Your DAC Can't Do This! - Ferrum WANDLA Review

[@passagier303]

I feel equally educated as I feel entertained. You structure your reviews so incredibly well, it is simply a pure joy to watch from beginning to end. Something I cannot say about many other reviewers. Outstanding stuff, thank you sir!

[@liammadridista2395]

I'm sat here watching the video knowing damn well I can't afford it. It's like window shopping but on KZbin 😂

[@SnowFootprints96]

It's fun to learn what's out there

[@carminedesanto6746]

Fantastic review, thank you. Wow..this looks amazing and the fact that you think it goes toe to toe with your reference DAC ( the HaloMay) or the Wiess units is truly impressive. I wonder if we’ll get to the point that an even cheaper DAC will out perform this model in the next year or two …that would be very interesting indeed. As usual, thank you. ☕️🍕🔥🥓👍

[@carbon_wavelight]

This was an excellent review. Very thorough and with great pacing. I know you might not have time to review things that aren't in the store, but I would love to see a Gustard R26 review. Maybe included in an ~$1500 dac round up?

[@sand8908]

lol i was just thinking to myself yesterday "has golden reviewed the wandala yet" and here we are now

[@sinistercollector9223]

I think the Weiss DAC204 might be a better comparison than the DAC501 or DAC502, given the DAC204 is around the same price as the Wandla. Great review and thank you!

[@zemessargs]

Great review! Really love what Ferrum has done here, and am impressed (if not slightly saddened) that it's competing with the Dave + M-Scaler at a fraction of the price.

[@SRMNS93]

I was hoping for a comparison with the Holo Spring 3 - given that the two DACs are pretty close in price. Any thoughts about that?

[@trun1979]

If it’s close to the May…

[@G3rain1]

Same here. Though one is R2R and the other is DS, so it's not entirely apples to apples, but it would still be nice to see.

[@animaze8043]

Read the review linked in the description. An exerpt: The WANDLA is an incredibly impressive product, and was not out of place when compared to my personal favourite DAC, the $5600 Holo May KTE. The May wins out on timbre and clarity of separation, but the WANDLA did match the level of resolution, and even in soundstage, which R2R DACs are often known for, it happily traded blows with the May. I have not heard this level of performance from a DAC either at this price point, much less in this compact a form factor!

[@nespressoman]

Goldensound, you are amazing. An absolute pleasure to watch.

[@tillaard61]

Hoping on a review of the new Auralic Vega S1 streamer/dac from your channel. Would be great 😊

[@gibgun]

Ferrum are killing it man

[@Ari_M47]

This how you do review videos. Everyone else take note.

[@AlexAlex-lw6gw]

Serce is heart in Polish

[@steinerikbhmer6073]

Good review as always thank you

[@pawerusek363]

SERCE means heart in polish.

[@masterxyr]

yay I knew that from my 3 Polish word vocab where dobja is another and the last I find unnecessary as everyone could guess it

[@liamkelly5727]

Well now I know what my upgrade from the Topping D90 is going to be. Brilliant video!

[@markbergen5076]

So I found GS's review extremely helpful and pretty much bang on. Would only offer a few slight disagreements. First the Hypsos add does indeed elevate the performance of the Wandla if you bypass the stock cord and go for their Ferrum Power Line cord, not the stock cable that comes with it. Secondly I would respectfully disagree as per output and the volume bypass. As stated by GS the output voltage is 10v and that is simply overdriven. It's very noticeable. Attenuation is an absolute must. Now GS states his preferred volume of 92 and again I must differ. The magic number is really 93.5. Yes that doesn't exist. I kept switching between 93 & 94 and in the end I made do with a small touch too much grunt at 94, as 93 just didn't quite do it. If GS held onto his combo I would encourage him to add the FPL cable and tell me that I am wrong. Never mind being corrected! Lastly if the combo is still kicking around and GS has updated it with the latest FW I would be VERY curious to know which of the 4 HQ filters he likes best. Great review. Really good. 👍 Definitely agree with him on this as one of the best delta sigma DACS out there. I have spent a year trying a lot out there - chip/ladder/fgpa and this is now my endgame DAC.

[@mimofi]

Love your reviews and ALWAYS want to see the tech detail and review so thanks! So, for an ESS DAC implementation / delta sigma implementation, have you had a chance to hear the Questyle CMA Fifteen? It uses the same ESS 9038PROO chip. If so, curious to know your thoughts. The unique feature of the CMA Fifteen is the Current Mode Amplification that allows direct amplification of the ESS chip output. ie no current to voltage conversion needed (I recall you mentioning the WANDLA engineer being proud of the solution to achieve this conversion with both great measured performance and sound, so wondering how fully avoiding conversion compares). Not exactly the same level as the Questyle significantly less expensive and incl. Headphone amp, but same ESS chip with current/voltage situation handled differently.

