[kajetanjazz]

Also try flipping the fuse 180 and see if it changes anything.

Yeah yeah it was a directional one and it still was hard to determine the correct setting Maybe I’ll try others and the purple one later

One thing I can say for certain is that I've tested Hypsos extensively with 3 inexpensive power conditioners (one having 3 levels) and it did influence the performance (of Oor in this case) quite a bit, ranging from warm and powerful straight from the wall to sharp, lean and brittle from the highest level of conditioning from Taga PC 5000.

I only did filtration power strips and on amp end it affected it badly. The more filtration the less dynamics, ended up in the unfiltered socket while for hypsos/wandla it didn’t really make difference

 

[OhmsClaw]

At least i have heard the output power of a Dac is important. Maybe the Hypsos can give it more faster transient power and cleaner power.

That gentleman is wildly misleading and uses test equipment to back up his opinions.
Question the purpose behind the hypsos, is it a solution to a problem they're selling you? Or did they design the DAC properly.

 

[joseluishs]

Ok, since at least 2 people wanted it and I have the brick as well as Hypsos I've spent the morning A/B ing.

Test track : The Cranberies - Zombie

Bass + Dynamics : Similar between both PSUs

Midrange :
Brick : Relatively decent space and clarity, better and more natural sounding than Gustard X26 Pro that I've had some time ago. Nowhere near the refinement and space of May. (both references to other DACs from memory, but I did spend considerable amount of time comparing both of those DACs b2b as well as Wanda b2b May so it's not completely from memory either)
Hypsos : considerable improvement in clarity, depth, relaxation and ease of tone. It's still not May level of midrange refinement but it's close IMO. It beats May on clarity though, so it's not flat out inferior ... but in general May wins with even more ease and refinement.

Treble :
Brick : Cheap, flat, horrible. Sounds like a typical cheap delta sigma DAC with no refinement, no space, and harsh, tone is terrible. It really kills everything Wandla had going for it in Midrange and Bass. Gustard X26 Pro had considerably cleaner and more refined treble even if it wasn't a lot more spacious, so this is seriously bad.
Hypsos : Total 180 of the treble performance. Clear, clean, very refined, very spacious. Miles better than Gustard and for me (I can see people with pitchforks at my doorstep lol) better than May which can be a little bit too dull in comparison. Wandla + Hypsos has 90% of the refinement but it's got more leading edge, more presence, and more freshness, resulting in a taller and more clearly defined stage. This is not massively better than May, of course, and it is subjective, but to me, at the very least it's not outclassed by May.

Conclusion :
Test track sounds like a cheap toy from the brick PSU compared to the Hypsos. The cymbals sound like a cheap synthesiser losing any sense of space, air authenticity, not to mention refinement. If the treble was better (it would have to be miles better tho) on the brick, maybe Hypsos wouldn't be that easy to justify, but if you have a system that has good treble extension and refinement, then Wandla with brick PSU will sound like and Hypsos is pretty much a must. And if you don't have a system like that, then there's no point in spending 2800 euro on Wandla anyway IMO, any other DAC will do the job just fine.

I would even go as far as saying that I'm surprised Ferrum offers Wandla without Hypsos, because the difference is incredible, going from trash, to really high class of refinement. I'm actually shocked at how rubbish the brick sounds, I didn't expect much from it but I was certain it would sound better than Gustard X26 Pro ... well ... it doesn't, Gustard in comparison to Wandla with brick sounds like a king of refinement ...

Obv system synergy etc. YMMV and those are just ramblings of one guy who probably spent too much on audio anyway

Update: for the sake of completeness I also tested the brick psu with power conditioning, it helped to clear the cluttered treble and harshness a bit, but not enough to make Wandla with brick perform better than the Gustard which is considerably less expensive.

Thank you for this comparison!

 

[bluenight]

Thanks @krude for excellent comparison

 

[Leto Dal]

Ok, since at least 2 people wanted it and I have the brick as well as Hypsos I've spent the morning A/B ing.

Test track : The Cranberies - Zombie

Bass + Dynamics : Similar between both PSUs

Midrange :
Brick : Relatively decent space and clarity, better and more natural sounding than Gustard X26 Pro that I've had some time ago. Nowhere near the refinement and space of May. (both references to other DACs from memory, but I did spend considerable amount of time comparing both of those DACs b2b as well as Wanda b2b May so it's not completely from memory either)
Hypsos : considerable improvement in clarity, depth, relaxation and ease of tone. It's still not May level of midrange refinement but it's close IMO. It beats May on clarity though, so it's not flat out inferior ... but in general May wins with even more ease and refinement.

Treble :
Brick : Cheap, flat, horrible. Sounds like a typical cheap delta sigma DAC with no refinement, no space, and harsh, tone is terrible. It really kills everything Wandla had going for it in Midrange and Bass. Gustard X26 Pro had considerably cleaner and more refined treble even if it wasn't a lot more spacious, so this is seriously bad.
Hypsos : Total 180 of the treble performance. Clear, clean, very refined, very spacious. Miles better than Gustard and for me (I can see people with pitchforks at my doorstep lol) better than May which can be a little bit too dull in comparison. Wandla + Hypsos has 90% of the refinement but it's got more leading edge, more presence, and more freshness, resulting in a taller and more clearly defined stage. This is not massively better than May, of course, and it is subjective, but to me, at the very least it's not outclassed by May.

