Opinion 1

Although we still cannot say that vinyl lost on popularity, we sure can notice, that the recent hype surrounding it got toned down lately. Promotions in discount stores disappeared from the cover pages of the catalogs, and owning any turntable, even a very budget one, does not translate into social benefits anymore. It has its good sides, as now we can differentiate between those, who only had zeal in straw, and those, who were genuinely interested in vinyl, and means, that the market has finally stabilized. But this all is just the tip of the iceberg, one, that most observers sliding on the water surface, may not notice, or even not be aware of its existence. But keeping your hand on the pulse, and refreshing your knowledge from time to time, we subconsciously come to the level of increasing that knowledge and automatically filter the information noise to find items, that could improve our experience, eliminate or minimize the reproduction process errors.
Such accessories are for example all kinds of protractors, allowing to calibrate the cartridge on the tonearm as precisely as possible (like the Dr.Feickert Protractor NG), or the tonearms themselves, which are free of the issues plaguing their brethren, like the futuristic Dynavector DX-507 MkII or the Thales Simplicity MkII (with an angular error of cartridge tracking of 0.006º). And while we can upgrade and fine tune the player in an almost endless way, the uncomfortable question remains the intrinsic shortcoming of the medium, which not only wears out, even when handled with extreme care, but can be far from the ideal shape coming fresh from the factory. While this can be eased down by all kinds of rims, or by the turntables themselves being able to suction the disc to the platter (like the TechDAS), but those can eliminate only a part of the anomalies, only the “vertical” ones. And what about the horizontal, being the result of non-centric hole puncture? Maybe there is something we can do about them, but for sure not much. In extreme cases we could use a drill and then screw the disc very tightly to the platter with a clamp, but in most cases this was done only by “gut feeling”. And as you can imagine, this is not the best approach, so we should have a more precise tool for that, than just your left or right eyeball. So enter the silvery DS Audio ES-001. What is it? A clamp, that is able to correct the mentioned non-centricity of the vinyl discs, which we received from the Katowice based RCM, and which we will finally describe, after testing it thoroughly for two months.

At first glance, the ES-001 looks quite ordinary. A classic, aluminum-wolfram puck, slightly slanted on top, equipped with a rotary bottom with a hole allowing to place it on top of the spindle and weighing a substantial 620g. You will not find any of the rustical harmony of Harmonix TU-812MX Million Maestro in it, or the jewel-like gold-platinum Omicron Turntable Clamp Luxury. Attention is only drawn to the 2.4” touchscreen on top, which is used to perform the calibration process. Looking closer, we notice two pairs of openings close to the bottom, hiding infrared LEDs inside, a centrally placed power switch and a small Allen screw on the other side, that allows us to open the battery compartment (two standard AA batteries), and a hidden USB port, used to update the firmware (which we can download from the manufacturer’s web page). In terms of actual handling and how the device works, things are very simple and intuitive. You only need to turn on the ES after the turntable starts spinning the disc. Then holding the upper part of its chassis wait until the measurements are complete. Then you stop the platter and looking at the screen adjust the disc in such a way, that the crosshair is in the center. Then rotate the platter to check if everything is OK, and if yes, sit down and start listening.

