Dualsonic Optimum
Focused ultrasound, nothing else, taken as deep as 4.5 mm
Ruby
Dualsonic Optimum or Maximum Alpha
Two Korean-made devices, both yours to use at home, both built on the same patented dual-layer focused ultrasound. One goes deeper into a single job. The other covers more ground. This page is here so you can tell, in about four minutes, which of those two is the one you actually want on your bathroom shelf.
Dualsonic Maximum Alpha
Seven technologies, one handle, a full treatment menu
Ruby
The short answer
One goes down. One goes across.
Almost every difference between these two devices comes back to a single decision the engineers made, and it is easier to see than to read about.
Optimum goes down
Every part of it serves focused ultrasound. That single-mindedness buys you depth control that a shared device cannot offer: five separate depth programmes from 1.5 mm at the eye to 4.5 mm along the jaw, three of them treating two layers in the same pass.
Maximum Alpha goes across
The same focused ultrasound sits alongside six more technologies in one body: radiofrequency, microcurrent, electroporation and three wavelengths of light. You get six modes covering lifting, firming, daily upkeep and skincare absorption, from one handle.
If you read nothing else
Choose Optimum if lifting is the thing you actually care about and you want one short, serious appointment with yourself each week. Choose Maximum Alpha if you enjoy a routine, want something to reach for most days, and would rather have lifting, firming, glow and better product absorption in one object than lifting alone.
Device one
Dualsonic Optimum
A specialist, and it does not pretend otherwise. Optimum makes focused ultrasound and light, and that is the whole list. What you get in return is precision: the depth is not something you guess at, it is set for you by the mode you choose, from 1.5 mm around the eye to 4.5 mm along the jawline where skin actually gives way.
Its signature is Quick Mode. Two hundred shots, six minutes, cheeks then eyes then forehead, once a week. You put it down and you are finished until next Sunday.
- Technologies
- HIFU plus red, yellow and infrared light
- Depth range
- 1.5 to 4.5 mm
- Modes
- Quick, V-up, Face-up, Eye-up, Brow-up, Neck-up
- Rhythm
- Once a week
- Shots
- Unlimited, 200,000 under warranty
- Finishes
- Ruby or Ash
€1,450Dualsonic Optimum
Device two
Dualsonic Maximum Alpha
A generalist in the best sense. Seven technologies share one body, and the mode dial is really a small menu of treatments: lift the lower face, lift the cheeks, work the eye area, firm and refine with radiofrequency, keep things ticking over with microcurrent, or push your serum in properly with electroporation.
Because no single session has to do everything, you can spread the work across the week. Lifting on one day, a tightening pass on another, daily care on the days in between.
- Technologies
- HIFU, RF, microcurrent, electroporation, red, yellow and infrared light
- Depth range
- 1.5 to 4.5 mm
- Modes
- V-up, Face-up, Eye-up, Tight-up, Daily-up, Cos-up
- Rhythm
- Lifting weekly, lighter modes more often
- Weight
- 202 g, 82 minutes of runtime
- Finishes
- Ruby or White
€1,250Dualsonic Maximum Alpha
Where the energy lands
HIFU depth compared, 1.5 to 4.5 mm
Focused ultrasound skips the surface and puts its heat at one exact point underneath. The whole argument between these two devices is how many of those points you get to choose from, and both charts below are drawn to the same millimetre scale so you can compare them honestly.
A focal point, where the ultrasound concentrates its heat
Two layers treated in the same pass, the patented dual-layer delivery
Read across the bottom row and the difference is plain. Optimum lets you pick the depth for the zone you are standing in front of the mirror worrying about. Maximum Alpha groups the face into two sensible settings and spends the rest of its engineering on the other six technologies.
What is inside
One technology, or seven in one device
Both devices use the same patented dual-layer focused ultrasound, protected in Korea, the United States, Japan and China. What differs is how much else is sharing the body.
Optimum: focused ultrasound, and light to finish
Nothing competes for the battery, the head or the engineering budget. The ceramic transducer is concave, so the energy converges on one point under the skin and leaves the surface untouched. Red, yellow and infrared light run alongside it, matched automatically to whichever mode you picked.
