[bunnygal23]

Got mine in earlier today, shipped from WA to NY overnight so that was awesome. Still playing around with the features and planning to give more impressions soon but so far its looking like I'm definitely keeping all the features on esp Impact + and Spacial Enhancement! Waiting on my cable for the splitter to arrive so I can hook it up to my oor/Hypsos

 

[ericx85]

Congrats guys! Hope my order didn't get lost. Preordered as soon as it went up and still no shipment notification

 

[GoldenSound]

Congrats guys! Hope my order didn't get lost. Preordered as soon as it went up and still no shipment notification

Shoot a message over to customer service and they should be able to confirm status of your order. Not all the units went out on the same day though so it could just be that

 

[OmgBatman]

Really glad you're enjoying it!
If you've not done so yet, I'd strongly recommend trying the track "Closer" by Lemaitre.

During the main chorus/busy part, try switching spatial enhancement on, then off again after a few seconds and hear the difference.

That particular track has been one of the most clear demonstrations of how much of an improvement the spatial enhancement can make imo.

And as you said for other tracks it won't make as much difference. It depends on how many positional/spatial cues are actually in the track to begin with. Stuff that is much more closed in from the start will remain closed in and won't be altered much at all. Others like that track I mentioned above can have separation and staging improved massively

Thanks so much!

Listening to that track, when you turn off Spacial Enhancement, it's like the track just flattens, lol.

 

[Nomax]

If you have technically very good headphones, you can always hear the difference

NOMAX

PS.lol

 

[slsmaster]

Is Wandla less aggressive with the iFi Elite vs stock psu?

Maybe, just maybe, a very small amount. With my tube AMP there is without a doubt 100% no difference that is audible.

But with the V200 it is so hard to tell with my current headphone, that it could very well be placebo.

Basically, I just confirmed the findings @GoldenSound made with Hypsos in his Wandla Review.

The stock PSU is really not worth upgrading with this DAC, imho. Maybe just for the sake of audiophile perfectionism.

But what I can say for a certainty is that the Elite is definitely not staying, as it chirps quite audibly when the Wandla is in standby mode (due to the reduced current draw), which drives me nuts already.

I think what you are looking for could be done to some extent by the Tube mode of GSE Edition, which is clearly audible.

I believe I am PROBABLY the first in the US to receive shipment of the GoldenSound Edition Wandla, and I have to say, I am blown away.

To shed some light on my upgrade path, I initially used a geshelli stack, and when I ended up selling both dac/amp, I started using RME UCX II for DAC and the OOR (standalone) amp. AB from what I was using, no comparison! I am using a pair of Diana TC with vegan bass-ported pads and it is such a wonderful combo, it's like I have to keep listening because it's just so nice! Being able to tune the sound to your taste is an absolute delight. Software rolling, as it seems. I love it, and the best part is, I have yet to integrate the hypsos yet! I am holding out for the hypsos dual output ver. so it'll be a little bit of time, but worth it entirely according to the feedback I have read.

Impact+ is just what I needed to get a little more bass out of my DTCs. They are perfect for me now, lol. The change introduces a tasteful touch of slam. It's noticeable for sure, don't get me wrong, it's just not obnoxious is what I am trying to say. I can happily say, this will remain on for the duration of my ownership.

Tube Mode is, well, exactly as it seems. To my ears, it changes the flutter to butter. Need I say more? I'd use this, as the mood fits.. you know, family dinners and all that.

Spatial Enhancement, where have you been? I didn't even know I needed you until you showed up. This feature is definitely staying on until the cold death of the universe. Set it and forget it. I could describe the change as increasing instrumental separation, and the varying characteristics of the instrumental dynamics. I'm not going to lie, it's hard to put to words; this is my first review, please be nice. What I can say with a concrete sense of understanding is that yes, it does change the characteristic of the sound, but in a tasteful manner. Think of this feature like being a mastering technique, that makes all your music sound better. (This feature is more noticeable on some tracks than others, as it may seem).

Well, that is all I have to say! I am now enamored by rediscovering my music library! If anyone has some music recommendations, I am all ears!

Thanks for reading,
Batman

P.S. I'm getting EMPY 2 soon, will report back with impressions!

Jep, I made the same findings in Munich. The Spacial Enhancement feature really is quite impressive. It enhances the sound without any real drawback, IMHO. It definitely sounds a little more speaker-like that way.

The other two features are also very much worth having, and all of them make a very notable change in sound, which cannot be said for the PSU upgrade, at least in my case.

Maybe a better PSU would affect people more, which have older power lines in their homes.

My current place has had new power lines installed just 3–4 years ago.

 

[AntonRisto]

I recently upgraded my Gustard R26 (with FMC mod and upgraded Gustard fuse) to the Ferrum Wandla+Hypsos combo. I have been using them with my Holo Red as a streamer and with the I2S connection (Supra UHD 8K HDMI 2.1 cable). I've been mostly using the HQ Apod filter on the Wandla, and the output voltage of the Hypsos has mostly been set to the default 24V.

So far after about 30–40 hours on the Ferrum combo, I find it to be an upgrade to the R26, but I'm quite surprised how marginal the difference actually is in my system. The Ferrum combo sounds smoother (less sharp and sibilant) and a bit more detailed to my ears while the R26 sounds more natural with more realistic note weight. The soundstage is fairly big with the Ferrum combo, but I actually think that the R26 has a bit better instrument separation. The bass is also a bit weightier and maybe a bit better extended on the R26. Also, I find the attack of the notes and the detail retrieval to be about on par between them which is quite surprising to me after reading some of the comments here about the Wandla.