Beginning the listening session I was not fully naïve to the abilities of our tested device. For the first few weeks it was intensively utilized by Jacek, so I had a chance of, even unintentionally, listen to the effects of its use. I can even say that those encounters were the reason, that I came to the conclusion that I need to listen to it at home, although I was initially quite sceptic about that. And that because this device turns the know way of things completely upside down.
First of all it was clear for a long time, that in the analog the main work is done by the duo of the deck and the tonearm, with the cartridge also having an influence on the final sound. I will for now omit the phonostage, as this is something different, as we are currently concentrating on the machinery extracting the waves from the grooves. Also nobody needed to make us aware about proper setup of the whole, or to provide our turntables appropriate anti-vibration protection and power. Everything was top notch. Or maybe not, as the application of the DS Audio ES-001, at least on most of the discs we used for the test, turned out to be a progress comparable to upgrading the cartridge or tonearm by one or even two levels. And no, this is not a joke, or us trying to enchant reality for the benefit of this test, because it was a clearly, indisputably and absolutely audible fact, although with one small “but”. While the changes introduced by the tested puck I personally perceived as progress, this is a completely subjective opinion, and I take into account the option, that for other people those could be steps sideways, or even back, when compared to their masters and direction in which they are moving. This because the DS incredibly “clears” the played records from any kind of distortion associated with the disc not being ideally centric. So the sound reaching us from the speakers is also free from such artefacts. The definition and localization of the virtual sources becomes shocking at times, the contour and differentiation of the bass, including that part of it, which borders on the threshold of the phonostage’s subsonic filter, causes confusion even with vinyl veterans, and the depth of the stage intimidates even the biggest malcontents. This of course influences resolution on global scale, and through it, the perception of the whole thing. The problem is, that when someone got accustomed and addicted to the insipid and dreamy blurs, and the complete opposite of resolution and timing, sticky musicality, he or she may not agree with such status quo, which is an evident revolution in how the music is played. Not everyone may be happy with the transition from a floating air-suspended luxury Mercedes into a GTR.
Here I must note, that I am exaggerating and oversaturating a bit, but we are dealing here with a true reevaluation of seemingly well-known discs. Half seriously half jokingly we can say, that applying the DS moves a middle class turntable to a way of presenting music similar, to reel-to-reel tape machines. Because not only the mentioned resolution improves, but also the directness of the sound, dynamics and the impression of being there and then. Interestingly, this increase in “clarity of vision” does not mean, that the sound gets caricatural and hyper-contrasted in a pseudo-sampler way, like HDR tends to with your eyes and ears. Even the somewhat glassy and cold, in their expression, vinyls like “Vägen” by Tingvall Trio, or the clamoring thrash (like “Rust in Peace” by Megadeth) did not move in the direction of a morgue, did not have any ruthless sharpness, but sounded much clearer, and with that dramatically less offensive. As it turned out, you can marry crystal cleanness with silky smoothness.
However it cannot be denied, that the biggest beneficiary of the ES-001 appearing in my system was classical music, especially one using a very rich, diverse and big musical apparatus. Insight into recordings like “Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 6 “Pathétique” (Leopold Stokowski/London Symphony Orchestra on a Japanese RCA pressing) initially intimidated with its masterful openwork to push you into your seat with a devastating tutti. But instead of a formless mass of decibels flowing from the speakers, the whole was presented in an unexpectedly precise way. Like in a refined chronograph, each instrument had a role of a gear, which has a meticulously designed place and time, so besides the volume, we got the full differentiation a big symphonic orchestra has, with an obvious gradation of planes and ability to extract individual musicians from the mix at will. I will claim, that the DS Audio extracted such levels of resolution from my Dynavector “10”, a quite “rock” sounding cartridge by definition, that I could compare it to the much older and nobler brethren in the likes of DV XX-2 MkII. Of course I am thinking about a situation, where this sparring partner would not have the support of the Japanese accessory.
Is this a miracle and an example of wishful thinking? Absolutely not. This is just an elimination of one of the key, and as you probably can see from the text above, dramatically degrading the final effect, imperfections of the music carrier itself. Only that, but that much.

Yes, yes. I am really aware, that some of you are shaking your heads, looking in the pricing table, and thinking what makes the DS Audio ES-001 cost about 27 thousand PLN? I can answer, that I have no idea, as I did not take part in the doings of the R&D department of the company, but assessing the progress in the sound, that the presence of the tested puck brought in my system, I could say it does not matter what is inside. I can be empty, or full of stoned gnomes. It works, and the result of it is conform with my private preferences, and I am able to accept the price tag, looking at it through the prism of the introduced scale of the changes. So that is it, no reason to talk about that anymore. In the end High-End is a game for big children, and each one of us is able to assess to which level he or she can reach, and when to say “pass”. However there is one thing you should keep in mind. Before you decide to change the turntable you own for a better one, and do have the budget allowing you to gain interest in the DS Audio gadget, please test it in your own system, because it is quite possible, that you do not know what your system really can do, and how your vinyl LPs can sound, even those you know by heart. Don’t you believe me? Then go ahead and listen.