Red on V-up and Face-up for firmness. Yellow on the eye, brow and neck modes for tone. Infrared on V-up and Face-up for conditioning. You can switch the light off entirely by holding the intensity button.
Maximum Alpha: seven, sharing one handle
HIFU
Focused ultrasound for the structural lift, at dual depths.
Radiofrequency
Warmth held in the dermis at 1, 2 and 3 MHz in sequence, for density and firmness.
Microcurrent
The gentle everyday setting, for a face that looks awake rather than puffy.
Electroporation
Opens a brief path for whatever you have just applied to go in properly.
Red light
Pairs with the lifting modes, for elasticity and firmness.
Yellow light
Used on the delicate areas, for tone and brightness.
Infrared
The warm, restorative note underneath the daily modes.
Optimum only
Thirteen points, not one
Most home ultrasound places a single focal point per shot. Optimum fires a line of thirteen, laid down together by angled transducers. More tissue is treated in each pass, which is how a serious cheek treatment fits into three minutes and twenty seconds.
Living with it
How each one fits into your week
This is the part most comparisons leave out, and it is usually what decides it. Be honest about which of these two weeks sounds like yours.
Optimum
6 minutes, once
MTW
T
FSS
One appointment with yourself. Quick Mode runs cheeks, eye area and forehead back to back, two hundred shots, then it switches itself to standby and you are done. If you want to work zone by zone instead, the five individual modes take one minute forty each, with Face-up at three minutes twenty. The manual is clear that once a week is the recommended frequency, and that more is not better.
Maximum Alpha
A little, most days
MTW
TFSS
A routine rather than an appointment. The lifting modes stay weekly, the same as any focused ultrasound. Around them sit Tight-up for firmness, Daily-up for everyday upkeep and Cos-up when you want a serum to actually land. If you are someone who likes a ritual at the mirror, this is the device that rewards it.
The dial, mode by mode
What each setting actually does
Taken from the Optimum user manual and the Maximum Alpha product specification. Shot counts and timings below are the recommended settings the device holds for you.
Optimum
Q
QuickFace, eye and brow run in sequence. 200 shots, about 6 minutes. Red and infrared on the cheeks, yellow on the eyes and forehead.
V
V-up3.5 and 4.5 mm together, the deepest setting. Chin and jawline. 50 shots, 1 minute 40.
F
Face-up2.5 and 3.0 mm together. Cheeks, upper face, smile lines. 100 shots, 3 minutes 20.
E
Eye-up1.5 mm, single layer, for the thinnest skin on the face. 50 shots, 1 minute 40.
B
Brow-up1.5 and 2.0 mm together. Forehead lines up to the brow. 50 shots, 1 minute 40.
N
Neck-up2.0 mm, single layer. Neck to collarbone. 50 shots, 1 minute 40.
Maximum Alpha
V
V-upDual focused ultrasound with light and infrared, for jawline definition and the area under the chin.
F
Face-upDual focused ultrasound with red light. The main lifting and contouring pass.
E
Eye-upDual focused ultrasound at 1.5 and 2.0 mm with yellow light, for the eye area, forehead and neck.
T
Tight-upTriple radiofrequency at 1, 2 and 3 MHz with red light. Firmness, texture and pores.
D
Daily-upMicrocurrent with infrared and light. The low-effort everyday setting.
C
Cos-upElectroporation with light, used straight after your serum or essence.
Side by side
Dualsonic Optimum vs Maximum Alpha, in full
| Optimum | Maximum Alpha | |
|---|---|---|
| Built for | Lifting and firming, as deep as home ultrasound goes | A complete routine, lifting included |
| Technologies | Ultrasound plus red, yellow and infrared light | Ultrasound, radiofrequency, microcurrent, electroporation, red, yellow and infrared light |
| Depth programmes | Five, from 1.5 to 4.5 mm | Two pairings, 1.5 to 4.5 mm |
| Dual-layer delivery | Three of the five modes | Both ultrasound modes |
| Points per shot | Thirteen, in a line | Single focal point |
| Modes on the dial | Six, all ultrasound | Six, across five technologies |
| Shortest full routine | Quick Mode, about 6 minutes | Varies by mode you choose |
| Recommended rhythm | Once a week | Lifting weekly, lighter modes more often |
| Shots | Unlimited, no cartridge. 200,000 covered by warranty | Unlimited, no cartridge. 200,000 covered on the lifting modes |
| Intensity levels | Three | Three |
| Battery | 3,350 mAh. About 1 hour 30 of use, 2 hours 30 to charge | 3,350 mAh. Up to 82 minutes of use, about 235 minutes to charge |
| Display | LCD with mode, intensity, light status and shot count | Smart OLED with mode, intensity and battery |
| In the box | Device, charging stand, USB-C cable, charger, warranty card. No gel included | Device, cradle, USB cable and a starter tube of ultrasound gel |
| Finishes | Ruby, Ash | Ruby, White |
| Price | €1,450 | €1,250 |
Choosing
Choosing between Optimum and Maximum Alpha
No quiz. Read both columns and notice which one you keep nodding at.
