilever. Instead, they generate signals by capturing changes in brightness, using an internal LED as a fixed light source, internal photoelectric diodes (photo cells) as receptors, and a very thin opaque plate (a mere 100 microns thick) mounted directly behind the stylus as the vibrating system. (See the illo on the following page.) Moving up and down and side to side in tandem with the motion of the stylus to which it is attached, this tiny plate intermittently blocks the light from the LED that is hitting the photo receptors for the left and right channels, generating variable voltages in the photoelectric diodes by varying the amount of light and shade they see.
 

"Because mm’s and mc’s generate electricity by cutting through a fixed magnetic field, magnetic resistance always occurs whenever the magnet or coil vibrates. Since an optical cartridge only reads changes in brightness, no magnetic resistance is generated when its stylus vibrates. Since there is no magnetic resistance, the tip of the stylus can move more smoothly in the groove, without the impediment of a counterforce. This elimination of reciprocal magnetic resistance to stylus movement, says DS Audio, is the primary advantage of optical cartridge technology, although the elimination of the moving mass of coils and magnets is a second, large, closely related one."

REVIEWS:
 

The Absolute Sound: "Conclusion - The Master1 cartridge and Master1 EQ are simply outstanding products, setting new benchmarks for vinyl playback in several areas (mechanical silence, neutral midband voicing, and midrange-to-low-bass realism). Even where they aren’t setting standards, they are now competitive with the finest coils and magnets. Perhaps the best part of all is DS Audio products still have room to grow: in trackability, in soundstaging, in upper midrange and treble flatness, in overall warmth. Remember, the optical cartridge with internal LED and photo sensors is a relatively new thing. That the folks at DS Audio are taking the perfection of this idea seriously is shown by the remarkable sonic progress they’ve made from the W1 Night Rider to the DS-002 to the Master1. I know this much: If I were in the market for a new phono cartridge and I had the money, the Master1 system would be at the very top of my short list of must-hears. Go listen for yourself, and discover not just a new cartridge but a new phonographic paradigm." - Jonathan Valin
Full Review

Hi-Fi News: “After years of using only MCs, and following a month with Koetsu’s Onyx, the DS Audio Master 1 was a shock because its presentation was so clean and noiseless –even more so than its siblings.It requires the listener to dispel any preconceptions about vinyl.

It has speed, detail and space to rival Deccas. The sacrifice for this is a trace of warmth… so wear a cardigan. Believe me: this cartridge is phenomenal.” -  Ken Kessler
Full Review

Positive Feedback (Brutus Award Winner): “I can say that the results from the beginning and over time with the DS Master 1 have been nothing less than absolutely breathtaking”
“Many turntables, tonearms, and cartridges have come and gone over the past two decades. Frankly, I don’t think that I’ve ever heard better LP playback than the DS Audio DS Master 1 hosted by the NVS and the Durand Tosca. For transparency, clarity, detail, and purity of sound…for making grooves sound like master tape…the DS Audio DS Master 1 is top-o’-the-heap here in 2019”
Full Review

Positive Feedback: “without sounding like I’m issuing a cliché about it, I was so highly impressed with the DS Audio DS Master1 that I made arrangements to purchase it as a major reference component for my future review work at PF Central. I just can’t stand to see it leave”
Full Review

SPECIFICATIONS:

Signal Output: Phono-electric Conversion
Output Signal Level: > 500mV (at Equalizer output)
Channel Separation: > 25dB
Tracking Force: 1.6g ~ 1.8 g(1.7g is Recommended)
Cantilever: Sapphire
Stylus Type: MicroRidge
Weight: 8.1 grams
Body Material: Super Duralumin