DS Audio has shared the necessary documentation for connecting optical cartridges for turntables. These cartridges should not be confused with non-contact laser cartridges .
They still use mechanical contact between the soundtrack and the solid stylus. But it is not a magnet or a coil that is fixed to the console, but a shield that shades the photocells located in the cartridge case. The light source is located in the same place. The signal from the photocell is processed by the phono stage.
Since the principle of receiving the signal is different, the phono stage for the optical cartridge also differs from the traditional versions of MM or MS. The principle of the optical cartridge is rather similar to the operation of the audio channel of a film projector and provides many advantages to the optical cartridge. It is clear that such a device requires its own phono stage, which in addition must provide power to the light source built into the cartridge.
Now this phono stage can be developed and integrated into its products by any audio system manufacturer. “My goal is to make optical cartridges popular from unique ones,” said Tetsuaki Aoyagi, CEO and Chief Designer of DS Audio.