Marcin Olszewski

System used in this test:
– CD/DAC: Ayon CD-35 (Preamp + Signature) + Finite Elemente Cerabase compact
– Network player: Lumin U2 Mini + Omicron Magic Dream Classic + I-O Data Soundgenic HDL-RA4TB
– Digital source selector: Audio Authority 1177
– Turntable: Kuzma Stabi S + Kuzma Stogi + Dynavector DV-10X5
– Phonostage: Tellurium Q Iridium MM/MC Phono Pre Amp
– Power amplifier: Bryston 4B³ + Graphite Audio IC-35 Isolation Cones
– Loudspeakers: Dynaudio Contour 30 + Brass Spike Receptacle Acoustic Revive SPU-8 + Base Audio Quartz platforms
– IC RCA: Furutech FA-13S
– IC XLR: Organic Audio; Vermöuth Audio Reference; Acrolink 7N-A2070 Leggenda
– Digital IC: Fadel art DigiLitz; Harmonic Technology Cyberlink Copper; Apogee Wyde Eye; Monster Cable Interlink LightSpeed 200
– USB cables: Wireworld Starlight; Goldenote Firenze Silver; Fidata HFU2; Vermöuth Audio Reference
– Speaker cables: Signal Projects Hydra; Vermöuth Audio Reference Loudspeaker Cable + SHUBI Custom Acoustic Stands MMS-1
– Power cables: Furutech FP-3TS762 / FI-28R / FI-E38R; Organic Audio Power + Furutech CF-080 Damping Ring; Acoustic Zen Gargantua II; Furutech Nanoflux Power NCF
– Power distribution board: Furutech e-TP60ER + Furutech FP-3TS762 / Fi-50 NCF(R) /FI-50M NCF(R)
– Wall power socket: Furutech FT-SWS(R)
– Anti-vibration platform: Franc Audio Accessories Wood Block Slim Platform
– Switch: Silent Angel Bonn N8 + Silent Angel S28 + Silent Angel Forester F1 + Luna Cables Gris DC
– Ethernet cables: Neyton CAT7+; Audiomica Anort Consequence + Artoc Ultra Reference + Arago Excellence; Furutech LAN-8 NCF
– Table: Solid Tech Radius Duo 3
– Acoustic panels: Vicoustic Flat Panels VMT

Opinion 2

This might sound indecent, but having in mind, that our portal “Soundrebels” is not directed to children, I think that I can remind you of the saying, which is most important in our hobby – “shit in, shit out”. This is the core of our game, and it meant, that I had to really invest in my digital sound path to do it well. And I not only mean the split of the player into the CD transport and a DAC, but also the usage of an external master clock 10MHz, with an appropriate divider for the CD. This also resulted in the need of acquiring appropriate clock and power cabling, and shows clearly, how much effort needed to go into this. And all of that was to get the best possible signal from the sound source. And regardless of how many people will now shake their heads, the fight for the best possible way of reading the CD disc was worth all of it. But why am I telling you this? You might be surprised, but this review will be about a similar situation, but in the analog section. Yes, the main item today will be the turntable. And what is most interesting, it should bring you closer to something similar to the mentioned tandem of the master clock and re-clocker. The difference is, that in the digital domain we fought the error called jitter by synchronizing the clocks between the transmitter and receiver, while with the analog disc, we will fight the pickup error by putting the groove into its ideal rotation axis, working within the minimal clearance left between the hole punched in the disc and the spindle. What is this device? Well, this is the very sophisticated puck by DS Audio, called the ES 001 and supplied to us by the analog gurus from Katowice based RCM.

When we look at the tested device, it seems just to be an innocent, similar to many others proposed by the competition, record clamp, or puck. And a nicely looking at that, as it is a two-colored cylinder. But you would be mistaken, when you think this is just a heavy puck of aluminum. This is just the external appearance, as inside we have a complicated measurement device, which shows the results from before and after calibration on the touchscreen located on top of it. It does not matter what is inside, probably a complicated electronic circuit, but it does not matter. For us the only important thing is, how it works. And I will try to tell you. When you look closer, just below the power switch you will see a horizontal split, which separates the upper part with the electronics from the solid, flat base, stabilizing the whole on the spindle using a bearing. This is quite important, as with the disc spinning you can stop the upper part doing the measurements with IR beams. After a few revolutions, the display shows us the way the disc rotates with an usually red crosshair, performing elliptical rounds on the display. Then we stop the platter and with delicate movements – I remind you, the clearance around the spindle is minimal – we try to put the crosshair in the exact center, what results in it changing color to green. But sometimes the hole is punch so badly, or is so narrow, that we cannot place the disc on the platter correctly without any additional actions. But I advise you to keep calm, as after a few weeks of testing I know, that even when you do not make the ideal center, but the color changes from red to green, this has great results. And this is not the end of the possibilities the ES 001 gives. For the fully engaged vinyl maniacs the manufacturer provided a special drill, allowing to widen the center hole in the disc. This seems not much, because the size is increased only very slightly, but I noticed many times, that this allows to ideally calibrate the tandem of the groove and the cartridge needle. I used it a few times, and I know, that sometimes it is worth fighting for the ideal setting. Finalizing this short description of the device and how it works, I will just add, that the whole set, composed of the puck, drill, set of batteries, USB cable for upgrading firmware and the Allen wrench for opening the batter compartment is packed into an elegant, aluminum case with a foam insert, which stabilizes each of the accessories individually. One more thing – if you want to see the DS Audio ES 001 in action, there is a demonstration film available on the manufacturer’s web page. It is worth seeing.

