Ferrum WANDLA - Impressions Thread

[GoldenSound]

Visited HEM yesterday, here's a look inside the WANDLA HP being announced at the Warsaw show today!

A few details:

- Amplifier is on a fully dedicated board. No compromise to the DAC/Preamp layout or design.

- Amplifier section can either be configured to be powered on all the time, or fully powered off unless selected.

- Volume control uses the Wandla analog/digital volume control (plus voltage divider)

- RCA analog input can also be selected to use it as a fully analog amplifier only without the DAC

- Rated power is 3.5W @ 50 ohm, however this figure is actually just for what it can do continuously. For shorter periods of a few seconds etc (not just transient/impulse power) it can do more.

(green board is just the prototype, production version is red as shown in 2nd image)

 

[kajetanjazz]

Warsaw show today!

Will we see you there then?

 

[GoldenSound]

Will we see you there then?

I am here yep!
Ill be around the show as I'm here on my own. Probably will be in the stadium most of today and then the radisson/tulip tomorrow

 

[SolarCetacean]

The Wandla HP's webpage is back up. Now, there's a line in the features list near the top of the page under "Truly Balanced" that says that the Wandla HP has XLR inputs. Does the Wandla HP have XLR analog inputs, or is that line a mistake and there are only RCA inputs? The spec sheet at the bottom of the page only lists RCA analog inputs. And it would be pretty hard to fit a pair of XLR input jacks on the back panel. @GoldenSound do you have any insight into this? And I presume that the Wandla HP, since it has the same digital hardware as the regular Wandla, can be upgraded to the GSE firmware too?

 

[GoldenSound]

The Wandla HP's webpage is back up. Now, there's a line in the features list near the top of the page under "Truly Balanced" that says that the Wandla HP has XLR inputs. Does the Wandla HP have XLR analog inputs, or is that line a mistake and there are only RCA inputs? The spec sheet at the bottom of the page only lists RCA analog inputs. And it would be pretty hard to fit a pair of XLR input jacks on the back panel. @GoldenSound do you have any insight into this? And I presume that the Wandla HP, since it has the same digital hardware as the regular Wandla, can be upgraded to the GSE firmware too?

There are only RCA inputs (though the received signal is immediately converted to differential internally)

I've just mentioned to them they probably should change that wording as it may confuse people.

And yep, the Wandla HP will be able to get the GSE upgrade. Though this time it'll be an after-purchase upgrade only rather than having two variants available to purchase direct

 

[GoldenSound]

At the Warsaw show I asked the Ferrum guys to set up the Wandla HP + Erco V2 in two ways:

- Wandla with analog output connected to Erco analog input, so I can swap headphones between the Wandla HP amp and Erco Amp to directly compare the amplifiers in both products with the same DAC.
- Erco analog output connected to Wandla analog input, so I can keep headphones connected to Wandla HP amp and toggle between USB and Analog input to directly compare DACs using the same amp

General thoughts:

- On the DAC side, probably not surprising, but the Wandla is a significantly better DAC than the Erco. Biggest two changes I heard were a notably better stage (especially frontal depth), and also the Erco is brighter sounding/can get harsh on some tracks.
- On the amp side, I think the Wandla HP amp is quite notably better than the Erco amp, to a surprising degree. Even though both were fed by the same DAC, the Wandla HP amp is a little more resolving, but also less prone to glare. Timbre was a big step up and it was overall just plain more natural sounding without any drop in resolution or impact.
- Whilst technically the Wandla HP amp is less powerful in terms of continuous power (though I think it may be able to do more than Erco in short/dynamic bursts, need to check when I get the opportunity), the Wandla HP amp was punchier and overall more dynamic than the Erco. And this was on Susvara OG too which is about as demanding as it gets.
- I personally prefer the sound of the analog vol control vs digital vol control.

Max said that there were a few new things they'd learned/developed which were incorporated into the new Wandla HP amp, and based on that demo it seems it is definitely a step up. Erco is half the price of a Wandla HP ofc, so it's not a clear answer as to which one someone should get as it's dependent on budget. But I think the Wandla HP is both a better DAC, AND has a notably better amplifier than the Erco, so for those looking for a combo unit and wondering if the Wandla HP or Erco would be a better choice, if you have the budget for it I'd definitely pick the Wandla HP. They've done a really nice job on the new amp.

