The Audio Association Updates

[TheAudioAssociation]

Recent Highlights

The last few months have been an exciting time, filled with opportunities to experience some truly remarkable audio components and speakers. I wanted to share a few highlights that have stood out in our listening rooms recently.

Diptyque
The arrival of the DP140 MKII speakers in Q4 2024 was a moment we’d been eagerly anticipating, and they’ve exceeded expectations. Paired with WestminsterLab electronics, the Grimm MU2 Streamer/DAC, and the Wave Kinetics NVS Turntable (featuring the Kuzma Safir9 tonearm and Etsuro-Urushi Bordeaux cartridge), this system has been nothing short of enchanting. It’s a setup that invites you to rediscover favorite recordings with fresh ears.


Grimm Audio
We’ve also had the pleasure of hosting a pair of LS1be speakers, which might have been the only demo pair currently available on the West Coast. The LS1be audio system only needs an analog or digital line source to perform.

Partnered with the Grimm MU1 digital music source and another Wave Kinetics NVS Turntable—this time paired with a Durand Tosca LE tonearm and DS Audio Master 3 Optical Cartridge—it’s been an inspiring experience. The clarity and cohesiveness of this system are truly something to behold.




Evolution Acoustics

We now have a pair of the Evolution Acoustics Model One speakers here for demo, and they’ve been nothing short of spectacular. Retailing at $3,780 per pair, they’ve been turning heads for their ability to compete with speakers three to five times their price. Their performance, clarity, and sheer musicality make them an exceptional value, and it’s been exciting to hear what they can do in different setups. If you’re curious, this is definitely a pair worth experiencing firsthand.

Exploring these systems has been a rewarding process, and sharing this journey with others who are passionate about high-performance audio is always a highlight. If you’re curious about any of these setups or would like to discuss how they might fit into your own system, feel free to reach out—I’d love to connect and share the experience!

 

[Steve Williams]

Thanks for the informed updates Ed. The pictures were very helpful I find it all very enlightening but it’s that optical cartridge of yours that I find quite interesting. Can you help a simpleton like me better understand it. I did hear that setup at THE Show this past year and I loved the room I recall you and I chatted briefly about the cartridge

 

[TheAudioAssociation]

Hi there Steve

Happy to try and highlight the features and benefits of the DS Audio Optical Cartridges.

Might be best to describe the basic cartridge differences.

MM / MC cartridge detects the music signal by vibrating the magnet (or coil) in the magnetic field.

Optical cartridges detect music signals by capturing shadow changes (brightness changes) using LEDs and PD (photo cells).



Since the optical cartridge uses LED's and photo cells, you'll need to use a phono equalizer that provides voltage to the LED's. We've been using the WestminsterLab Monologue Phono Stage with the DS Audio Optical card and it works amazingly well.

Another huge difference that occurs in the EQ is how it manages the RIAA curve. This is directly from the DS Audio website.

"... The standard RIAA equalization curve required for MM/MC is completely different from equalization required for optical cartridges.

Because the output of an MM / MC cartridge is proportional to its speed, the output increases as the speed rises (= higher frequency). However, the optical cartridge has an amplitude proportional output that outputs flat from the low frequency to the high frequency (same as the old crystal type and capacitor type).
Since the optical cartridge is classified as amplitude proportional and is not affected by changes in speed, even on the same record, it has totally different output properties. Much less EQ correction is required for the amplitude proportional output compared to traditional MM / MC. Because of this, the RIAA correction circuit of the optical cartridge requires much less manipulation of the signal compared to a speed proportional type MM / MC cartridge.
The RIAA correction circuit of the optical cartridge becomes an overwhelmingly simple circuit.
This is yet another advantage of optical cartridge technology"

How does it sound?

Jonathan Valin described said the following: "..the Grand Master achieves a tape-like smoothness and organicism that are kind of astonishing in a phono cartridge. Indeed, its level of neutrality and “completeness” is unexceeded by that of any other cartridge or phonostage of my experience, and its consequent level of realism (on the best sources) is very nearly nonpareil.."

Here he describes the DS-W3 cartridge with retails for $5000.00

"To hear what the DS-W3 can do, you need only put an old, familiar, well-recorded LP on your table, sit down, and listen. As has been the case with every DS Audio transducer, affordable or not-so-much, that uses Aki’s third-gen technology, the DS-W3 shows its virtues immediately. This is not a component you will have to puzzle over, trying to deduce via close listening how and where it is better (or worse) than what came before it. In large part, this is because the DS-W3 (and its brethren) aren’t analytical transducers that seemingly break musical sounds down into component parts (“Boy, those cymbal transients are hard hitting!” “Listen to the decay on that piano!” “Man, those voices are tightly imaged!” “Gee, that Fender bass is powerful!”). It is, instead, one of those rare synthetic products that turns parts into wholes without losing expressive performance or engineering detail. You hear everything (or almost everything)—and you hear it against (and in part because of) an unequaled backdrop of silence—with a completeness that (on the best sources) turns the audible into the visible."

Hope this sheds more light (pardon the pun) into the intricacies of the DS Audio Optical Cartridges!

 

[Steve Williams]

Perfect Ed

Thanks for your input