I heard the new DS003 at the Captial Audio Fest and while it sounded good, it is hard to say that in a direct comparison situation to other cartridges, what that "difference" means. Different is not always better, but another "ingredient" that alters the flavor, for better or worse, or not at all. Of course, if your cartridge benchmark was outclassed by the DS Audio top tier optical cartridge which persuaded you to purchase it, congratulations!
If you are in the DMV area, I am as well, I will send you a PM. Perhaps we can do a shootout...Hyperion OCL, Air Tight OPUS 1, with SME V’s and new Transrotor TRA9 arm mated to an upgraded Transrotor Apollon TMD with three motors, 80mm platter, and Transrotor Konstant TMD reference regulated power supply.
I hear you...with spiked eggnog and lots of Christmas records in play on the old trusty Denon turntable, it could be a recipe for disaster. I will just leave the cover off for extended plays.