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DS Audio · DS-E3
$3,000
Not currently in our rooms. For a serious buyer we will often bring a piece in from the manufacturer for a private session — tell us about your system and what you are weighing it against, and we will advise.
DS Audio · DS-E3
The DS-E3 System is the most affordable complete way into optical playback: the DS-E3 cartridge and its matching equalizer, ready for any line-level input.
System price includes the DS-E3 cartridge and DS-E3 Equalizer. Specify stereo or mono cartridge.
Authorized DS Audio dealer · Delivery and installation by Pearl Audio · Trade-ins welcome
The story
A DS Audio system pairs an optical cartridge with the equalizer built for it, so the two are matched from the start and you add nothing but a turntable and tonearm. The DS-E3 cartridge uses the same third-generation light engine as the costlier DS-W3: a beryllium shading plate on an aluminum cantilever moving between an LED and a photodetector, with a separate pair per channel. Output is 70 mV or more from an elliptical stylus, the body is aluminum, and channel separation is 26 dB or more. It tracks at 2.0 to 2.2 g and weighs 7.7 g.
The DS-E3 Equalizer powers the cartridge through the tonearm cable and applies the equalization an optical cartridge needs. Its symmetrical amplifier and stabilized cartridge supply are built around an op-amp signal path about a third the size of the DS 003 Equalizer, with RCA output at 500 mV and an Output 1/Output 2 switch to choose the bass response. It connects to any line input of 10 kΩ or more, so you need no phono stage.
Stereophile's Michael Trei rated the system highly recommended, found it tracked superbly and sorted out dense recordings, and said it gets surprisingly close to DS Audio's far more expensive models. Hi-Fi+ found it open, lively and more revealing than the moving coil it was compared with, and Hi-Fi News heard a wide, deep soundstage and a very low noise floor. The 7.7 g cartridge suits most medium-mass tonearms, and the equalizer will run any DS cartridge you upgrade to later.
| Includes | DS-E3 optical cartridge and DS-E3 Equalizer |
| Cartridge output | 70 mV or more |
| Cartridge tracking force | 2.0–2.2 g (2.1 g recommended) |
| Cartridge weight | 7.7 g |
| Stylus / cantilever | Elliptical / aluminum |
| Cartridge body | Aluminum |
| Channel separation | 26 dB or more at 1 kHz |
| Equalizer output | 500 mV at 1 kHz; 120 Ω; load 10 kΩ or more |
| Equalizer inputs / outputs | 1 pair RCA / RCA with Output 1 / Output 2 switch |
| Equalizer dimensions (W × H × D) | 10.2 × 2.7 × 7.7 in (260 × 69 × 195 mm) |
| Equalizer weight | 4.1 lb (1.86 kg) |
DS Audio's complete cartridge-and-equalizer systems.
Plan your DS Audio system with Pearl Audio
Pearl Audio is an authorized DS Audio dealer. We can mount and align the cartridge on your tonearm, set up the equalizer, and arrange an audition of the complete system in our Portland showroom. Call (503) 222-2599 or email sales@pearlaudio.com.
The Pearl Audio experience
A system at this level should be heard, thoughtfully matched, and properly set up. From the first audition to long-term ownership, you work with the same people, in person.
The DS-E3 System is not in our rooms at present. When it is the right piece for a client we arrange a demonstration unit from the manufacturer and set it up for a private session.
We deliver and install throughout the Portland area, taking care of placement, connections, ventilation and system configuration ourselves.
We support everything we sell for as long as you own it, whether the answer comes by phone, in your home, or through factory service.
Trade-in assistance and qualifying 100% Trade-Up options give you flexibility when your listening priorities or your system change.
