Turntables, Arms & Cartridges

Those wizards of trickledown tech are at it again: DS Audio’s new entry-level model, the DS-E3, gives you a taste of the Masters series at less than a tenth of the price!

It’s hard to name a cartridge brand as prolific as DS Audio. It seems every time you turn around there’s a new model. Following a flurry of entries at the extreme top-end, including the Grand Master EX [HFN Oct ’23], DS Audio has returned with a new optical cartridge at entry level, an absolute cracker called the DS-E3 – and with no price increase over the DS-E1 [HFN May ’19] it replaces.

It’s always exciting when a designer of great renown finally brings to market an own-name product. So while many of us may not instantly recognise the name Thiele – not to be confused with the Thiel Audio brand of the US that declared bankruptcy in 2018 – there is every chance that we’ve already come across one of Helmut Thiele’s many creations.

In the vinyl heyday of the 1970s and 1980s, differences between UK-designed turntables, and those arriving from Japan, were stark. The suspended subchassis belt-drive decks, popular among British audiophiles, showcased increasing refinement of a ‘traditional’ technology. Japanese corporations, on the other hand, were making use of large research departments and development budgets to produce decks that could correct for off-centre records, direct-drive motors with almost unmeasurable wow and flutter, and control systems with huge torque that would revolutionise DJ-ing.

Since the company’s inception in 2014, MoFi Electronics has developed a reputation for high-quality products. And in a range now encompassing turntables, cartridges, phono stages, loudspeakers, a DAC and a growing number of accessories, there is also a convenient pathway of progression along an upgrade ladder. For MoFi’s vinyl-related items, this takes you from ‘Studio’, through ‘Ultra’, and onto ‘Master’ models.

Following the debut of its first direct-drive models over 50 years ago [see PM's boxout, p75], many versions of Technics' iconic SL-1200 model have appeared, all able to trace their technical and industrial design back to the original. Neither have enthusiasts been short of choice - when the legendary spinner returned in 2016, after a six-year hiatus, the brand introduced four SL-1200 tiers. The 'GR' or 'Grand Class' occupied a middle position, with the apex SL-1200R version and heavier 'G/GAE' models catering to hardcore audiophiles, and the more affordable 'MK7/ M7' units aimed at budding DJs.

As a major turntable manufacturer, Pro-Ject has a longstanding relationship with cartridge builders. This makes sense, as the brand likes to deliver decks ready to play, which requires an MM or MC. Previously, the Austrian company has bundled cartridges from Ortofon with its turntables in Europe, while Sumiko models are favoured in the US, but has lately been launching its own designs, including tweaked Ortofon models such as the Pick it 2M Silver and Pick it S2 C. The Pick it MC9 on test here is something else, though.

AVID Hi-Fi has announced its first new turntable since 2018. Priced £10,000, the Acutus Dark Iron replaces the previous Acutus Dark Limited Edition to become the new entry model in the manufacturer’s top-line series, and debuts a new AC motor system – with DSP-generated adjustable speed control – that’s coupled to the deck’s cast aluminium sprung-suspension chassis.