DS Audio 003 Optical Cartridge and Equalizer Set

The 003 sits between DS Audio's entry-level and flagship Grand Master models, carrying trickle-down technology down from the flagship line.

It uses independent LEDs and photodetectors per channel to raise output from 40mV to 70mV, a shading plate cut by more than half in weight and upgraded from aluminum to 99.9 percent pure beryllium, an aluminum cantilever with a line-contact stylus, and an aluminum body for rigidity.

Its matching equalizer uses a thicker circuit board and doubled copper foil weight, with selectable low-frequency cutoffs, and is hand-assembled and tested in Japan.

DS Audio cartridges are optical rather than moving coil or moving magnet: LEDs shine through a shading plate on the cantilever, and the stylus's movement in the groove modulates the light reaching a pair of photodiodes, generating the signal directly with no coil and no magnet. The output is not a standard RIAA phono signal, so it requires a matching DS Audio equalizer rather than an ordinary phono preamp — the equalizer also powers the cartridge's LEDs over the same cable.

DS Audio sells the 003 only as a matched cartridge and equalizer set, not as separate components. A dedicated mono version is sold at the same price as the stereo set; see the DS Audio 003 Mono listing.

Cartridge

• Stylus: line-contact diamond
• Cantilever: aluminum
• Tracking force: 2.0–2.2g, 2.1g recommended
• Weight: 7.7g
• Output: optical, approximately 70mV

Matching Equalizer / Phono Stage

• Connections: RCA in/out