[@johnratcliffe6438]

I'm interested in Wandla, Oor and Hypsos but can't get past May KTE and Bliss KTE. I'd rather pay a little more and get the Holo stack.

[@eruilluvitar]

Great stuff! I'm excited to try this at CanJam SoCal!

[@csszabi8779]

Is it better than Gustard A26? ($1500 vs $2800 )

[@invisiblekid99]

Love this channel and LOVE your £ vs equal £ IF your want to spend £xxxx, but then compared it to DACs 1/3 the price. However I'm seriously tempted to get this over the Holo Spring 3.

[@burnttoast4424]

Ferrum's Wanda connected to the Holo Bliss, that might be an awesome pairing. Has anyone tried this yet?

[@rlsmurfaccount6191]

That would be an interesting stack.

[@jaroslavfricek7772]

Thank you for the review❗️👍 I have 2 questions, what is your best pairing of the Ever solo dac as for amplifier? And does the Ferrum stack makes sense meaning Wandala, OOR and Hypos or what else would you pair the Wandala with? Thank you ✌️🙋‍♂️ p.s there is also The Erco all in one unit..

[@nicktan4530]

There is no best pairing. Any amp would work. Since ever solo dac is balanced arhictecture, paired with any balanced amplifier and yes including that overpriced Ferrum amplfier. And even if you paired with single ended amp, its fine since there will be no audible difference either way. But the whole idea of having balanced is to acheive the system full potential which there will be no audible difference nonetheless unless the driver needs more power.

[@elhijueputa8423]

I'm currently running the Gustard R26 R2R DAC which is a fantastic DAC. I wonder how it stacks up to the WANDLA.

[@jaybrodnax]

Great review!

[@suryapratamak1690]

hi Cameron, thanks for a very thorough review. May i ask if using usb c input can get the most out of the hq filters and SQ of the wandla, or would you still recommend using i2s through a good ddc? thank you

[@TheHEADPHONEShow]

The filters themselves behave identically regardless of what digital input is used. Jitter performance is the only thing that will be affected. The wandla has absolutely excellent jitter performance though so a DDC won't be of benefit in this instance. - Cameron

[@suryapratamak1690]

@@TheHEADPHONEShow THanks for the input. As i am purchasing the wandla. Good news that i do not need to purchase a ddc to get the most out of it 🙂

[@suryapratamak1690]

sorry cameron if you don't mind. i forgot ask something about usb c that i have been confused for a long time. For a dac like the wadla that take usb C, will using a usb c cable adhering to the usb 3.1 protocol in performance, speed and construction make any difference? Though i am not seeking any exotic brand, I notice the usb c brands and builds, specs are so varied. Makes it difficult understand when it comes to audio euipment, especially for a layman audio hobbysit like me. Thank you

[@jarekmarek4171]

SERCE- means hart in Polish language 😊

[@alekrychwalski]

"Heart" to be precise ;) "Hart" is another word for a deer.

[@MarekLeska]

Why the Wandler have no USB-B😢

[@sebastiantomita5956]

Is there a DSD Direct mode to use it along with HQPlayer?

[@frontarts]

How does this compare to the Chord TT2? if price is not taken into account. Thanks.

[@islaymmm]

I sometimes wonder maybe people with acute senses are less happy than those with poor senses...

[@Aniki91PL]

Ferrum WANDLA with new AKM Chip to come?

[@dangerzone007]

Wandla would be a good name for fish.

[@cbmore28]

Any more info on the GoldenSound edition??

[@keganleberman]

What other DACs apply the correct filters for adhering to Nyquist?

[@Leon-lg7zm]

Golden Sounds BACK AGAIN

[@jaybrodnax]

I'd love to hear a comparison with a NOS DAC running HQPLAYER. like R26

[@zelareka]

I have the wandla and the r26, wandla is soooo much better

[@jaybrodnax]

@@zelareka have you tried r26 with HQPlayer?

[@ivanmelkner7704]

@@zelareka Hi, are you using them as an All in One , or just as a DAC only? Thank you

[@zelareka]

I have not @@jaybrodnax

[@zelareka]

just the dac @@ivanmelkner7704

[@4thewin759]

Can you review the PS Audio Directstream MKii?

[@life_in_solace]

So is the amp portion of this good? Or only the dac. If it worth buying a holo bliss if I get this?