Choose Optimum
If the jawline is the reason you are here
- Sagging along the cheek, jaw or neck is the thing you notice in photographs.
- You would rather do one serious thing well than six things adequately.
- Six minutes once a week is realistic. Ten minutes every evening is not.
- You want the depth set correctly for the eye, the brow, the cheek and the jaw, separately.
- You already have a skincare routine you like and do not need a device to run it.
Choose Maximum Alpha
If you want the whole treatment menu
- Lifting matters, but so do texture, pores, tone and glow.
- You enjoy the ritual and will genuinely reach for it more than once a week.
- You are curious about radiofrequency and microcurrent and would rather not buy three devices.
- You spend real money on serums and want them absorbed rather than sitting on the surface.
- One object on the shelf, doing everything, appeals more than the specialist tool.
Identical on both
How to use either device safely
Whichever you choose, the handling is the same, and the manual is unusually firm about it. Worth reading before your first session rather than after.
Ultrasound gel, and plenty of it
Use plain conductive ultrasound gel, the same kind used in clinics and for medical scans. It is not a proprietary product, so any pharmacy or medical supplier will have it and you are never locked into one brand. Maximum Alpha arrives with a starter tube in the box. The Optimum box holds the device, stand, cable, charger and warranty card only, so order gel at the same time as the device rather than after it lands.
Where the gel goes
On the area you are about to treat, not on the device head, and a generous layer rather than a polite one. Apply it to clean dry skin immediately before you start, because it dries out faster than you expect. A thin layer leaves air gaps between the head and the skin, which is the single most common reason a session stings. Afterwards, pat what is left into the skin or rinse and carry on with your usual products.
Areas that stay off limits
Between the brows, the eyeballs themselves, the lips and the area around the mouth, the nasal bone, the jawbone line, the Adam’s apple and the thyroid. If you have had filler, fat grafting or threads, wait for a proper recovery period first.
Start at level one
Three intensity levels on both devices. Begin at the lowest and move up only once you know how your skin responds. How the energy feels changes with the season, with stress, with a glass of wine the night before, and after any peel or exfoliation.
Keep moving
Never hold either device still on one spot, and do not run the same line twice in a session. Keep the head flat against the skin and glide. Repeating a line is how burns happen.
Afterwards
A little redness for a few hours is expected. Skip saunas and steam rooms for one to three days, leave exfoliation alone for a week, and do not scratch even if the area feels itchy. Makeup and washing your face are fine the same day.
When not to use either
Pregnancy, open wounds or raised scars, severe acne or very sensitive skin, metal or silicone implants in the area, pacemakers and other implanted electronic devices. If you are under medical or dental treatment, ask first.
One more option
They are not rivals
A fair number of owners end up with both, and it is not the indulgence it sounds like. Optimum takes the weekly lifting appointment, working deeper than anything else you can hold. Maximum Alpha handles the days in between: firming, microcurrent, and getting your skincare where it belongs. Neither is doing the other’s job badly, because neither is trying to.
If you are going to own one first, let the depth chart decide it. If the jaw and neck are the concern, start with Optimum. If you are treating the whole face on several fronts, start with Maximum Alpha.
Still deciding
Say what you are trying to fix, and we will tell you which one
Both ship worldwide from Spain, both are made in Korea, both carry the same warranty and the same after-sales support. There is no wrong door here, only the one that suits your face and your week.
Not sure yet? Compare the full Dualsonic range, or see how the Protocol Hub plans your routine.