The new DS-W3 optical cartridge system has been optimized, by implementing an independent LED and photo-detector arrangement for the left and right channels. As a result the cartridge output voltage has greatly increased from 40mV to 70mV. The DS-W3 cartridge offers a greatly improved S/N ratio when compared to its stable mates, resulting in an even lower noise floor and far greater musical clarity.
The implementation of independent left and right channel LED’ s allows for the positioning of the optical system to be optimized as well as necessitating the use of a new shading plate that has been significantly reduced in size compared to our earlier designs. In addition to this reduction in size, the material used to produce the shading plate has changed from aluminium (as used in the second generation cartridges) to 99.9% pure beryllium.
| Signal output | Photo-electric Conversion |
| Channel separation | 27db more (1kHz) |
| Weight | 7.9g |
| Output signal level | 70mV more |
| Canti-lever | Boron |
| Body material | Aluminum |
| Stylus | Line contact |
| Output voltage | 500mV(1kHz) |
| Output impedance | RCA 120Ω XLR 600Ω |
| Pre amp input impedance | More than 10kΩ |
| Input terminal | RCA terminal |
| Output terminal | RCA terminal×2, XLR terminal×2 |
| Size | W45cm×H12cm×D435cm |
| Weight | 13.5kg |
A dream since 1970 had come true – and revolutionize modern analogue playback technology. Optical Cartridge was initially introduce by Japan electronic maker, Toshiba in 1970s.
However due to the technology limitation, the optical cartridge design was deemed not reliable for mass production. DS Coorporation (mother company of DS Audio) is a specialized optical sensor manufacturer for more than 25 years.