[@NickArcade]

Why an ARC port and not eARC?

[@GurgenPB2]

Thanks!

[@nathanberger618]

Golden, I thoroughly enjoyed the under the hood peak

[@xDivulGeX]

LTT Screwdriver.

[@Admajors]

The best screwdriver I've personally ever used. The ratchet is amazing! Though, I would prefer if it had more storage for *standard* length bits, instead of cutting the storage space in half.

[@Captain_Mike]

Has anyone heard AGD Audion Monoblocks in combination with FERRUM WANDLA (DAC + Preamp)?

[@DK83650]

I cannot join the discord server for whatever reason… Anyone knows what to do?

[@max10hoop]

WHAT IS THAT WALLET?! I NEED IT!!!!

[@darylfortney8081]

Confused because true nyquist filters are indeed impossible to actually implement

[@KaneAmaroq]

They are, but it doesn't really matter, it sounds the same so long as it's attenuating enough and quickly enough to remove audible aliasing. Which, so long as it's after the audible band and before the maximum reproducible sample rate, it's doing its job. And even if it DOES go a few khz past that point, you won't hear the aliasing because of how absurdly quiet it is. Basically, so long as the attenuation doesn't start in the audible band or go too far into the ultrasonics, you're fine. Most filters do this. It's a non-issue.

[@darylfortney8081]

@@KaneAmaroq You don't have to explain filters to me... I have a masters in signal processing. I just was thrown off by the claim that the filter was 'perfect' or in some way better then all the other DACs somehow. Lots of DACs implement their own filtering instead of relying on the ones built into the chipset.

[@jacksonville4932]

If I don’t have the adapter for the hypsos, Which device should I connect the Hypsos to ?

[@acheresh]

when t+a dac 200?

[@mocomike01]

Would love to get goldensound's thoughts on the Triangle BR08/BR09 behind him.

[@GoldenSound]

REALLY like them. (BR08). They definitely need a subwoofer as they don't go that deep but will be doing a video on them in future

[@mocomike01]

@@GoldenSound that's a good sign if you like them, considering you daily Focal Sopras. I'll keep an eye out for your review. Thanks.

[@stevet8631]

What about against the cheaper Yggdrasil?

[@matthewhilty4209]

Great question. I have a gen1 Yggy and was thinking to either upgrade the Yggy to gen2 or get this. Hopefully he answers.

[@stevet8631]

@@matthewhilty4209at the end of the day, the touchscreen, HDMI, etc is going to add costs but you’re still using just 1 DAC chip vs FOUR truly multibit (20-bit) DAC chips In Yggdrasil. I think GoldenSound has mentioned Yggy in a few reviews but I can’t remember where.

[@legendary82]

How much can you digital trim until youre losing quality?

[@phillipmorris9847]

THANK YOU

[@radkokosoTT]

Nice review! You have compared Wandla to Holo May, but what about Holo Spring 3 KTE? Could Wandla beat Spring 3?

[@earganic]

A Fish Called Wandla

[@Jingyih]

Could you compare wandla vs. holo spring 3?

[@franciscocunhaetavora9132]

Try to get a hold of the T+A DAC 200 for a delta sigma state of the art.

[@trun1979]

I’ve had it side by side with my May for 10 days and they’re not even close (on PCM) in sterns of stage depths and imaging. I have been told that it gives its best on DAD, but haven’t had the chance to try that…

[@lssht]

@@trun1979Is the May better?

[@trun1979]

not even close on PCM @@lssht

[@trun1979]

you mean vs Wanla? theyre different but close. Very close> Got confused before. @@lssht

[@lssht]

@@trun1979 did you compare Wandla to May with a good linear like Hypsos?

[@random-internet-dude]

I really really hope Golden can review the Cen.Grand DSDAC Deluxe or Superclock which would be the most interesting comparison between hardware DSD upsampling versus software (HQP...). Whereas others DACs comparisons are nice but subject it's getting rather boring. Just my 2cents.

[@johnratcliffe6438]

Cen Grand need to sort out the display on their DACs, it looks awful.

[@lssht]

@@johnratcliffe6438i think it looks great in real life 😊 owner of both the Cen.Grand Superclock and Deluxe Dac.

[@pierpaoloazzalin9505]

silly question: does this DAC mainly target head-fi or is it suitable for hi-fi as well?

[@PartyMusic775]

OMG I have to have one.

[@christopherviers8302]

Much respect and many thank-you's to Golden Sound...!!! 45 seconds into this review, Mr. Golden Sound discloses the price of the Ferrum WANDLA...!!! Genuinely appreciated Golden Sound - The entire review is excellent - like...!!! like...!!! like...!!! Kudos ...!!!

