I have the Wandla GSE and I happen to think that it is worth it.
I got my two Wandlas before the GSE was available, and I've purchased the upgrade for them both. The tube simulation is the only GSE feature that I use, but it's worth it for that. I had decided I needed a tube preamp, but none of the ones I tried gave me the desired benefits without also taking too much away. The Wandla GSE gives me enough of that that 2nd-order harmonic distortion (a.k.a. saturation), without the corresponding downsides of real tubes.
I have that feeling as well, we get all of the space savings, not having to deal with limited connection options, the extra heat and care that one has to take, especially with kids in the house, for a predictable effect with all types of headphones.
I am receiving Hypsos for my OOR today. Wandla GS will come later. Can someone share their experience what should I expect from OOR and Wandla in terms of sound difference when Hypsos is set : Hypsos - nominal 24V; Hypsos at 22V; Hypsos at 26V or higher. Thank you.It's not quite that simple.
The traditional barrel connector provides a single power supply feed to the Wandla. Inside the Wandla, it takes that single feed, regulates it, and splits it up into multiple feeds needed for internal operations.
The FPL presents multiple power supply feeds from the Hypsos, which are trusted to be well regulated externally. They are connected directly to the various inner sections of the Wandla.
That's why it sounds better.
I don't have personal experience with the OOR. Generally speaking, though, a better power supply reduces the noise floor, so details will be clearer and tonal textures will be better articulated.
The change from no hypsos to hypsos that stood out for me was a more holographic stage on the DCA E3. Now I didn’t go through the back and fourth as I just wanted to enjoy the music (not a reviewer) so take that with a grain of salt! Hypsos voltages was a more nuanced experience for me. I did not experience what some reviews indicated but rather just presence of the instruments felt very slightly closer or further away. It may be headphone dependent but personally I had more enjoyable changes with hovering between HQ Apod and HQ Gauss filters and most recently red and pro mode after firmware update. On the Oor, I use between 0 and +db mode depending on headphone. I generally stay near 24v for most headphones, sometimes a small step down adjustment like 23.7v for DCA E3 makes certain tracks sound just right and I don’t know why or find it hard to describe it in words. Having said this, on E3 with Hypsos + Wandla GSE + Erco at a place I auditioned for 45 mins, the only setting that made an audible difference for me was the spatial feature which made sounds more immersive. I did not find much of a change with all other settings, including tube mode, which is much much less pronounced than say Ifi-Gryphon bass boost/presence. Your mileage may vary, enjoy the ride, and try not to go mad testing subtle differences
Here's the short answer: No they aren't the same. Now here's the longer answer:
Superb clarification! Thanks so much. I have the GSE version so I will use as a pre-amp, using the volume control and red mode. I can get volume to 65 and above using my Susvara, with the Feliks Envy in high gain and volume dial at max.Here's the short answer: No they aren't the same. Now here's the longer answer:
First off, let me be clear that the signal going out of the Wandla's RCA or XLR outputs is just a voltage. If it's completely quiet, it's 0V. If it's at the maximum, it's much higher (~9V for XLR). There are many ways that one can affect this voltage:
Assuming you want to vary the volume at the Wandla (when using it as a preamp as well), I prefer the analog volume control. You'll get better sound quality with the higher values (at least 65). If you can't turn it up that loud, then your options will vary, depending on your circumstances:
- Digital input trim - This applies some math to the incoming digital signal, and is applied as a fixed dB reduction within the DSP. This affects the voltage in a constant manner for a given setting. By reducing the maximum "numbers", you restrict the voltage and the volume.
- There are two options for volume control:
- Digital Volume applies similar math as the digital input trim, although this one is variable. Supposedly this causes you to lose resolution, as fewer bits are used to represent the lower voltages, but you probably can't hear the effect.
- Analog Volume applies a variable resistor, acting as a "restriction" for the maximum potential voltage. If it's at maximum, then it's not impeding the signal at all. If it's at minimum, there's so much resistance that the output voltage is essentially dropped to 0V. Theoretically this provides an infinitely gradual voltage range, but it's very difficult to create a high quality variable resistor like this. That's why some prefer to use the digital volume instead.
- Pro/Red setting - This provides a split resistance, similar to the analog volume, except that it uses higher quality fixed resistors. This will provide much better reduction than the analog volume control, but it's not variable. Your mainboard may not have the special resistors for the Pro/Red setting:
- Version 3 doesn't have the high-quality resistors, so I suspect they're doing it in the DSP instead. This is probably fine, but is frowned upon from a theoretical perspective.
- They were added in Version 4, so the Pro/Red setting is less likely to impact the quality of the sound.
If you're using the Wandla as a "pure" DAC (not a preamp), then you probably want a fixed (bypassed) volume. For this, you have various options. I suggest you start with a simple test:
- If you have mainboard version 3, then I suggest you leave the setting as Pro, and just continue to use the lower volumes. However, try changing it to Red then turning it up, to see if you like that more. (It really depends on your ears at this point.)
- If you have mainboard version 4 or later, then change to Red mode (high quality onboard resistor), and benefit from the higher analog volume settings.
Some prefer not to use the bypass mode and the digital input trim, and instead leave the volume inline and set it for whatever level makes them happy. This is fine too, but there's a chance that you'll accidentally turn it up too loud and blast your speakers.
- Start with the Pro setting and no bypass.
- Turn your Wandla down all the way
- Turn your preamp volume up the maximum that you expect to use. (Generally you want it in the top half or third of its range.)
- Slowing increase the volume on the Wandla. The hope is that you can get it all the way to 100.
- If not, then change it to Red mode and try to increase the volume to 100 again.
- If you still can't get there, then consider applying some digital trim.
- Once you've got it to 100%, turn on bypass mode, so the volume is disabled.
Hopefully that clarifies things.
Thank you! I was wondering and frankly was not sure if I could hear any difference between ordinary impulse power supply and Hypsos. While I am fully aware of confirmation bias, I was really surprised how much the sound has improved. Exactly in line with your observations. Deeper slam and better bass but also amazing projection of the holographic sound stage. On my reference tracks the placement and separation of the instruments has improved, the sound stage became even wider and deeper. Attack and decay have also improved. Amazing!The change from no hypsos to hypsos that stood out for me was a more holographic stage on the DCA E3. Now I didn’t go through the back and fourth as I just wanted to enjoy the music (not a reviewer) so take that with a grain of salt! Hypsos voltages was a more nuanced experience for me. I did not experience what some reviews indicated but rather just presence of the instruments felt very slightly closer or further away. It may be headphone dependent but personally I had more enjoyable changes with hovering between HQ Apod and HQ Gauss filters and most recently red and pro mode after firmware update. On the Oor, I use between 0 and +db mode depending on headphone. I generally stay near 24v for most headphones, sometimes a small step down adjustment like 23.7v for DCA E3 makes certain tracks sound just right and I don’t know why or find it hard to describe it in words. Having said this, on E3 with Hypsos + Wandla GSE + Erco at a place I auditioned for 45 mins, the only setting that made an audible difference for me was the spatial feature which made sounds more immersive. I did not find much of a change with all other settings, including tube mode, which is much much less pronounced than say Ifi-Gryphon bass boost/presence. Your mileage may vary, enjoy the ride, and try not to go mad testing subtle differences
