Francisco Evangelista
100+ Head-Fier
When can we do the update for the Goldensound edition?
Ferrum WANDLA - Impressions Thread
- Thread starter XERO1
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I'll double check with Ferrum but should hopefully be in a week or two as well. The sleep bug was priority in getting fixed and that was holding things up
If anyone happens to be at AXPONA, the Wandla GoldenSound Edition is on demo at the Vana booth in ear expo!
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Are you at Axpona?
Im not no unfortunately, would like to go sometime though!
Meanstreak242
Head-Fier
I just got back and got to hear it. Listened with the rest of the stack with a pair of Meze Imperians (I think they were). I'm not very familiar with the headphone, and it was really noisy. So take my impressions with a grain of salt. I was able to check out the new settings and toggle them on and off just to hear a difference. I only got a few minutes but I really like the new Tube mode and Spacial Audio mode was it? I own a Ferrum Stack (Wandla, Hypsos and Oor) and I will definitely be getting the upgrade based on what I heard. The bass mode might have been nice too, but on a pair of meze's the extra bass wasn't really needed. Shame they didn't have a pair of Susvaras on hand then I could really compare.
What I heard, I definitely enjoyed
Glad you enjoyed it!I just got back and got to hear it. Listened with the rest of the stack with a pair of Meze Imperians (I think they were). I'm not very familiar with the headphone, and it was really noisy. So take my impressions with a grain of salt. I was able to check out the new settings and toggle them on and off just to hear a difference. I only got a few minutes but I really like the new Tube mode and Spacial Audio mode was it? I own a Ferrum Stack (Wandla, Hypsos and Oor) and I will definitely be getting the upgrade based on what I heard. The bass mode might have been nice too, but on a pair of meze's the extra bass wasn't really needed. Shame they didn't have a pair of Susvaras on hand then I could really compare.
What I heard, I definitely enjoyed
pabbey
New Head-Fier
Just wanted to chime in and say that my Hypsos has been humming since I got it last summer. I sent it in to Ferrum for repair because it was under warranty and they told me the transformer was in spec but replaced it anyway for me. New one still hums albeit a bit quieter. I've become accustomed to it at this point but it's definitely a frustrating aspect to it.
I'll give this a go and see if it helps! I run it with my Oor on top which is pretty light I suppose
Edit: Just wanted to add that I'm keen on eventually replacing my Bifrost 2 with the Wandla because I'm a sucker for matching aesthetics and it seems to be incredible. I'd run it from my HYPSOS if I do get it. Combing through this thread to learn more about it.
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Kelvin will
New Head-Fier
Excited for my Wanda-Golden to arrive 
Time to catch up on all the posts in here to find what I need to know about the base unit
Time to catch up on all the posts in here to find what I need to know about the base unit
Here some first impressions comparing Wandla and Cyan 2.
Setup: Wandla fed by DMP-A6 USB, Cyan 2 with Ropieee USB, both going into HM1. Everything on an PQ 707 conditioner. Grouped together in Roon for direct A/B on HM1. Wandla running internal HQ Apod OS, Cyan 2 running Roon OS precise linear 705/768kHz + HQ Player 1.5MHz. Listening with Tungsten DS.
I can't shake off the feeling that I hear very similar things like back when I was comparing Wandla with my Spring 3 KTE I had back then
.
Wandla is a bit quicker and more transient forward and detailed, Cyan 2 a bit smoother in the treble with a bit fuller and natural sounding mids (beautiful vocals esp.) But both beautiful in their own way and it comes down to preference/music. Really splitting hairs. They perform both in very similar technical territory imo. Especially with full HQP OS on Cyan 2 they are very close from each other. One song I might prefer on Wandla, the other on Cyan 2.
One thing I noticed in the bass is that Wandla seems to pronounce more the initial bass impact and Cyan 2 sounds a bit fuller with more emphasis on the bass body.
Overall HQP helps Cyan 2 to catch up on Wandla - especially concerning placement precision and layering.
So in sonic performance alone they are on very similar levels for me. Only that Cyan 2 needs some external help from HQP to get there - Still sounding good in NOS/Roon OS but then the delta to Wandla is more obvious - and NOS is a pretty special sound on it's own, I think, so hard to compare directly. Very similar of what I felt with Spring 3. Only that that costs quite a bit more.