[@SergeySedlovsky]

Serce = Heart Pronounced Sertse

[@4thewin759]

per ASR listening tests have no role. They are wasting time listening to the DAC. I think if we shipped them a rock, it would measure so well that they all would jump on it.

[@rlsmurfaccount6191]

Few questions 1: you said in the video to be careful about the 10V bypass mode as certain amps may not be able to handle it. Will I be ok with bypassing to the Oor itself? I assume the Oor is made for the Wandla almost so it should be able to handle it very well. 2: at 15:52 it is stacked up so perfectly. Will I be able to stack it like that and not suffer from any heat issues? Thanks

[@rlsmurfaccount6191]

Answer: The stack IS WAY TOO FUCKING HOT! You absolutely need spacers

[@TheJediJoker]

What about phase shift for the stock filters vs. HQ filters?

[@GoldenSound]

The HQ filters are both linear phase. ESS filters come in both linear phase and minimum phase variants

[@TheJediJoker]

So,@@GoldenSound, the HQ and ESS linear phase filters will cause pre- and/or post-ringing, whereas the ESS minimum phase filters won't, but will cause some phase shift, potentially within the audible band. Whether either artifact is audible is questionable, I suppose.

[@GoldenSound]

@@TheJediJoker So pre and post ringing are aspects that are very commonly misunderstood. The main thing being that actually, for any properly recorded/produced piece of music, ringing will not exist at all. Ringing only exists in the presence of an 'illegal' signal, where the sampled data describes content above 22.05khz. The most extreme example of this being an impulse, which describes all frequencies at equal amplitude, hence you see drastic ringing on the impulse response. The ringing is a result of the filter filtering out that illegal content. Outside of synthetic test scenarios, the only time you'll actually get ringing is if either the music is clipping (in which case you're probably limited by the crappy recording quality anyway), or in certain synthetic/electronic genres.

[@roymacasaet3285]

OK that DAC is cool but is that an LTT screwdriver

[@AssafMuller]

IMHO the Ferrum Erco (DAC/Amp) cannibalizes the rest of their line. Why not buy a cheaper combo than the much more expensive separate DAC and Amp from the same company with the same form factor?

[@tdfmike3915]

Mscaler & dave are compareable?! Each of those around 5k😮 Ferrum really outdid themselves here? I was able to listen to this at the highend in munich. Neutral and powerful is how I would describe them. If you're into that then the fe is great. I like some color in my music. Try the headonist ametysthe from france. That is somerhing else completely! But thats sadly a little bit over budged. For now... 😂

[@eskamobob8662]

Not gunna lie, I just don't think Dave or hms are price competitive in the modern land scape. They have been beaten in performance for far less for quite a long time imo

[@DEALUX]

The expensive DAC always sounds better than the less expensive one. As if companies simply refuse to compete with one another and disrupt the market. It's really just a coincidence and not blatant evidence of bias. I made a $1,000,000 DAC in my basement that is one of a kind and it sounds better than any other DAC on the market currently.

[@GoldenSound]

Except for the fact I said I prefer this over other DACs costing 2-3x as much...

[@sephondranzer]

That’s actually really impressive. Diminishing returns for sure, but no doubt there’s returns there.

[@nicktan4530]

Almost all dacs sounds the same.

[@enjoshi-godrez8775]

​@@nicktan4530your other comments are very telling of your brain rot. You're not fooling anyone.

[@ODIOPOWER]

Almost all dacs (with the same chip inside) sounds the same. Don't buy this 4digit nonsense

[@nicktan4530]

@@ODIOPOWER what do you mean ?

[@ODIOPOWER]

@@nicktan4530 ii mean what I said, all DACs sound the same, but an R2R dac sound different from an ESS9038, the chip make the difference.

[@aceofspades6667]

I’d probably go a different direction at that price point.

[@Reeeepicheep]

Non-FPGA Delta sigma dacs should not be this expensive. Yes I understand the implementation is what matters but R2R dacs have a more realistic/engaging sound and can be gotten for well under $500-1000. Get an R2R/multibit dac and use HQ player on your computer and save yourself a lot of money.

[@kamerafi]

My thoughts exactly.

