DS Audio Grand Master Extreme

[spiritofmusic]

Sound smith stuff I love but the strain gage I felt was not great. Now this is in a tiny room st shows
So I can’t say how this can be In a proper room setup.

You need to hear the Straingauge in a well set up system and room, preferably with dual 24V linear power supplies. Then you'll likely come to a different conclusion.

 

[Steve Rowan]

I’ve heard and set up many cartridges Sumiko, Koetsu, Audioquest, Linn, Grado, Dynavector and several others. Recently I purchased a Sikora Standard Max, an Integrity Tru-Glide tone arm, and the DS 003 cartridge and its energizer. All I can say is wow! I’ve not been that excited about vinyl in a long time. Dr. Vinyl was the villain responsible for recorrupting me. But his room at Axpona the last two years have just sounded amazing to me.
Thus the purchase.
I’ve never experienced a turntable system sounding that great!
The DS cartridge system I feel is a game changer. And while I enjoy the 003 Energizer, I’m now using the Meitner ds 02, and perhaps soon the eem labs Ds1.
I’m sure one of the higher ranked cartridges is in my future too.
And I can’t say enough great things about Dr. Vinyl and tutelage.

 

[Alrainbow]

I own a ss cart an older flagship it’s like no others I have very close to tape in density
one day Maybe ill hear it done well.

 

[Dr Vinyl]

First of all we at DR Vinyl love to do in home demos , so you get to hear in your system the product you are evaluating.
Also please explain why the DS Audio is digital??????

 

[Dr Vinyl]

I’ve been using Lyra cartridges for 5+ years, and will continue. I think I made it quite clear in posts above that I don’t think that DS (through the $60k level) is an upgrade.

Have you heard it????

 

[spiritofmusic]

I own a ss cart an older flagship it’s like no others I have very close to tape in density
one day Maybe ill hear it done well.

Worth the effort, undoubtedly.

 

[Dr Vinyl]

Kedar they don’t sound digital I thought this too.
I can’t say lower models but the one just below top is very good. Steve on here has one on the sakora table. I heard ds at shows and hated them. Until dr vinyl had a setup at axpona
my thinking it was something in the other rooms
One was boulder amp preamp and Sonos FABER speakers
but even when I asked them to play vinyl on table non ds audio it was the same hard sound.
at axpona same table in two rooms one ds audio and the other was doshi audio.
Ina direct compare its analog sounding not a hint at f digital.
Now I think there methods are not digital but I can’t confirm
But top analog sounding no doubt

That is because its totally Analog

 

[Another Johnson]

Have you heard it????

Did you bother to read any of my other posts in this thread? I only added content because I have auditioned it.

 

[Dr Vinyl]

They seem like upgrades for people in the Lyra sonics camp.

There is nothing digital on the DS Audio Cartridges

 

[Dr Vinyl]

Did you bother to read any of my other posts in this thread? I only added content because I have auditioned it.

No sorry where can I read them

 

[BR549]

I’ve had the Grandmaster EX on now for about two weeks and it has continued to improve. Leagues ahead of the grandmaster on my system and to my ear. Couldn’t be happier (other than the cost).

 

[simonthepieman]

I’ve heard and set up many cartridges Sumiko, Koetsu, Audioquest, Linn, Grado, Dynavector and several others. Recently I purchased a Sikora Standard Max, an Integrity Tru-Glide tone arm, and the DS 003 cartridge and its energizer. All I can say is wow! I’ve not been that excited about vinyl in a long time. Dr. Vinyl was the villain responsible for recorrupting me. But his room at Axpona the last two years have just sounded amazing to me.
Thus the purchase.
I’ve never experienced a turntable system sounding that great!
The DS cartridge system I feel is a game changer. And while I enjoy the 003 Energizer, I’m now using the Meitner ds 02, and perhaps soon the eem labs Ds1.
I’m sure one of the higher ranked cartridges is in my future too.
And I can’t say enough great things about Dr. Vinyl and tutelage.

