DS Audio Grand Master Optical Cartridge System
The DS Audio Grand Master is DS Audio's flagship optical cartridge system, comprising the Grand Master optical cartridge and a two-chassis equalizer system consisting of a dedicated equalizer unit and a separate power supply unit. It represents the highest expression of DS Audio's third-generation optical platform, introducing the two-chassis equalizer architecture, massive power supply capacitance, and a diamond cantilever that established the benchmark for optical cartridge performance before the subsequent Grand Master Extreme. It is available as the cartridge alone, the equalizer system alone, or as a complete matched set.
DS Audio and the Optical Cartridge
DS Audio, founded in Japan by Tetsuaki Aoyagi, is the company that brought the optical phono cartridge to the forefront of modern high-end analog. Rather than generating a signal through electromagnetic induction as conventional moving magnet (MM) or moving coil (MC) cartridges do, DS Audio optical cartridges convert stylus movement into an electrical signal using light. A miniaturized LED shines onto a photodetector, with a lightweight beryllium shading plate attached to the cantilever modulating the light intensity as the stylus tracks the record groove. The signal produced is in the range of 70mV, far exceeding any MC cartridge, and is generated by a moving system of extraordinarily low mass with no susceptibility to RF interference or the electromagnetic distortion inherent in coil-and-magnet designs.
Because optical cartridges detect stylus displacement rather than velocity, they require a dedicated equalizer rather than a standard RIAA phono stage. DS Audio's equalizers apply the correct optical equalization curve, supply operating voltage to the LED system in the cartridge, and deliver a line-level signal for direct connection to a preamplifier. No additional phono stage is required.
The DS Audio Product Lineup
The DS Audio range currently includes the E3, DS003, W3, Master 3, Grand Master, and Grand Master Extreme. The Grand Master is second from the top, sitting below the Grand Master Extreme and above the Master 3. It was the first DS Audio model to introduce the two-chassis equalizer, the diamond cantilever, and the full complement of third-generation optical improvements. All DS Audio cartridges are cross-compatible with all DS Audio equalizers, and the Grand Master equalizer system is also compatible with all other DS Audio optical cartridges.
DS Audio Grand Master Cartridge
Diamond Cantilever and Micro Ridge Stylus
The Grand Master cartridge uses a diamond cantilever sourced from Orbray, paired with a Micro Ridge diamond stylus. Diamond offers extraordinary stiffness relative to its mass, maintaining a rigid and stable signal path between stylus and the optical mechanism across the full frequency range. The Micro Ridge stylus geometry traces the groove walls across a very narrow, elongated contact patch, recovering fine detail in the innermost grooves and maintaining accurate tracing through complex, high-modulation passages. This cantilever and stylus pairing was first introduced to the DS Audio lineup in the Grand Master before being carried forward into the Master 3.
Dual-Mono Optical Mechanism and Beryllium Shading Plate
The Grand Master cartridge uses DS Audio's third-generation dual-mono optical mechanism, with independent LEDs and photodetectors for the left and right channels. This arrangement greatly increases channel separation over first and second generation DS Audio designs, with Hi-Fi News laboratory measurements confirming channel separation of 34dB at 1kHz in practice, well above the 27dB specification. The 99.9% pure beryllium shading plate weighs 0.74mg, reduced by more than 50% from the 1.56mg aluminum plate used in second-generation cartridges. At this mass, the moving system is less than one-tenth the effective mass of a typical MC cartridge's coil-and-core assembly. Internal wiring is 1.6 times thicker than in second-generation DS Audio cartridges. The cartridge body is machined from ultra duralumin, with a stainless steel cantilever holder. The Grand Master weighs 7.7g and tracks at a recommended 2.1g.
DS Audio Grand Master Equalizer System
The Grand Master equalizer is the defining element that separates this system from every other DS Audio product below it. It is the only DS Audio equalizer below the Grand Master Extreme that splits into two physically separate chassis: a dedicated equalizer unit and a dedicated power supply unit. The two are connected by three heavy umbilical cables, provided in both 500mm and 900mm lengths to accommodate various equipment rack configurations. The umbilicals use 7-pin circular connections for the left and right DC channel feeds to the equalizer, and a 5-pin connection for the LED power supply to the cartridge. DS Audio instructs users to wait at least five minutes after powering down before disconnecting the cables, allowing the enormous capacitance to safely discharge.
Power Supply Architecture
The power supply chassis contains three independent transformers, each with 1.5 times the capacity of the transformers used in the Master 1 equalizer. One transformer is dedicated to the left channel, one to the right channel, and one to the optical cartridge's LED power supply. The power supply chassis houses 2.97 million µF of electrolytic capacitance. The equalizer chassis holds 2.34 million µF. Together, the two units deploy nearly 5.31 million µF of total capacitance, the scale of which directly supports the Grand Master system's ability to deliver deep, controlled, and dynamically unrestrained low-frequency reproduction.
Equalizer Circuit and Output Options
The equalizer chassis uses discrete circuit design with custom-built film capacitors and non-inductive wirewound resistors, all made to DS Audio's specifications. Large copper bus bars inside the power supply chassis connect the transformers, minimizing resistance in the high-current supply rails. The equalizer delivers 700mV at its output, with three RCA output pairs and three XLR output pairs available on the rear panel. Each output pair corresponds to one of six selectable low-frequency cutoff configurations, giving users the full range of filter flexibility to match the system's bass response to their loudspeakers, tonearm, and room. Output impedance is 120 ohms on both RCA and XLR outputs. The equalizer accepts a single RCA input from the cartridge. Both the equalizer unit and the power supply unit share the same external dimensions of 452 x 152 x 486mm. The equalizer unit weighs 25.1kg and the power supply unit 29.8kg, for a combined system weight of approximately 54.9kg.
System Compatibility and Setup
The Grand Master optical cartridge requires tonearm wiring with fully independent conductors for each channel's positive and negative leads, plus a separate dedicated ground conductor. Tonearms that share the ground with one channel's return must be rewired before use, as DS Audio optical cartridges carry DC supply voltage through the tonearm leads. Beyond this requirement, setup follows standard cartridge alignment procedures. DS Audio recommends leaving the equalizer system powered on continuously from installation, as the full capacitance requires an extended period, measured in months, to reach its optimal charge state.
Critical Reception
The DS Audio Grand Master has received some of the most emphatic praise applied to any phono cartridge in the audio press. Jonathan Valin, reviewing it for The Absolute Sound, wrote that it is "so truly supreme in resolution, transparency, spatial recreation, neutrality and any other parameter I can name" that he felt compelled to state: "This may be the best cartridge I've ever heard." Ken Kessler, reviewing it for Hi-Fi News, described the Grand Master as among the most technically accomplished cartridges he had encountered, noting that the gains delivered by the two-chassis equalizer were most audible in the bass, where the system's enormous power supply capacitance translates directly into "deeper, richer low-frequency expression." The consensus across the international audio press positions the Grand Master as a reference-class instrument for vinyl playback, and the foundation upon which DS Audio's subsequent Grand Master Extreme was built.
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