Turntables, Arms & Cartridges

In common with all DS Audio's proprietary pick-ups, the DS-E1 employs a derivative of the technology 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 on a photocell which generates an electrical current, directly mirroring the passage of the stylus through the analogue groove.

Traditional MM/MCs are velocity-sensitive devices whose voltage output increases with groove excursion and increasing 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 to power-up the LED and correctly compensate for the LP's RIAA replay characteristic. PM