[GiBGUN]

Very early days for me but very, very impressed so far. For now, settling with the OOR on bypass and Wandla digital volume control, HYPSOS & Ferrum splitter, all connected with Ferrum Power link. ASIO Driver in Roon.

I am definitely starting to understand the Ferrum trademark sound - detailed, punchy, smooth and not remotely fatiguing. For me personally it is everything I want to enjoy music. There's nothing about the sound that seems like it could cheat you, (or cheating yourself rather, into what you're enjoying just being that new toy thing, with some things standing out only later to be seen as something almost artificial. The sound is pleasant and honest, but still has enough punch to be exciting.

For those wondering how it compares to the ERCO, the difference is significant. The Wandla is a significant cut above.

Will do a deeper dive into my thoughts at a later date once I've had some proper time with the stack. I'd love to do some A/Bing with more than just the ERCO. So far it seems like this is something very special..for my ears at least.

 

[Andrewteee]

Very early days for me but very, very impressed so far. For now, settling with the OOR on bypass and Wandla digital volume control, HYPSOS & Ferrum splitter, all connected with Ferrum Power link. ASIO Driver in Roon.

I am definitely starting to understand the Ferrum trademark sound - detailed, punchy, smooth and not remotely fatiguing. For me personally it is everything I want to enjoy music. There's nothing about the sound that seems like it could cheat you, (or cheating yourself rather, into what you're enjoying just being that new toy thing, with some things standing out only later to be seen as something almost artificial. The sound is pleasant and honest, but still has enough punch to be exciting.

For those wondering how it compares to the ERCO, the difference is significant. The Wandla is a significant cut above.

Will do a deeper dive into my thoughts at a later date once I've had some proper time with the stack. I'd love to do some A/Bing with more than just the ERCO. So far it seems like this is something very special..for my ears at least.

I would concur with the characterization of the Ferrum sound. I absolutely love it.

 

[George Hincapie]

I've had mine for a few days. It doesn't sound like any ESS DAC I've heard. If anything it sounds similar to the Ares 12th but more resolving and faster, at least with the HQ filters. I don't find it fatiguing at all, and when paired with the Oor (the only amp I've tested so far) it's a smooth, yet detailed, listening experience. I haven't spent much time testing the ESS filters, but I intend to put it through the paces in the coming weeks.

My only gripe so far is that HDMI ARC doesn't seem to work with my LG C2. I plan to test that with some of our other TVs over the weekend.

Actually, I find that amazing. I love Ares 12th. It compares really well to my Metrum Acoustics Adagio, which is almost £6K.

 

[Andrewteee]

This thing is awesome! Playing all kinds of music through Meze Elites and everything is good. Really good.

I’ll be curious how folks prefer to control volume between Wandla and Oor.

I seem to prefer the HQ Gause filter.

Playing USB out of a Nucleus+.

 

[George Hincapie]

This thing is awesome! Playing all kinds of music through Meze Elites and everything is good. Really good.

I’ll be curious how folks prefer to control volume between Wandla and Oor.

I seem to prefer the HQ Gause filter.

Playing USB out of a Nucleus+.

How does the audio compare to your Bartok?

 

[Andrewteee]

How does the audio compare to your Bartok?

I have not compared them and don’t plan to. My two channel system is back online and that’s where the Bartok is used. The Wandla is for headphones only with the Oor.

Based on unreliable audio memory, both are great. The Wandla might be a bit more dynamic. But I would say they are both great if slightly different. The Wandla will obviously pair well with the Oor.

This might be an odd statement, but something that just can to mind is, if you like the Oor, adding the Wandla gives you more Oor. More of the character that it seems a lot if people are drawn to from Ferrum.

The Wandla still needs to settle in a bit.

 

[George Hincapie]

I have not compared them and don’t plan to. My two channel system is back online and that’s where the Bartok is used. The Wandla is for headphones only with the Oor.

Based on unreliable audio memory, both are great. The Wandla might be a bit more dynamic. But I would say they are both great if slightly different. The Wandla will obviously pair well with the Oor.