Conclusion :
Test track sounds like a cheap toy from the brick PSU compared to the Hypsos. The cymbals sound like a cheap synthesiser losing any sense of space, air authenticity, not to mention refinement. If the treble was better (it would have to be miles better tho) on the brick, maybe Hypsos wouldn't be that easy to justify, but if you have a system that has good treble extension and refinement, then Wandla with brick PSU will sound like and Hypsos is pretty much a must. And if you don't have a system like that, then there's no point in spending 2800 euro on Wandla anyway IMO, any other DAC will do the job just fine.

I would even go as far as saying that I'm surprised Ferrum offers Wandla without Hypsos, because the difference is incredible, going from trash, to really high class of refinement. I'm actually shocked at how rubbish the brick sounds, I didn't expect much from it but I was certain it would sound better than Gustard X26 Pro ... well ... it doesn't, Gustard in comparison to Wandla with brick sounds like a king of refinement ...

Obv system synergy etc. YMMV and those are just ramblings of one guy who probably spent too much on audio anyway

Update: for the sake of completeness I also tested the brick psu with power conditioning, it helped to clear the cluttered treble and harshness a bit, but not enough to make Wandla with brick perform better than the Gustard which is considerably less expensive.

Considering how close Wandla with Hypsos is to May price-wise, it’s really not a good sight for Wandla. Especially if you consider that Wandla is already 3k without Hypsos.

If I had to chose I would go with Spring, second hand May or Wavelight instead at this price point. Just my $0,02

 

[krude]

Considering how close Wandla with Hypsos is to May price-wise, it’s really not a good sight for Wandla. Especially if you consider that Wandla is already 3k without Hypsos.

If I had to chose I would go with Spring, second hand May or Wavelight instead at this price point. Just my $0,02

Fair, if you don't need a pre then certainly 2nd hand May is a wonderful option. Depends on what kinda sound you're after as well. I didn't get the Wavelight because I wanted a bit leaner and more analytical sound and I concluded I would have to step up to Wavedream, but that's a different leage and price point. For me Wandla with Hypsos is worth the money, without it sadly not so much.

 

[Leto Dal]

Yep, the main advantage that I see is the smaller footprint and convenience of build in filters. The product seem heavily overpriced and over marketed by influencers though.

Thanks for comparing without hypsos, this should help plenty of people.

 

[joseluishs]

Yep, the main advantage that I see is the smaller footprint and convenience of build in filters. The product seem heavily overpriced and over marketed by influencers though.

Thanks for comparing without hypsos, this should help plenty of people.

Not only by “influencers” but also it has won many awards in the audio community.

For me the size was an important deciding factor and the versatility of inputs. The May or Spring are just too big for my desk. The pre-amp is also top notch but if someone doesn’t need those things, there are other options and the value proposition of the Wandla would certainly decrease for that person.

 

[Mimetic]

Today I swapped my stock Wandla power supply with an ifi iPower Elite 24V. If you don't have Hypsos I highly recommend to check this one out. It's an improvement across the board. The overall sound is snappier, more impactful and the overall presentation is much clearer and better defined. The buzzing I had on my Adam monitors when Wandla was switched off is also completely gone. I myself didn't want to believe that power supplies make that much of a difference. But I've been proven wrong

How did you get this to fit? I just got one of these PSU's and the connector doesn't fit into the back of the Wandla.

 

[GoldenSound]

How did you get this to fit? I just got one of these PSU's and the connector doesn't fit into the back of the Wandla.

The ifi PSUs come with a ton of adapters if the stock barrel doesn't fit. But I'm pretty sure the attached barrel is the correct one

 

[Mimetic]

The ifi PSUs come with a ton of adapters if the stock barrel doesn't fit. But I'm pretty sure the attached barrel is the correct one

Right you are, my dumb-*** didn't even bother to look inside the packaging, I just pulled out the PSU and attempted to connect it.

There is a center-pin-negative adapter in the box, using the adapter everything fits.

 

[GoldenSound]

Right you are, my dumb-*** didn't even bother to look inside the packaging, I just pulled out the PSU and attempted to connect it.

There is a center-pin-negative adapter in the box, using the adapter everything fits.

Don't use centre pin negative!!! The Wandla does NOT use inverted centre pin!

 

[Mimetic]

Don't use centre pin negative!!! The Wandla does NOT use inverted centre pin!

Yeah I noticed as I was about to plug the PSU into the adapter, those logos are super similar thank god I double-checked!

 

[Leto Dal]

What would be interesting is to compare the new Holo Cyan 2 with Wandla without Hypsos.

This recent review suggests that Cyan 2 is very much up there comparing it with May. Considering its less than half of the price of Wandla (not to speak of Hypsos) it might be a very fun A/B.

 

[joseluishs]

What would be interesting is to compare the new Holo Cyan 2 with Wandla without Hypsos.

This recent review suggests that Cyan 2 is very much up there comparing it with May. Considering its less than half of the price of Wandla (not to speak of Hypsos) it might be a very fun A/B.

Thanks for sharing! Ron did a good review and the battle of Wandla vs Cyan 2 would be a nice comparison for sure!