OOR was still a step up from the Wandla HP amp. So if you're debating between normal Wandla + OOR vs Wandla HP, the Wandla + OOR is the better option.

 

[SolarCetacean]

- On the DAC side, probably not surprising, but the Wandla is a significantly better DAC than the Erco. Biggest two changes I heard were a notably better stage (especially frontal depth), and also the Erco is brighter sounding/can get harsh on some tracks.
- On the amp side, I think the Wandla HP amp is quite notably better than the Erco amp, to a surprising degree. Even though both were fed by the same DAC, the Wandla HP amp is a little more resolving, but also less prone to glare. Timbre was a big step up and it was overall just plain more natural sounding without any drop in resolution or impact.
- Whilst technically the Wandla HP amp is less powerful in terms of continuous power (though I think it may be able to do more than Erco in short/dynamic bursts, need to check when I get the opportunity), the Wandla HP amp was punchier and overall more dynamic than the Erco. And this was on Susvara OG too which is about as demanding as it gets.
- I personally prefer the sound of the analog vol control vs digital vol control.

Just to make sure, those were with the HQ Apodizing filter selected on the Wandla and comparing vs a Gen 2 Erco? The Erco (Gen 2) uses the HQ Apodizing filter, so I'm interested in a like-for-like comparison. If I got a Wandla, it would probably spend most of its time acting as a DAC/preamp for electrostatic amps, so I'm keenly interested in a DAC level comparison.

But from your impressions, the Wandla HP is exactly what I want from an upgrade to the Erco. More frontal depth in the staging and less harshness (without sacrificing detail) plus better dynamics is pretty much my wishlist for a DAC upgrade.

 

[lostumpire]

Hi, is the Wandla better than Chord products? Currently, I have Qutest but I am looking for an upgrade.

 

[Morph]

Well, looks like it'll be Wandla GS and Oor at some stage, and Erco retired to bedroom rig

 

[GoldenSound]

Just to make sure, those were with the HQ Apodizing filter selected on the Wandla and comparing vs a Gen 2 Erco? The Erco (Gen 2) uses the HQ Apodizing filter, so I'm interested in a like-for-like comparison. If I got a Wandla, it would probably spend most of its time acting as a DAC/preamp for electrostatic amps, so I'm keenly interested in a DAC level comparison.

But from your impressions, the Wandla HP is exactly what I want from an upgrade to the Erco. More frontal depth in the staging and less harshness (without sacrificing detail) plus better dynamics is pretty much my wishlist for a DAC upgrade.

Yep both were using the hq apod filter! That's my personal fav one

 

[krude]

Hi, is the Wandla better than Chord products? Currently, I have Qutest but I am looking for an upgrade.

I would consider both Wandla GSE and TT2. Wandpa GSE has the benefit of extra features, but if you like that specific Chord sound you might like TT2 better in your system.

 

[lostumpire]

I would consider both Wandla GSE and TT2. Wandpa GSE has the benefit of extra features, but if you like that specific Chord sound you might like TT2 better in your system.

Thanks for the reply. Can I also ask What is the role of Hypsos? Can I connect it to any amp?

 

[Menkau-ra]

Hi, is the Wandla better than Chord products? Currently, I have Qutest but I am looking for an upgrade.

I’ve had a demo Qutest next to my Wandla. And Wandla was on another level: more resolution, more airy, much cleaner top end. I could not listen to Qutest after Wandla.

 

[krude]

Thanks for the reply. Can I also ask What is the role of Hypsos? Can I connect it to any amp?

Hypsos is a high quality power supply. For me it makes a big difference for Wandla. You could use it for any compatible piece and run 2 devices from a single Wandla using a splitter or the 2 output version, but I personally would get a separate PSU per piece.

 

[lostumpire]

Hypsos is a high quality power supply. For me it makes a big difference for Wandla. You could use it for any compatible piece and run 2 devices from a single Wandla using a splitter or the 2 output version, but I personally would get a separate PSU per piece.

How can I tell which devices are compatible? : )