Turntables, Arms & Cartridges

There are clear parallels between the performance of this 'entry-level' 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 and stylus profile becomes more exotic further up the range, their 8.1g bodyweight(s) are all offset by a low-ish 15/20cu dynamic compliance, conferring a moderate ~10Hz subsonic resonance in medium effective mass tonearms. The DS-E1 may employ a more 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 the right 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 12-14kHz [see Graph 1, above]. 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 and perfectly sufficient to drive a typical preamp line input. PM