This might be an odd statement, but something that just can to mind is, if you like the Oor, adding the Wandla gives you more Oor. More of the character that it seems a lot if people are drawn to from Ferrum.

The Wandla still needs to settle in a bit.

Well I was on the fence about Wandla because of some previous poor ESS experiences, but I think I shall have a listen to this one. Thanks Andrew, enjoy your lovely system.

 

[kundica]

This thing is awesome! Playing all kinds of music through Meze Elites and everything is good. Really good.

I’ll be curious how folks prefer to control volume between Wandla and Oor.

I seem to prefer the HQ Gause filter.

Playing USB out of a Nucleus+.

My Oor doubles as a preamp for my tube amp and another headphone amp so I'm running volume control on the Oor. I also have a speaker amp connected directly to the Wandla via RCA so I'm also using the volume control on it when I use that speaker amp.

I wish there was a way to control volume output separately so I don't ever make the mistake of turning on the speaker amp with Wandla at full volume. Guess I could run my speaker amp through the Oor like before and one of the headphone amps on the Wandla but that defeats the purpose of having a remote and volume control on the DAC.

I also prefer the HQ Gauss filter in my testing so far.

 

[Andrewteee]

Well I was on the fence about Wandla because of some previous poor ESS experiences, but I think I shall have a listen to this one. Thanks Andrew, enjoy your lovely system.

Thanks George. I’m sure there will be more reviews and impressions to come very soon, that can give you more insight into whether or not you should try it.

 

[George Hincapie]

My Oor doubles as a preamp for my tube amp and another headphone amp so I'm running volume control on the Oor. I also have a speaker amp connected directly to the Wandla via RCA so I'm also using the volume control on it when I use that speaker amp.

I wish there was a way to control volume output separately so I don't ever make the mistake of turning on the speaker amp with Wandla at full volume. Guess I could run my speaker amp through the Oor like before and one of the headphone amps on the Wandla but that defeats the purpose of having a remote and volume control on the DAC.

I also prefer the HQ Gauss filter in my testing so far.

How is it without HQP involved at all? Stock sound is what interests me...

 

[kundica]

How is it without HQP involved at all? Stock sound is what interests me...

When you say HQP, you mean the built-in HQ filters right? I'm not using external HQP with Wandla.

There are currently 5 filters available... HQ Gauss, HQ Apod, ESS Lin-Ph, ESS Min-Ph, and ESS Apod. The stock filter out of the box is one of the HQ filters, I think HQ Apod. So far I prefer HQ Gauss for versatility across the widest range of music I've tested, but I haven't done a lot of listening with the ESS filters. I did cycle through the ESS filters with some electronic music and found the Minimum Phase one to be solid.

 

[GiBGUN]

I'm preferring having the Wandla volume in bypass and using the volume on the Oor.

 

[Andrewteee]

I'm preferring having the Wandla volume in bypass and using the volume on the Oor.

That’s what I’m doing too. It sits right next to me so I don’t need the remote.

 

[GiBGUN]

That’s what I’m doing too. It sits right next to me so I don’t need the remote.

Same. I’m curious what the optimal gain boost would be if one wanted to use the OOR in bypass. Will definitely tinker at some point.

I was also getting some hiss on my LCD-Rs when using OOR bypass, which I don’t get if I bypass the Wandla volume.

 

[RoyF]

I've had mine for a few days. It doesn't sound like any ESS DAC I've heard. If anything it sounds similar to the Ares 12th but more resolving and faster, at least with the HQ filters. I don't find it fatiguing at all, and when paired with the Oor (the only amp I've tested so far) it's a smooth, yet detailed, listening experience. I haven't spent much time testing the ESS filters, but I intend to put it through the paces in the coming weeks.

My only gripe so far is that HDMI ARC doesn't seem to work with my LG C2. I plan to test that with some of our other TVs over the weekend.

I want to help resolve the issue with the ARC input. What source are you trying to play through the Wandla. The DAC can reproduce the PCM soundtrack of video programming but not the bitstream (AC3) encoded version that is the default setting for most sources. You may need to go into the devices menu and select stereo (PCM) instead of Bitstream (AC3 or 5.1).