DS Audio Ionizer

timztunz

Well-Known Member
Apr 23, 2018
157
103
150
Texas
Today I tried this DS Ionizer from Italian distributor
When we switched off the Ionizer bass was little less controlled and high little less clear
Unbelievable
I don't see how that is even possible? Are you sure something else was not the cause of that? I've been using one since they came out and the only thing it's ever done is eliminate static.
 
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gian60

Well-Known Member
Apr 17, 2016
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Also I don’t know how
Is possible
My friend told seems the cartridge go on the record with less resistance
With 2 song tried to off and on the ionizer
And when on bass was more controlled and high more clean
No big difference sure but you can listen well
Also for dust is good because we. He has
turntable DPS and the black surface of turntable is without dust
When no listen put the glass cover and when listen and use ionizer and no dust
Before without ionizer always newt to clean the black surface of turntable
 
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timztunz

Well-Known Member
Apr 23, 2018
157
103
150
Texas
Also I don’t know how
Is possible
My friend told seems the cartridge go on the record with less resistance
With 2 song tried to off and on the ionizer
And when on bass was more controlled and high more clean
No big difference sure but you can listen well
Also for dust is good because we. He has
turntable DPS and the black surface of turntable is without dust
When no listen put the glass cover and when listen and use ionizer and no dust
Before without ionizer always newt to clean the black surface of turntable
Interesting. Thank you for your further comments.
 

Stump

Well-Known Member
Jul 15, 2012
153
75
335
Today I tried this DS Ionizer from Italian distributor
When we switched off the Ionizer bass was little less controlled and high little less clear
Unbelievable


It is good you had a chance to try before you buy.Tweaks can be subjective so in your case best you do not buy one..
 

redcars

Well-Known Member
Jan 7, 2015
52
101
265
Minneapolis area
It seems to be working fine reducing static and dust.
This is not the best time to fully judge it, seems the humidity is fairly high now, unlike in a winter time.
Will wait and see.
View attachment 66486

Hi Maril555,
Thanks for posting the photos. I'm considering one of the SPI Westek ionizers. Does it have any hum or other noise?
I see that the new internet price is <$400 and it has replaceable emitters for $34 a pair.
Other comments?
Best,
Don
 

Maril555

Well-Known Member
Jun 26, 2014
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370
Hi Maril555,
Thanks for posting the photos. I'm considering one of the SPI Westek ionizers. Does it have any hum or other noise?
I see that the new internet price is <$400 and it has replaceable emitters for $34 a pair.
Other comments?
Best,
Don
No hum or noise, completely silent.
I paid $125 on EBay for a brand new, sealed unit
 

Maril555

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Jun 26, 2014
371
329
370

redcars

Well-Known Member
Jan 7, 2015
52
101
265
Minneapolis area
Someone needs to test It against their DS Audio or CS Port!

In this case, for the price, I'll be happy if the static and dust disappear. Anything else will be a bonus.

Incidentally, FWIW, I did buy a toy that helps with record maintenance: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07WN6D3TK/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It's fairly quiet and just powerful enough. I trimmed the smaller brush to better clean the worst dust off records. The other end is a blower to blow dust out of record sleeves without damaging them. I have two of these now.
Don
 

labjr1

Member
Jun 18, 2020
33
10
8
60
I purchased the DS Audio Ionizer-001 and absolutely love it. I was getting static pops while playing records (even after using the Milty). By the time I had flipped the record and played side 2 my wool mat would be stuck to the record when I removed it. You could hear the static as I would peel it off the album. I bought the Ionizer and all those problems went away. No more static pops when playing a record and the wool mat does not cling to the record at all. It is silent and extremely effective. I assume (have not had it long enough to confirm) that it will also attract less dust to my records since they keep zero static charge while playing and go back in anti-static sleeves when stored. To me it was well worth the money and the Milty is now stored in a drawer gathering dust ironically :). Other than the lack of static pops I cannot say there is a definitive improvement in the audio quality produced during playback, but the peace of mind of not having to deal with the static issues and the Milty are well worth the price.
 

redcars

Well-Known Member
Jan 7, 2015
52
101
265
Minneapolis area
I ordered the SPI Westek ionizer from DigiKey for $340.

My setup is a bit different because of the way my tonearms function. You can see in the photos. It’s about ten inches above the record. Velcro makes it adjustable if needed. It seems to work great. My record surfaces are quieter :)

Hopefully the ozone smell will dissipate.
Don

2020-08-01 22.02.20.jpg

2020-08-01 22.02.41.jpg
 

Zeotrope

Well-Known Member
Feb 11, 2021
1,762
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France, Canada
Today I tried this DS Ionizer from Italian distributor
When we switched off the Ionizer bass was little less controlled and high little less clear
Unbelievable
I just had the opposite experience. As @mtemur suggested on the thread discussing “smear”, I was shocked that the ION-001 reduced clarity!
I have been toggling the DS-001 on and off a couple of dozen times while playing back classical and jazz albums. There is an audible slight loss of clarity in the high frequencies — just a ”smidge” of edge lost (~1-2%) on the leading and trailing notes of a trumpet or a violin… It’s not a huge difference by any means; but once you hear it, you cannot ‘unhear‘ it.

For now, I will turn it on only when setting up the record (brushing, centering), then turning it off. I do not have a static problem in the house, even in winter. I have very good steam humidification throughout, so there is no static that I can see or feel.

(In case you are wondering, powering the ION is a linear power supply which is in turn powered by a Shunyata Denali v2. Ground is connected to a Shunyata Altaira Signal Hub. So there’s no issue with dirty power or grounding…)

EDIT: I just read @TLi ’s post recommending that the green light be off. (“I like to keep the green LED light off because the green LED tends to dim the sound, ie the light will tune down the treble a little. “) My light is on, so perhaps that’s the issue. Unfortunately, it won’t be easy for me to reach the light adjustment dial without removing the TT platter, which is not something I want to do.

