Musical Surroundings, AMG, DS Audio, Rogue, Magnepan | FLAX 2020

Part-Time Audiophile

At most high-end audio shows, I happen upon a turntable that strikes me as unusually beautiful–so much so that I almost want to own it based solely on its aesthetics. At FLAX 2020, I found that gorgeous table in the Musical Surroundings room fronting a surprisingly modest system. This gorgeous ‘table was an AMG Giro with the 9WT tonearm and outboard power supply ($14,250), with the stunning DS Audio E1 Optical Phono Cartridge System ($2750). I’ve seen the Giro before, but this one had a base in a beautiful metallic/cobalt blue with a white platter, and it gave me goosebumps just to look at it. While I focused on that gorgeous disc spinner, most of the visitors to the Musical Surroundings room focused on the unusual technology of the DS Audio E1. An “optical” cartridge system? Sounds like one of those ELP laser turntables. With its blue lights, it kinda looks like one of those Soundsmith Strain Gauge cartridges. It’s neither. Normal cartridges use an electromagnetic generator to move the magnets (MM) or coils (MC), and the speed of that movement within the magnetic field determines the output signal. With an optical system, that output signal is determined by the […]

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