It has been over 40 years since Toshiba introduced the world’ s first optical cartridge, a groundbreaking concept that captured the hearts and imaginations of passionate audio lovers.

These early designs showed us that a phono cartridge system which was completely free of magnets and their inherent negative side effects utilized an incredibly low mass generator design and also featured the simplest and cleanest possible electronic circuitry, could deliver overwhelming advantages in vinyl playback when compared to traditional phono cartridge technology. 

DS Audio, inspired by these original optical designs and filled with a deep love and passion for music, has gone on to perfect and realize the true potential of optical cartridge technology. We have carefully and thoughtfully reimagined the optical cartridge using modern technological solutions, expanding on the benefits whilst eliminating the flaws present in the original optical designs.

We proudly present our range of optical cartridge systems, from the DS-E1, offering unbelievable performance and sharing many design elements pioneered in its stablemates, to the DS Master1, our flagship model which we believe represents the pinnacle of analogue vinyl reproduction. 

We would be honored if you would join us and experience for yourself the wonder of what is truly possible in the realm of vinyl reproduction at the highest level. - DS Audio CEO Tetsuaki Aoyagi