OK just gone from ds003 with matching eq box to
The "semi flagship grand mater3 but with the W3 eq box


HOLY COW!


MASSIVE room filling soundstage so much faster,more dynamic, deeper bass with more control, more of every aspect of sound than before, my wide slab fronted Atc's aren't known for imaging, per say
The sound was between the speakers precisely
Now it's full width of the whole room.
I'm absolutely staggered, as was my installing dealer
Sme model 15 with series 5 arm
Music. Has never sounded,better for me

 

[Dave777tx]

DS Audio Grand Master optical cartridge has been my number 1 cartridge for some time. It has a smooth sound and provides a lot of details, The bass is firm and defined. Although there are a few other good MC cartridges which I rotate to use, the time I spent with Grand Master is always the longest. DS Audio now produces a better version of it called Grand Master Extreme. The main difference is the one piece diamond cantilever and stylus. Without a glued joint between cantilever and stylus, the transmission of signal from record groove to cartridge motor is enhanced. The result should be better.

I get my Grand Master Extreme today. It was mounted up and listened. Playing the same piece of music using Grand Master before switching to Grand Master Extreme, the difference is obvious. GM Extreme has much higher resolution. Everything is just more clear. The basic sonic presentation is the same as GM but GM Extreme shows a better picture. Imaging is improved, every aspect that I like about GM just get even better. It is amazing . Anyone using Grand Master now will have no choice but to upgrade to GM Extreme. It is really good.View attachment 107621View attachment 107623View attachment 107624View attachment 107625

What TT and Turn Arm do you have? I own the DS EX and it’s really good but I wonder what would be his perfect TT. Thanks

 

[TLi]

What TT and Turn Arm do you have? I own the DS EX and it’s really good but I wonder what would be his perfect TT. Thanks

My turntable is TechDAS Air Force Zero. I tried several tonearms with Grand Master cartridges. They are Graham Elite 12", TechDAS Air Force 10 and SAT CF-9 Ti.

In general, all arms work well with DS Audio cartridge. One thing to consider though is the relative light weight of Grand Master, 7.7g. If it is mounted on a tonearm with low effective mass, such as SAT, the bass tends to be lighter due to compliance issue. It can be a good thing in some system, as some users find Grand Master bass too strong. That's why in its phonostage, there are outputs with reduce bass respond. Another way to compensate is to use thicker cartridge screws, adding a few grams to the headshell will solve the problem.

DS Audio seems to realise this. In new Grand Master and GM Extreme, a new dumper is added inside the cartridge. It will better control the resonance and also adds some mass to it. They offer free upgrade to current users. My GM Extreme is sent to DS Audio for upgrade and should come back next week. A friend had upgraded and said the result is very good. You may want to check with your dealer about the upgrade if your GM Ex is not the latest batch.

 

[Dave777tx]

My turntable is TechDAS Air Force Zero. I tried several tonearms with Grand Master cartridges. They are Graham Elite 12", TechDAS Air Force 10 and SAT CF-9 Ti.

In general, all arms work well with DS Audio cartridge. One thing to consider though is the relative light weight of Grand Master, 7.7g. If it is mounted on a tonearm with low effective mass, such as SAT, the bass tends to be lighter due to compliance issue. It can be a good thing in some system, as some users find Grand Master bass too strong. That's why in its phonostage, there are outputs with reduce bass respond. Another way to compensate is to use thicker cartridge screws, adding a few grams to the headshell will solve the problem.