Cyan 2 is as barebones of a DAC as you can get. Only control is the power switch. I think not including an input selector is the biggest flaw I can see people having issues with. For me it's a non issue because it will only play on one source in my 2ch setup. But on a setup where you want to combine streamer and PC for example I can see this quickly being a deal killer. Who wants to always turn off or unplug one source to play the other one? But maybe also a concious decision to have some separation to Spring 3.
Of course talking from memory but to my ears, in my setup, I'd say for sound alone Spring 3 isn't really worth it over Cyan 2 - if you don't need the features or option for pre of course.
Honestly I didn't expect Cyan 2 to do this good in my comparison. But it seems to confirm my positive initial impressions using it in my 2ch system in the first days of use. So if you need a DAC for one source with no other gimmicks/controls - setup once and never touch again - then I think Cyan 2 is an excellent option. Especially at its price.
Setup: Wandla fed by DMP-A6 USB, Cyan 2 with Ropieee USB, both going into HM1. Everything on an PQ 707 conditioner. Grouped together in Roon for direct A/B on HM1. Wandla running internal HQ Apod OS, Cyan 2 running Roon OS precise linear 705/768kHz + HQ Player 1.5MHz. Listening with Tungsten DS.
I can't shake off the feeling that I hear very similar things like back when I was comparing Wandla with my Spring 3 KTE I had back then
.Wandla is a bit quicker and more transient forward and detailed, Cyan 2 a bit smoother in the treble with a bit fuller and natural sounding mids (beautiful vocals esp.) But both beautiful in their own way and it comes down to preference/music. Really splitting hairs. They perform both in very similar technical territory imo. Especially with full HQP OS on Cyan 2 they are very close from each other. One song I might prefer on Wandla, the other on Cyan 2.
One thing I noticed in the bass is that Wandla seems to pronounce more the initial bass impact and Cyan 2 sounds a bit fuller with more emphasis on the bass body.
Overall HQP helps Cyan 2 to catch up on Wandla - especially concerning placement precision and layering.
So in sonic performance alone they are on very similar levels for me. Only that Cyan 2 needs some external help from HQP to get there - Still sounding good in NOS/Roon OS but then the delta to Wandla is more obvious - and NOS is a pretty special sound on it's own, I think, so hard to compare directly. Very similar of what I felt with Spring 3. Only that that costs quite a bit more.
Cyan 2 is as barebones of a DAC as you can get. Only control is the power switch. I think not including an input selector is the biggest flaw I can see people having issues with. For me it's a non issue because it will only play on one source in my 2ch setup. But on a setup where you want to combine streamer and PC for example I can see this quickly being a deal killer. Who wants to always turn off or unplug one source to play the other one? But maybe also a concious decision to have some separation to Spring 3.
Of course talking from memory but to my ears, in my setup, I'd say for sound alone Spring 3 isn't really worth it over Cyan 2 - if you don't need the features or option for pre of course.
Honestly I didn't expect Cyan 2 to do this good in my comparison. But it seems to confirm my positive initial impressions using it in my 2ch system in the first days of use. So if you need a DAC for one source with no other gimmicks/controls - setup once and never touch again - then I think Cyan 2 is an excellent option. Especially at its price.
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Just got a PS Audio regenerator and the Hypsos is still humming/buzzing. Even when I combine the iFi DC Blocker on the regenerators IEC inlet.
That's unusual then. Double check the PS audio regenerator doesn't have the "multiwave" thing enabled as that deliberately adds a ton of thd (weird feature...)Just got a PS Audio regenerator and the Hypsos is still humming/buzzing. Even when I combine the iFi DC Blocker on the regenerators IEC inlet.
If not, I'm really not sure what might be causing it especially if you've already replaced the unit.
How loud is the humming?
kajetanjazz
100+ Head-Fier
Interesting how close the Tube Mode on GSE will bring Wandla towards Holo signature
koso
100+ Head-Fier
As I said once before. Defective transformer. Simple as that.Just got a PS Audio regenerator and the Hypsos is still humming/buzzing. Even when I combine the iFi DC Blocker on the regenerators IEC inlet.
it's just a shame that Ferrum is repeating that it's within the specification. It probably is, electrically, but its not the point. Their customer is not satisfied! They should have replaced it and that would be all. Ferrum could have made a good advertisement with this case via this forum. Instead they did the opposite. I think the price of one new toroidal transformer should be worth to avoid bad reputation here.