So what does the DS Audio ES 001 really do, and what is the result of that? The response to the first question is very simple, as it is based on physics. It is known, that the center hole punched in the vinyl disc does not necessarily mean, that it is the axis of rotation for the groove with the signal. This punching is done by machines, which can be more or less precise, and often have a certain skew. Of course, sometimes even the tight holes are well centered, but after a dozen weeks of using the 001 I came to the conclusion, that this is just a small part of the discs. Most of them has an issue with that. It seems minute, it seems it should not have any influence on the final sound, but as proven by the tested device, it does, and it degrades the sound. Why? This is really simple. The needle reading the groove moves the whole time, right, left, up and down. All our calibration efforts are directed to have it ideally placed so it can read the whole spectrum of those movements. But when we do not care about the ideal rotation of the groove versus it’s center, we introduce additional movement of the needle to the sides, induced by the, often even unseen, balancing of the wrongly pressed groove. And this is just pure, uncorrected distortion. This means, that the needle has a rhymical, unwanted kicking, that introduces superfluous impulses in our sound. This is seemingly unnoticed, a the music plays, often beautifully, but I had the option to hear, how much it prohibits it from showing all its assets. What assets? Well, here starts the answer to the second question posed, related to the sonic influences of the usage of the DS.

Trying to tell you the effect of the application of the ES 001 might be brutal for some of you, but let me phrase it like this: no climbing up the quality ladder of the analog source makes sense without this accessory. Yes, when we live not knowing what we are losing, we will feel the progress of the introduced changes. But what comes of it, if in the signal we still have the notorious errors introduced by the pickup. It will be better, but with all the distortion somewhere in the music’s DNA. And if so, what is the sense of fighting for the Olympus, when were are always condemned to have the same input errors. Please allow me not to answer that question, as I was erring myself up until recently, not knowing what I am missing. But what did I miss?
To describe it in simple words, the first thing what you hear after using the tested device, is a completely different projection of the musical event. A badly placed disc gives a bit washed-out picture, seemingly full of air and due to that etheric, but in consequence not fully seated in the boundaries set by the virtual presences. Everything seems to be shown clear, but without a concrete contour and without truthful reproduction of the energy level of the medium. And I am not talking about a sharper contour, more or less bass or midrange, but about clearer, and thus more truthful, placing of the musician onto a stage, well built in all dimensions. And this is what the Japanese device allows you to achieve. After zeroing the crosshair on the display of the DS, every sound source gains energy. We perceive something in the form of exchanging its halo into an increase of mass directed towards better reproduction of the drive. But for sake of clarity – this is not to make the sound thicker, no, it just increases the impulse of its decay. This makes every virtual musician much better visible in the 3D domain, at the same time offering an increased amount of naturally sounding nuances. Even more, due to this, the readability and freedom of creating musical events increases. Earlier, this freedom was defined by the blown-up – something in the form of saints with a halo around their heads on sacral paintings, enlarged and thus perceived as volatile – scenic heroes. After calibration of the disc the impression of swing of the presentation did not diminish, but appeared in space in a slightly different way, it gained energetic vigor, sized closer to the real world, and in fact appeared bigger. Putting this in another way – the more anorectic musicians went to the doctor, and after receiving a treatment gained on more real, natural and human size. I know that this all sounds like conjuring reality, but like not many times before, I can vouch for what I wrote. This the more, as I received the same kind of presentation with almost every musical material, from badly recorded rock – Led Zeppelin III, through choir vocals – something from my collection of madrigal LPs to the lately published electronics from Depeche Mode. Yes, yes, even music produced by silicone boiled with esthetic of concrete sounds, nicely kicking at times, and with modulated, elongated, but always vibrating notes in others. I am aware, that for many of you this list is just banal, but I assure you, I have never experienced such an event of being drawn into the sound of the ever popular DM, as after the correction of the seating of the LP. Now, compared to the previous presentations, then perceived as outstanding, similar to the rock giants and vocal chants they became even more interesting. How is this possible? Well, they were always that exciting, but they were disfigured by distortion, something that you can easily get rid of.

