Ferrum WANDLA - Impressions Thread

[Pilotter]

This wasn't supposed to be announced yet, not sure why he's published it but hey ho
If anyone is going to be at Munich High-End, make sure to stop by the Ferrum booth to see stuff in action. Full details coming then

Good news, thanks for the confirmation.

Another confirmation (by Ferrum): "...and taking our WANDLA family of DA converters to the next level"

It's called FSCT and on firmware 2.0.0

 

[Pilotter]

What would be an ideal consensus audio/midi-setting (sample-/bitrate) on a Mac, when playing Apple Music to the Wandla, if you don't want to adapt the setting to every song you play?

 

[krude]

What would be an ideal consensus audio/midi-setting (sample-/bitrate) for the Wandla when playing Apple Music, if you don't want to adapt the setting to every song you play.

There's a free piece of software called lossless switcher. Darko has a video about it. It's as close to bit perfect as you can get with Apple.

 

[mike1953]

https://ferrum.audio/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Ferrum-Streaming-Control-Technology-leaflet.pdf?vgo_ee=nEPsb2e72ZuF9xM3G2N4GY9XMHRtlcZXYx2xK500FfNMV7kF:X5OiEhccxbfSFPXcQkw3E+6YTVp1kEuI

 

[atomLI631]

nice. any idea when the new firmware will be released?

 

[LeeJB1970]

nice. any idea when the new firmware will be released?

After Munich High End show next week, they say.

 

[ch1525i]

After Munich High End show next week, they say.

even more reason for me to buy one!

 

[krude]

I really like the update / upgrade policy Ferrum has

 

[Pilotter]

There's a free piece of software called lossless switcher. Darko has a video about it. It's as close to bit perfect as you can get with Apple.

It doesn't work anymore with the latest macOS update, and there doesn't seem to be an alternative.

 

[krude]

It doesn't work anymore with the latest macOS update, and there doesn't seem to be an alternative.

Im a Mac guy and I had to admit at some point that Apple sucks for hifi. I mean you can't even play a bit perfect CD in OSX. I have a 2014 Macbook Pro (when they used to have an optical jack) that I use as my audio / personal stuff laptop and Ive put windows on it for hifi use

I also don't regret getting a streamer

 

[andybogo]

Hello. I listen only PCM from a Stramerwith USB out. In such a setup i can take a Wandla/Hypsos instead of T+A DAC 200? I listen with headphones from a Headphone Amp but not the Oor. And i dont want go with HQ Player in. I like detailes but relaxes sound with good soundstage and separation because i listen also to classical orchestral. And can it be that the golden sound edition sound a bit better also in " normal " modes because there is not processor working for the MQA prozessing? Whats the difference between DAC 200 and Wandla/Hypsos? Thanks

 

[N11ville]

Yeah, that actually gives Ferrum some solid credibility right out of the gate.

 

[Mike Hanson]

Hello. I listen only PCM from a Stramerwith USB out. In such a setup i can take a Wandla/Hypsos instead of T+A DAC 200? I listen with headphones from a Headphone Amp but not the Oor. And i dont want go with HQ Player in. I like detailes but relaxes sound with good soundstage and separation because i listen also to classical orchestral. And can it be that the golden sound edition sound a bit better also in " normal " modes because there is not processor working for the MQA prozessing? Whats the difference between DAC 200 and Wandla/Hypsos? Thanks

I've owned both the T+A DAC200 and Wandla+Hypsos, and was able to compare them directly. Both were exceptionally good, but I eventually chose the Ferrum combo. Here's why?

• The T+A DAC200 sounded very slightly better being used as a pure DAC fed with native PCM (e.g. 44.1KHz/16-bit). It could sound even better if I upsampled that with HQPlayer ahead of time, then fed it DSD (512 or even 1024). However, I didn't want to do that for my entire music collection. It just didn't fit my use case.
• When I used the HQPlayer Apodizing filter on the Wandla, it sounded slightly better than the DAC200 without upsampling. This fit my use case much better.

Later, the GSE upgrade arrived, and now I use the Tube mode to improve things even further.

BTW, often when I compare equipment, I tend to focus on things like frequency response, tightness of bass, and such. However, with DACs I describe the differences with more "meta" terms like lyricism, flow, and engagement. There are also things like separation between notes, communication of phrasing, etc.

In the end, my perceptions can help educate you, but you should not make your decision based upon my advice. Do whatever is necessary to hear it for yourself and decide whether you're satisfied.