As I wrote before, I had exactly the same problem with humming transformer in Holo Spring 3 KTE DAC and distributor (Magna HiFi) replaced unit without hesitation. Good for me, good for them, good for Holo Audio, customer first.
I don't understand why Ferrum don't get this.
We tried Wandla with a friend last weekend in my Feliks Envy / Susvara / various ZMFs chain.
Rather excessivly compared it to my May Level 2. We compared them A/B with the same set of interconnects. No Hypsos.
He bought Wandla initially after high praise by Golden and few other reviewers. Aswell after many people claimed Wandla is rather close to May and more or less on pair with Spring with addition of much smaller form factor and convenience of build in HQPlayer filters.
Well how shall I put it gently. Its not. The sound with Susvara is rather flat, coldish, dry and two-dimensional after swiching from May. The stage is big but it lacks any depth. Susvara sounded rather dead and lacked excitement after May. Even on WE300b tubes on Envy. To me it sounded like a usual delta sigma give or take, with some good slam and a good left to right stage. The hqplayer filters are as expected convinient.
With ZMF it was considerably better since the tuning of Verite and Atrium Closed is rather euphonic on its own and they dont rely on the wet and warmth in the chain like Susvara, but still it was rather obvious that the depth and analog timbre wasnt on the same level as with May. I am not sure about Spring 2 KTE since its been a while I had it around, but I highly doubt Wandla can compete with it, should you look for deep, wet organic R2R sound.
The detail is definitely there, it has nice punch too, left to right staging is fine and its fun to be able to shape the sound with the filters without using HQPlayer, but for me after a good R2R it certainly wouldnt be an option.
I hoped for something truly sonically impressive closely following the release hype, that can replace my May in this formfactor. For me its not it. The friend is likely to sell Wandla at some point and upgrade further to a R2R dac like Spring/May/Wavelight. Considering the pricing which is around 3k, unless you need smaller form factor dac, I cant recommend this dac. Even then 3k seem to much for it.You can grab a Spring KTE for that money nowdays secondhand. Golden hinted I should wait for GSE filters which should improve the unit further, but considering all his praise that I really cant second this time, I think it should be taken with a grain of salt.
I have no bias and I was more than happy to pay almost a third of the price for similar perfomance. Its just not there to my ear.
Rather excessivly compared it to my May Level 2. We compared them A/B with the same set of interconnects. No Hypsos.
He bought Wandla initially after high praise by Golden and few other reviewers. Aswell after many people claimed Wandla is rather close to May and more or less on pair with Spring with addition of much smaller form factor and convenience of build in HQPlayer filters.
Well how shall I put it gently. Its not. The sound with Susvara is rather flat, coldish, dry and two-dimensional after swiching from May. The stage is big but it lacks any depth. Susvara sounded rather dead and lacked excitement after May. Even on WE300b tubes on Envy. To me it sounded like a usual delta sigma give or take, with some good slam and a good left to right stage. The hqplayer filters are as expected convinient.
With ZMF it was considerably better since the tuning of Verite and Atrium Closed is rather euphonic on its own and they dont rely on the wet and warmth in the chain like Susvara, but still it was rather obvious that the depth and analog timbre wasnt on the same level as with May. I am not sure about Spring 2 KTE since its been a while I had it around, but I highly doubt Wandla can compete with it, should you look for deep, wet organic R2R sound.
The detail is definitely there, it has nice punch too, left to right staging is fine and its fun to be able to shape the sound with the filters without using HQPlayer, but for me after a good R2R it certainly wouldnt be an option.
I hoped for something truly sonically impressive closely following the release hype, that can replace my May in this formfactor. For me its not it. The friend is likely to sell Wandla at some point and upgrade further to a R2R dac like Spring/May/Wavelight. Considering the pricing which is around 3k, unless you need smaller form factor dac, I cant recommend this dac. Even then 3k seem to much for it.You can grab a Spring KTE for that money nowdays secondhand. Golden hinted I should wait for GSE filters which should improve the unit further, but considering all his praise that I really cant second this time, I think it should be taken with a grain of salt.
I have no bias and I was more than happy to pay almost a third of the price for similar perfomance. Its just not there to my ear.
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