DS Audio seems to realise this. In new Grand Master and GM Extreme, a new dumper is added inside the cartridge. It will better control the resonance and also adds some mass to it. They offer free upgrade to current users. My GM Extreme is sent to DS Audio for upgrade and should come back next week. A friend had upgraded and said the result is very good. You may want to check with your dealer about the upgrade if your GM Ex is not the latest batch.View attachment 141105

Air Force Zero it’s out of this world. I had the pleasure to listen to it in the same system with the the Wilson Benesch and it was surreal. I own the Kronos pro and upgrading to the Kronos perpetual. Thanks for your input

 

[Arcus7]

Air Force Zero it’s out of this world. I had the pleasure to listen to it in the same system with the the Wilson Benesch and it was surreal. I own the Kronos pro and upgrading to the Kronos perpetual. Thanks for your input

Pretty silent now, this DS Audio thread...Anybody also using these cartridges? I've never heard one, so I can not judge/contribute. But I'm pretty satisfied with my conventional MC cartridges (Lyra Etna Lambda, Clearaudio Titanium V2, Etsuro Urushi Bordeaux etc.). The great thing with these is, that you can create different sounding systems, since every cartridges has its own sonics

 

[JiminGa]

Pretty silent now, this DS Audio thread...Anybody also using these cartridges? I've never heard one, so I can not judge/contribute. But I'm pretty satisfied with my conventional MC cartridges (Lyra Etna Lambda, Clearaudio Titanium V2, Etsuro Urushi Bordeaux etc.). The great thing with these is, that you can create different sounding systems, since every cartridges has its own sonics

View attachment 143563View attachment 143565View attachment 143568

I had the chance recently to hear GME with its equalizer vs M3 with its equalizer. Hi fI Buys took a lot of time to set it up for me. CH Precision electronics, Rockport Orion speakers (I have them at home so I know the sound well) and Brinkmanship TT. My opinion mirrors Ken Kesslers. First I heard little/no advantage to the GM equalizer. If you are flush with cash and have the extra rack space have at it. The cartridges are both amazing. The GME is “ pristine” and has virtually no halo around any note. The M3 sounds nearly equally transparent but has more body and sounds more like flesh and blood musicians. These are just my opinions. For my money I would choose the M3 but transparency fanatics might prefer the GME. I brought my own vinyl so I made sure I knew the music and as I said I own the speakers. Maybe it’s the square cantilever? I think anyone would respect these cartridges but I’m also sure some people might prefer their MC favorite because of personal taste. These are very very good

 

[Kvali1]

My turntable is TechDAS Air Force Zero. I tried several tonearms with Grand Master cartridges. They are Graham Elite 12", TechDAS Air Force 10 and SAT CF-9 Ti.

In general, all arms work well with DS Audio cartridge. One thing to consider though is the relative light weight of Grand Master, 7.7g. If it is mounted on a tonearm with low effective mass, such as SAT, the bass tends to be lighter due to compliance issue. It can be a good thing in some system, as some users find Grand Master bass too strong. That's why in its phonostage, there are outputs with reduce bass respond. Another way to compensate is to use thicker cartridge screws, adding a few grams to the headshell will solve the problem.

DS Audio seems to realise this. In new Grand Master and GM Extreme, a new dumper is added inside the cartridge. It will better control the resonance and also adds some mass to it. They offer free upgrade to current users. My GM Extreme is sent to DS Audio for upgrade and should come back next week. A friend had upgraded and said the result is very good. You may want to check with your dealer about the upgrade if your GM Ex is not the latest batch.View attachment 141105

Do you know roughly when the “newest batch” was released , I have a grand master ex cartridge , got it May 2024; and I agree the bass and subsonic bass info is very heavy ; fixable with changing input at ds eq but then I always feel I’m cutting out music ..

 

[Kvali1]

Do you know roughly when the “newest batch” was released , I have a grand master ex cartridge , got it May 2024; and I agree the bass and subsonic bass info is very heavy ; fixable with changing input at ds eq but then I always feel I’m cutting out music ..

Oh and also I recognize the ds ionizer but what are the other things next to your platter ?

 

[microstrip]

If it was not for the price I would surely own an optical cartridge - there is something intrinsically right in a cartridge mechanism that does not suffer from back-EMF.

An enjoyable review from Jacob Heilbrunn - The Absolute Sound.

https://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/ds-audio-grand-master-ex-optical-phono-cartridge/