Ferrum WANDLA - Impressions Thread

[Mike Hanson]

Hello friends. Does anyone compere Wandla with Pontus or Laiv Harmony ? I have demo Wandla and sounds amazing. What are the benefits to own external PSU for this unit ? Now im using Wandla with my active speakers as DAC and PRE.

As I mentioned in the last page or two, I owned the LAiV Harmony for a while. It provided a lush warm soundstage, but I found it to be too polite and laid back. The Wandla+Hypsos presents music with more energy and is much more engaging.

Without the Hypsos, the Wandla doesn't sounds as alive and open. It's still very good, but the sense of inner textures and micro detail are reduced. Additionally, the FPL (Ferrum Power Link) is a must between the Hypsos and Wandla. The barrel connector gets you only half the benefits of the external supply. The Ferrum combo sounds very sophisticated.

I've owned a Pontus 2. It was a bit like an exuberant teenager, very fun but a bit clumsy. Details were definitely lacking, and it's demeanor was sometimes overwhelming (compared to the Wandla+Hypsos). I've not hear the Pontus 15th, which apparently is more like the old Venus. I've not heard any version of the Venus, so I can't speak to that.

FYI, I also owned the much more expensive T+A DAC200. The Ferrum combo is just as good, unless you're willing to invest the effort and expense to upsample all your music with HQPlayer before it hits the T+A. The built-in HQPlayer filters in the Wandla do a lot of heavy lifting with much more convenience.

 

[Perzua]

@Mike Hanson thanks for explanation. I really enjoy the DAC without Hypsos but with this PSU we are very close to devices like Chord Hugo TT or even Rockna Wavelight DAC. I don't hide the fact that preamplifier built in DAC is very important to me as DAC. I would say 50/50. So Pontus with external PRE maybe will be better choice for me. And why remote control is so cheap ? I use it for volume control and I cant accept that in this price range.

 

[Mike Hanson]

@Mike Hanson thanks for explanation. I really enjoy the DAC without Hypsos but with this PSU we are very close to devices like Chord Hugo TT or even Rockna Wavelight DAC. I don't hide the fact that preamplifier built in DAC is very important to me as DAC. I would say 50/50. So Pontus with external PRE maybe will be better choice for me. And why remote control is so cheap ? I use it for volume control and I cant accept that in this price range.

We all have different expectations. Many people feel aesthetics (like quality of the remote) are critically important. There's nothing wrong with that, and you'll have to decide whether it's a deal breaker for you. For what it's worth, I agree that the Wandla's remote feels cheap, but it doesn't really bother me.

The preamp in the Wandla is quite good, but I also experiment with adding external preamps or unity buffers (like the Neurochrome Universal Buffer). Every piece of gear can impact the sound, either positively or negatively depending on your perceptions and tastes.

 

[krude]

Remote may feel cheap but it's also inexpensive to replace if lost and it allows you to change all of the settings as well, which is quite important for the GSE ownsers using speakers. I regularly change GSE settings and filters and thankfully I can do all that with the remote.

 

[Perzua]

Remote may feel cheap but it's also inexpensive to replace if lost and it allows you to change all of the settings as well, which is quite important for the GSE ownsers using speakers. I regularly change GSE settings and filters and thankfully I can do all that with the remote.

How to replace remote ?

 

[krude]

How to replace remote ?

Write to Ferrum, they are very responsive and helpful. I thought I lost my remote and already wrote to them, but in the end found it behind the bed

 

[Nomax]

For those who are interested.....
I don't know why ......but i can only recommend everyone not to use/activate the bypass function

NOMAX

PS.My ears tell me that it sounds somehow freer when I turn the volume up to 100...and when I activate the bypass....my ears perceive something disturbing, something unnatural in the performance.....it is difficult to describe
(People who have dark-tuned headphones or poor technical ones will hardly notice the difference)

 

[VolatileLiquid]

For those who are interested.....
I don't know why ......but i can only recommend everyone not to use/activate the bypass function

NOMAX

PS.My ears tell me that it sounds somehow freer when I turn the volume up to 100...and when I activate the bypass....my ears perceive something disturbing, something unnatural in the performance.....it is difficult to describe
(People who have dark-tuned headphones or poor technical ones will hardly notice the difference)

In both setups, where I feed my wandla to zmf aegis (Caldera Closed) and Oor (DCA E3), I have been using bypass off and leave volume at 100 recently. Red mode for the tube amp and pro mode for the Ferrum. I have found some softening of passages, relief from some brightness, and more noticeable tuning changes in both wandla and hypsos with a little less impact/tightness than with bypass on wandla.

For what it is worth, it's a decent trade off in my case at least for the hq filters and 22-24v adjustments for both headphones.

 

[Nomax]

Just had a visit from someone
He said.... I hardly think we will find anything comparable in Munich.....



NOMAX

PS......i know
(No one would believe that if they didn't hear it for themselves)

 

[lostumpire]

Is this the best dac under $3k?

 

[krude]

Is this the best dac under $3k?

In this price category there is already no such thing as "best". Its certainly one of the dacs that punch way above it's weight and offer a lot. Best dac for you is the one that will synergise with your system.

But seing you have a Qutest, if you love the Chord sound get a TT2, if you want something a bit darker and punchier Wandla GSE + Hypsos is a great option.

 

[Nomax]

I've mentioned it before few times....I would never buy a Dac for 2.000/3000/4000/5000
(Because it doesn't really change the performance)

NOMAX

PS.The GSE upgrade offers me added value for listening through headphones...like no other Dac...not even for 10.000
Only if it's completely different (and the spatial enhancement is a completly different performance)...then I'm willing to spend money
But certainly not for subtle differences that can be bought for thousands of euros
Better you buy another pair of headphones before you do that....just only a good tip from someone who has been in this circus for over two decades

 

[Trance_Gott]

Spatial Enhancement is making the tonality more brighter that's something to know.

 

[Nomax]

NOMAX

PS.lol

 

[Evangelist]

Hi,

Need your help, I’m debating if a 4 unit stack is to much weight … just added another Hypsos to my stack , don’t know if I will use it for wandla or with my new Matrix streamer TT1.

I will try both option and see what sounds best..

I like the idea of having different voltages for Oor and Wandla, but since the TT1 also have DDC power in could be nice to see the difference !

Thanks In advance for the help!