The German analog audio magazine LP Magazine (Issue 2/2026) has published an in-depth review of our first tube phono equalizer, the TB-100, written by Holger Barske.

The article is titled “Leuchtendes Beispiel” (A Shining Example), positioning the TB-100 as the definitive tube-based answer to the question of how to amplify and equalize an optical cartridge signal. The review was conducted with the DS Audio DS003, Transrotor Massimo Nero / Studio 12″, Canor TP101 A30 integrated amplifier, and JBL L300 loudspeakers.

Key Phrases from the Review

“With the TB-100, DS Audio delivers an impressive argument for tube technology.”

“The equalizer sounds uniquely full-bodied, spacious, relaxed — and carries that certain aura at the upper end of the spectrum. Magnificent!”

“And it does so in an almost magical way.”

Listening to Esbjörn Svensson’s solo piano work Home.S., Barske describes the presentation as “uniquely free, detached, and reaching far into the distance,” adding that the TB-100 lets the listener “literally grasp” the artist’s ideas.

His verdict: DS Audio set out to create a clear counterpoint to its own, more grounded solid-state equalizers — and “it has worked excellently.”

▶ Published in: LP Magazine 2/2026 (in German)