As you can see, today’s review is not your typical review supported by many disc examples, but a kind of conscience flow of my personal thoughts. And if so, and if you got to know me a bit through the years, you probably can imagine why. It is because my emotional state is red hot after using the DS Audio ES 001. When something moves me in such a way, it usually has two consequences. The first one is the description of the event in the esthetics closest to the emotions I had, just putting them to the text without bathing in musical waters. And in this case I hope I did it in a clear, and accessible way. And the second one, is the buying decision, opening my wallet. Maybe, looking at the analog source I have now – the basic deck Clearaudio Concept, cartridge Dynavector DV20X and phonostage RCM Sensor MkII – you will shake your head in disbelief. But I assure even the most hardened opponents of my idea, that what you can squeeze out of your analog setup using the tested puck, you will not achieve even with the best cartridge, or even the complete analog setup. Like I wrote before, it will be better, when compared to the previous set, but it will fail compared to the DS. Why? Simple. We fight with distortion where it starts – it is exactly the same thing I was striving to in my digital setup. Where it starts – and not trying to mask it, or move outside of the audible spectrum. This is why basing on many years of experience with the top SME deck, Mijajima Madake cartridge and phono preamplifier Theriaa, I knew, that it makes more sense to increase the quality of the sound of the cheap setup with the Japanese product, than to put similar amounts of money to exchange it for something more expensive, but still fed with sonic “faeces”. This does not make sense even in theory. And when you try this device out, there is nothing to talk about. And of course, we live in a free country, when someone is not convinced, then he or she may ignore the issue completely. But from my end, before making any decision, I would recommend an even very short listening session, even in the distributors listening room. But let me warn you – the analog world will never be the same after that experience.

Jacek Pazio

System used in this test:
Source:
– transport: CEC TL 0 3.0
– streamer: Lumin U2 Mini + switch Silent Angel Bonn N8
– DAC: dCS Vivaldi DAC 2.0
– Master clock: Mutec REF 10 SE-120
– reclocker: Mutec MC-3+USB
– Shunyata Research Omega Clock
– Shunyata Sigma V2 NR
– Preamplifier: Gryphon Audio Pandora
– Power amplifier: Gryphon Audio Apex Stereo
– Loudspeakers: Gauder Akustik Berlina RC-11 Black Edition
– Speaker Cables: Synergistic Research Galileo SX SC
IC RCA: Hijiri Million „Kiwami”, Vermouth Audio Reference
IC XLR: Tellurium Q Silver Diamond, Hijiri Milion „Kiwami”, Siltech Classic Legend 880i
Digital IC: Hijiri HDG-X Milion
Power cables: Hijiri Takumi Maestro, Furutech Project-V1, Furutech NanoFlux NCF, Furutech DPS-4.1 + FI-E50 NCF(R)/ FI-50(R), Hijiri Nagomi, Vermouth Audio Reference Power Cord, Acrolink 8N-PC8100 Performante, Synergistic Research Galileo SX AC
– Table: BASE AUDIO 2
– Accessories: Harmonix TU 505EX MK II, Stillpoints ULTRA SS, Stillpoints ULTRA MINI, antivibration platform by SOLID TECH, Harmonix AC Enacom Improved for 100-240V, Harmonix Room Tuning Mini Disk RFA-80i
– Power distribution board: POWER BASE HIGH END
– Acoustic treatments by Artnovion
Analog stage:
Drive: Clearaudio Concept
Cartridge: Essence MC
Phonostage: Sensor 2 mk II

Polish distributor: RCM
Manufacturer: DS Audio
Price: 26 900 PLN

Specifications
Size: φ80×H70 mm
Weight: 620g(including batteries)
Material: Aluminum& Tungsten
Power supply: Two AA batteries
User Interface: Touch panel (2.4inch)