EDIT 2: Dimmed the light all the way (doesn’t seem to turn off fully). That was not it. Sound is noticeably better with the ION-001 OFF. Listening to Al Di Meola Friday Night in San Francisco (Impex, 45 rpm) and the difference is not huge, but obvious: each plug of the string is clearer and further extended in the high frequencies. Again, I don’t have a static problem, so it’s not a tradeoff between ’pops’ and this benefit.
 

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mtemur

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Mar 26, 2019
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I just had the opposite experience. As @mtemur suggested on the thread discussing “smear”, I was shocked that the ION-001 reduced clarity!
I have been toggling the DS-001 on and off a couple of dozen times while playing back classical and jazz albums. There is an audible slight loss of clarity in the high frequencies — just a ”smidge” of edge lost (~1-2%) on the leading and trailing notes of a trumpet or a violin… It’s not a huge difference by any means; but once you hear it, you cannot ‘unhear‘ it.

For now, I will turn it on only when setting up the record (brushing, centering), then turning it off. I do not have a static problem in the house, even in winter. I have very good steam humidification throughout, so there is no static that I can see or feel.

(In case you are wondering, powering the ION is a linear power supply which is in turn powered by a Shunyata Denali v2. Ground is connected to a Shunyata Altaira Signal Hub. So there’s no issue with dirty power or grounding…)

EDIT: I just read @TLi ’s post recommending that the green light be off. (“I like to keep the green LED light off because the green LED tends to dim the sound, ie the light will tune down the treble a little. “) My light is on, so perhaps that’s the issue. Unfortunately, it won’t be easy for me to reach the light adjustment dial without removing the TT platter, which is not something I want to do.

EDIT 2: Dimmed the light all the way (doesn’t seem to turn off fully). That was not it. Sound is noticeably better with the ION-001 OFF. Listening to Al Di Meola Friday Night in San Francisco (Impex, 45 rpm) and the difference is not huge, but obvious: each plug of the string is clearer and further extended in the high frequencies. Again, I don’t have a static problem, so it’s not a tradeoff between ’pops’ and this benefit.
Thank you for a detailed report. I suspect the issue with DS-001 is ion bombardment of cartridge while playing and I don’t think CS Port is any better. I don’t know how people are convinced to play their records when cartridge is under ion bombardment.
 
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timztunz

Well-Known Member
Apr 23, 2018
157
103
150
Texas
I just had the opposite experience. As @mtemur suggested on the thread discussing “smear”, I was shocked that the ION-001 reduced clarity!
I have been toggling the DS-001 on and off a couple of dozen times while playing back classical and jazz albums. There is an audible slight loss of clarity in the high frequencies — just a ”smidge” of edge lost (~1-2%) on the leading and trailing notes of a trumpet or a violin… It’s not a huge difference by any means; but once you hear it, you cannot ‘unhear‘ it.

For now, I will turn it on only when setting up the record (brushing, centering), then turning it off. I do not have a static problem in the house, even in winter. I have very good steam humidification throughout, so there is no static that I can see or feel.

(In case you are wondering, powering the ION is a linear power supply which is in turn powered by a Shunyata Denali v2. Ground is connected to a Shunyata Altaira Signal Hub. So there’s no issue with dirty power or grounding…)

EDIT: I just read @TLi ’s post recommending that the green light be off. (“I like to keep the green LED light off because the green LED tends to dim the sound, ie the light will tune down the treble a little. “) My light is on, so perhaps that’s the issue. Unfortunately, it won’t be easy for me to reach the light adjustment dial without removing the TT platter, which is not something I want to do.

EDIT 2: Dimmed the light all the way (doesn’t seem to turn off fully). That was not it. Sound is noticeably better with the ION-001 OFF. Listening to Al Di Meola Friday Night in San Francisco (Impex, 45 rpm) and the difference is not huge, but obvious: each plug of the string is clearer and further extended in the high frequencies. Again, I don’t have a static problem, so it’s not a tradeoff between ’pops’ and this benefit.
I would be very interested to know @Mike Lavigne thoughts on this?
 

spiritofmusic

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Jun 13, 2013
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I think Mike loves his, he has multiple to cover many TTs.
After a long period of using the SPI Westek ioniser, I'm retiring mine. Comparos in and out showed blunting or smoothing of treble info for a tamer, more beige sound.
 
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Zeotrope

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Feb 11, 2021
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I think Mike loves his, he has multiple to cover many TTs.
After a long period of using the SPI Westek ioniser, I'm retiring mine. Comparos in and out showed blunting or smoothing of treble info for a tamer, more beige sound.
That’s really interesting as it’s essentially what I heard with the ION-001 [to be clear, I was not referring to the DS Audio cartridge].
 

Zeotrope

Well-Known Member
Feb 11, 2021
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France, Canada
Thank you for a detailed report. I suspect the issue with DS-001 is ion bombardment of cartridge while playing and I don’t think CS Port is any better. I don’t know how people are convinced to play their records when cartridge is under ion bombardment.
Interesting, and perhaps not all systems are negatively affected. I also think that mentally people are thinking that it improves sound by reducing static (which I’m sure it does); so they are not listening for other changes to the sound.
 

spiritofmusic

Well-Known Member
Jun 13, 2013
14,605
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E. England
I like the idea of using it for a burst prior to playing each side of an LP. I was also concerned that using a step up transformer (100V JP to 230V UK) might be pumping some SMPS noise back into my system (despite me powering the ionizer transformer from my domestic power grid, seperate from my balanced power transformer/dedicated lines audio grid).
 
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