I'm looking forward to upgrading my Wandla to the GSE edition to maybe match the instrument separation and the bass weight with the added features to the R26 while keeping that smoother and a bit more detailed sound!

 

[Piffko]

Quick update from my side - Wandla GSE is a tube rollers dream. With solid states (like OOR) its easy to fine tune your sound once and then forget about these options, but with tube rolling, its so great to "fix"/improve tubes with lacking low end punch, warmth or staging with dedicated GSE features. I love it!

 

[slsmaster]

Quick update from my side - Wandla GSE is a tube rollers dream. With solid states (like OOR) its easy to fine tune your sound once and then forget about these options, but with tube rolling, its so great to "fix"/improve tubes with lacking low end punch, warmth or staging with dedicated GSE features. I love it!

Thats some epic news!

Now I am even more looking forward for the GSE upgrade to become available for exisiting Wandla owners!

 

[CFGamescape]

I recently upgraded my Gustard R26 (with FMC mod and upgraded Gustard fuse) to the Ferrum Wandla+Hypsos combo. I have been using them with my Holo Red as a streamer and with the I2S connection (Supra UHD 8K HDMI 2.1 cable). I've been mostly using the HQ Apod filter on the Wandla, and the output voltage of the Hypsos has mostly been set to the default 24V.

So far after about 30–40 hours on the Ferrum combo, I find it to be an upgrade to the R26, but I'm quite surprised how marginal the difference actually is in my system. The Ferrum combo actually sounds more natural and smooth (less sharp and sibilant) to my ears. The soundstage is pretty big with the Ferrum combo, but I actually think that the R26 has a bit better instrument separation. The bass is also a bit weightier and maybe a bit better extended on the R26. Also, I find the attack of the notes and the detail retrieval to be about on par between them which is quite surprising to me after reading some of the comments here about the Wandla.

I'm looking forward to upgrading my Wandla to the GSE edition to maybe match the instrument separation and the bass weight with the added features to the R26 while keeping that more natural and smooth sound!

I upgraded from the R26 to the Wandla GSE (just got it in yesterday). I posted my initial impressions here. I do find the improvements marginal, but these kinds of things you have to give it time. I bet if you go back to the R26, you'll notice a bigger difference (like you're missing something.

 

[CFGamescape]

Wandla owners/Roon users, do you notice a difference when you upsample your PCM files to DSD in Roon vs. not? With the R26, I never noticed a big difference, if any. With the Wandla (GSE), I find it attenuates the sound a few db, but when I increase the volume, it seems to sound better (wider, weightier), but it could just be my mind playing games.

Also, when I enable upsampling in Roon, when I start a track, I get a loud crackle/snap, but I don't when it's disabled. What's that about?

 

[ericx85]

So it turns out my Wandla was shipped out without updating the order with tracking. It ended up showing up minutes after checking up with CS to make sure everything was ok. Just got it setup. Was fighting a bit with my intona because for some reason it hates my USB hub and can cause my PCs bootup to hang if I have it plugged into it.

Anyways the spatial setting is extremely subtle but at the same time very noticeable if that makes sense. Impact setting is great, but with Susvara I've kinda grown to appreciate not having bass in my face. The song that really got me to appreciate the spatial setting was Coastin by Boney James. If you like a chill jazzy tune, definitely try it out.

I really like having the great HQ Player level filters outside of HQ Player. Still not sure which of them I like the most. The only con I have is the remote is a little fussy. Have to really press sometimes.

 

[joseluishs]

Thank you to Ferrum and Cameron for the Wandla GoldenSound Edition! I am loving it!

It sounds so natural and alive! I will even use it for recording my own music bringing to the analog world through Wandla GSE and back to the digital world through the RME.

It is also fun to use! I like the tube mode and can't wait to hear other future tube implementations as those would be interesting for listening and recording as well as I use a lot of virtual instruments and they need a bit of sweetness in character.

About the spatial enhancement (mid/side technique) implementation is nice and again fun to use! Is it ok to like the speaker mode when listening on headphones? I actually like that it is even more subtle than the headphones mode, but time will tell as I only have had an hour with the unit.

Now I want to have a different amplifier! lol. I have been using the HPA4 and the HDV 820 for the Susvara and HD800S, but I want to find a better match for them, specially for the Susvara. I have in mind the Prelude, the Bliss (not a fan of the size and heat), the Oor (but they might release a Gen2 soon as they have been doing with all of their products), and the HM1 that would finally devastate whatever is left in my wallet

 

[CFGamescape]

FYI, for anyone using the Gustard U18, connecting it to the Wandla via I2S, you have to put the U18 into Mode 2 or Mode 4, otherwise the left and right channels will be reversed.

 

[De7mi]

Thank you to Ferrum and Cameron for the Wandla GoldenSound Edition! I am loving it!

It sounds so natural and alive! I will even use it for recording my own music bringing to the analog world through Wandla GSE and back to the digital world through the RME.

It is also fun to use! I like the tube mode and can't wait to hear other future tube implementations as those would be interesting for listening and recording as well as I use a lot of virtual instruments and they need a bit of sweetness in character.

About the spatial enhancement (mid/side technique) implementation is nice and again fun to use! Is it ok to like the speaker mode when listening on headphones? I actually like that it is even more subtle than the headphones mode, but time will tell as I only have had an hour with the unit.

Now I want to have a different amplifier! lol. I have been using the HPA4 and the HDV 820 for the Susvara and HD800S, but I want to find a better match for them, specially for the Susvara. I have in mind the Prelude, the Bliss (not a fan of the size and heat), the Oor (but they might release a Gen2 soon as they have been doing with all of their products), and the HM1 that would finally devastate whatever is left in my wallet

Masskobo 465 ! Do it ! Haha.

Great impressions