![Iron and light](https://magarticles.magzter.com/articles/5798/767041/6177d6ce2dae1/Iron-and-light.jpg)
In the household I grew up in, telling a lie was a death-penalty offense—worse than murder or leaving crumbs on the kitchen counter. So, believe me when I tell you that way more than a year ago, Musical Surroundings’ Garth Leerer sent me DS Audio’s lowest-priced optical cartridge, the DS-E1 ($2750 with energizer/equalizer). He said, “You need to know about this.” Then every few months he would write and politely inquire how I was liking it. Each time I would write back saying, “I’m sorry Garth, I haven’t tried it yet, but I’ll install it right after deadline.”
That was a score of deadlines ago. When I saw Michael Fremer’s full DS-E1 review in Analog Corner #306, I was crestfallen: He beat me to it (again).1 Undeterred, I went ahead and installed the made-in-Japan DS-E1 because Garth was right: I needed to know what this newfangled photooptical cartridge would sound like in my system.
My religion forbids excuses, but one reason I took so long to install the DSE1 was that I had heard DS Audio’s second-from-the-top cartridge, the $7500 Master1, at Munich High End. My curiosity was high, so I listened carefully, hoping to discover through a very good but unfamiliar system some idea of what this new “optical” cartridge was capable of. I concluded that the Master1 displayed an unusually brilliant clarity framed in a luxuriously quiet background. Its depth and brilliance reminded me not only of all the strain gauge cartridges I’ve heard but also of the $8000 death-quiet LSDbeautiful Grado Labs Aeon3 moving iron cartridge I reviewed in GD37.2
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Esta historia es de la edición November 2021 de Stereophile.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
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My last Far East trip
First comes the anticipation, that initial jet of warm water, that miraculous searching, finding the sweet spot, then heaven on earth as it cleans and caresses.
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Riding the Common Wave
In the e-commerce era, brick-and-mortar dealerships must give customers compelling reasons to stop by. Los Angeles hi-fi dealership Common Wave's owner Wesley Katzir keeps customers coming through the door with a simple idea: that music matters in our everyday lives and that what he enjoys, other people will enjoy, too.
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Mind Games to the bottom of the rabbit hole
After a wild decade in the biggest pop music group ever, John Lennon's post-Beatles years were spent in protest, in various kinds of therapy, in immigration court, and in search of a new musical identity.
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Trane meets the Motor City
Detroit became a destination for migrating African Americans early, starting with the Underground Railroad; the city's proximity to Canada was convenient for those seeking to escape Southern slavery.
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Vital art never rests
At this late date, it seems impossible that there could still be \"lost\" albums lingering in the vaults by musicians as important and successful as Johnny Cash and Paul McCartney.
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DUKE IN 10
TO COMMEMORATE THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF DUKE'S DEATH, ROBERT BAIRD SELECTS A DOUBLE HANDFUL OF EXEMPLARY TRACKS FROM PERHAPS AMERICA'S GREATEST MUSICAL GENIUS.
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Piega Coax Gen2 811
It's funny how we discover some music in unexpected, twisting ways.
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Pass Laboratories XP-27
One of the pleasures of reviewing-and also using-products from Pass Laboratories is an encounter with Nelson Pass's writing, which can usually be found in the owner's manual and is always competent, insightful, and sometimes funny.
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EMT 928 II
Modern turntables are a paradox.
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Dynaudio Contour 30i
Ah, Denmark. Land of the Vikings and blue-eyed, blond-haired folk with faces sculpted just so.