PRESS RELEASE: Since 2013, DS Audio has been pioneering the world’s only optical phono cartridges which have earned rave reviews from the international audiophile press. Now, the company is blazing another unusual trail, by releasing details of its unique technology so that others can join the optical audio market.
Category Archives: DS Audio
Stereophile interviews Cameron Jenkins of Stranger High Fidelity: can he bridge the gap between pro audio engineering and home hi-fi?
“Why is there so much separation between the professional audio and audiophile worlds? Is that separation by design, or even necessity?” asks Julie Mullins in US hi-fi magazine Stereophile. Mullins is putting the question to David Denyer and Cameron Jenkins, who are challenging that separation. Jenkins is an award-winning recording engineer and record label owner who has worked with Lana Del Rey, the Verve, John Cale and many others; he recently launched Stranger High Fidelity, a bespoke high-end audio retail service that operates from his UK pro recording studios.
“This may be the best cartridge I’ve ever heard”: Ken Kessler reviews DS Audio’s new flagship Grand Master optical pickup for Hi-Fi News
The Grand Master optical cartridge is not only DS Audio’s new flagship, but its completely new design also sees in the company’s ‘third generation’ of what is proving to be a peerless approach to phono cartridge engineering. Ken Kessler finds his music delivered “with such conviction that I was getting too emotional to be critical.”
Optical cartridge pioneer DS Audio’s ‘next generation’ Grand Master model is now ready for shipping
PRESS RELEASE: In 2013, DS Audio unveiled the world’s only optical phono cartridge, which it has since followed with a small but impressive collection of further advanced models, all of which have met with rave reviews from the international audiophile press. Now, the new Grand Master design pushes the exceptional potential of optical technology for analogue sound quality even further and heralds, says DS Audio, “the third generation of optical cartridges”. Continue reading Optical cartridge pioneer DS Audio’s ‘next generation’ Grand Master model is now ready for shipping
Ken Kessler’s pick of the pick-ups: the entire DS Audio range!
Hi-fi journalist Ken Kessler doesn’t shy away from telling it like it is – both in the positive and the negative. In the 2019 Hi-Fi News Yearbook he focuses on the former, looking back on “two of the greatest new products to ever enter my listening room.” High praise indeed!
Continue reading Ken Kessler’s pick of the pick-ups: the entire DS Audio range!
Hi-Fi Show Live 2019
Now in it’s seventh year, the unique high-end audio extravaganza that is Hi-Fi Show Live went from strength to strength this year, with its move to a spectacular new venue: the vast but elegant Ascot Grandstand. Exclusive product launches, packed workshops and a raft of superb sonic demonstrations were the name of the game this October.
Aesthetix Mimas integrated amp and DS Audio’s DS-E1 optical phono cartridge in Hi-Fi News Yearbook 2019
Every issue, Hi-Fi News delivers in-depth reviews of high-end audio equipment. And every December, the magazine’s Yearbook showcases the best of the best products reviewed throughout the year. It’s the music enthusiast’s go-to guide for the world’s most outstanding hi-fi.
New ION-001 vinyl ionizer from optical cartridge pioneer DS Audio
PRESS RELEASE
Japanese optical cartridge pioneer DS Audio has just launched its third audio accessory, the ION-001 vinyl ionizer. As you might expect from DS Audio, it is elegantly crafted, a breeze to use and, most important, impressively effective.
Continue reading New ION-001 vinyl ionizer from optical cartridge pioneer DS Audio
“Exemplary”: Hi-Fi Critic reviews the DS Audio 002 optical phono cartridge
Are optical cartridges new? Well, yes and no. They originally surfaced in the 1960s and were lauded for their high fidelity, but quickly disappeared again as they had a heat problem caused by the light source used at the time. By the time the requisite technology had sufficiently advanced (in the form of light-emitting diodes which produce little heat), audio was dominated by the rise of the CD and there was little interest in vinyl replay. But in 2013, Japanese company DS Audio began to revisit the technology.
Continue reading “Exemplary”: Hi-Fi Critic reviews the DS Audio 002 optical phono cartridge
Keeping it clean: Hi-Fi Plus reviews the key accessories a vinyl lover needs to keep records and decks in tip-top nick and performing at their best
“Record cleaning only scratches the surface (pun intended),” writes Hi-Fi Plus’ Andrew Harrison. “Every aspect of vinyl replay can come in for scrutiny.” A good part of this comes down to the nature of the technology itself: “dragging a rock through a groove and translating these movements into electrical signals” is naturally prone to errors from rotation, geometry, mechanical movements, the ingress of dust and dirt, etc etc. Thankfully there’s “a vibrant world of vinyl beyond the turntable and the record itself” to help keep everything running smoothly, and Harrison has chosen a selection of some of the best.