[@GoldenSound]

There are a lot of misconceptions around the subject of 'FPGA DACs'. Mostly that 'FPGA DACs' in the purest sense don't actually exist (at least I've never seen an example of one). The FPGA is always just the device controlling the actual converter hardware, whether that's the pulse array in a Chord DAC, the Ring DAC in a dCS DAC, or the R2R ladder in an R2R DAC. FPGA's are a useful tool but I've never heard of an example of a DAC where the FPGA itself is doing the output (and there are a lot of reasons why it'd be a bad idea to do that). But also, there's no reason why a DAC with an FPGA needs to be more expensive. Or why more expensive DACs 'should' have an FPGA. Lots of cheaper DACs use FPGAs for various tasks and lots of expensive DACs don't use them at all. Cost is a reflection of R&D cost, cost to produce, and expected sales volume. Full-fat desktop HQPlayer is indeed better than the WANDLA's inbuilt filters, but that's a bit of a different debate as whilst you could get a spring 3 + HQPlayer for a similar cost to the WANDLA, many people are not wanting to use extra software. Many people just want to plug and play

[@eskamobob8662]

You shoukd try some higher end non-r2r dacs. Even as a hard core r2r fan boy myself, there are a alot of ds products at the very hugh end that absaluteky justify their price imo

[@yupanquid5538]

Let’s please take a moment to enjoy the fact that in this case “Lifeless” is a compliment.😅 cheers Golden

[@GoldenSound]

Lifelike not lifeless :P

[@yupanquid5538]

@@GoldenSound oohhh I liked my version better. Hahaha. This is the issue with being a non-native English-speaking person. Sorry

[@thelastrhino2581]

Who comes up with the names at Ferrum? I reckon they lose some 50% of potential sales because of these silly names. Who wants to spend $2800 on Wandla? :)

[@johnratcliffe6438]

$2800 is not a lot. My headphones cost more than that.

[@nicktan4530]

Rich people

[@nicktan4530]

@@johnratcliffe6438 Its mainly because you are rich. What is your income per month to be able to afford ?

[@mikeg2491]

@@nicktan4530there are people in poor areas who spend $1000 on rims for their cars, rich is relative.

[@nicktan4530]

@@mikeg2491 then these people are rich from first world country then

[@dangerzone007]

Most audiophiles can't hear 20k. Flat to 18k would be more than enough.

[@TheTastefulThickness]

That's not how sound works

[@dangerzone007]

@@TheTastefulThickness that's how hearing works.

[@TheTastefulThickness]

@dangerzone007 No its more complicated than that.

[@mini-337]

@@TheTastefulThickness you are free to explain

[@mikeg2491]

@@mini-337I’m not qualified to explain but 20khz audio is definitely noticeable from 44khz. That said I can’t hear the difference between 192 and 44.

[@iShillAsics]

No proof of it being better for amplifying the sound with no hearable distortion than an apple dongle, just subjective talk about chips that arent proven to improve the sound quality. Basically just a fancy knob, if dacs make the headphone sound warmer or colder (?), it functions wrong. This is marketing talk lacking in science based facts, every week there's a new better dac for listening. Pathetic product shilling, but you got to earn your win share somehow...

[@GoldenSound]

The apple dongle has considerably higher THD, IMD, Jitter, lower linearity, and a reconstruction filter that isn't even phase-linear

[@kashccartier2379]

​@@GoldenSound the THD, IMD, jitter are well below audible thresholds with music, linearity is 18 bits, which is plenty transparent

[@enjoshi-godrez8775]

@@kashccartier2379 do you have any proof whatsoever that its below audible threshold. The answer is no, you dont.

[@Ca11mero]

I agree, If someone wants to spend money on features there is always the ADI-2 DAC for less than half the price.

[@eskamobob8662]

​@kashccartier2379 please link the research pointing at 18 bit being the audiability threshold for all of these traits

[@dangerzone007]

You should call yourself Wizard. You can make the top disappear with just a click of your fingers. Does it work with women?

[@amaya897]

Influencer marketing. Compared Wandla with Holo May yesterday. Well let’s put it like that GoldenSound claims it’s close to May and just as good as Spring is pure influencer marketing and in some way deception. My friend is selling his Wandla now, it’s an alright delta sigma with the advantage of build in hqplayer filters, but ultimately just a higher midrange delta sigma. It lacked any kind of analog wet timbre, expansive deep staging and realism of a good r2r dac, it’s not even close. In fact I think the dac unit of my Cayin N8ii sounded more pleasing. We compared both with Susvara and various ZMF headphones including Caldera. Last time I considered GoldenSound review as a review lol

[@legendary82]

I think he is a bit more than an influencer.

[@MrStingraybernard]

Soon as I saw the price I was done watching,sorry

[@nicktan4530]

You can try to save up and afford it. Max price am willing to spent is $1000

[@davidcarr2216]

Yeah, but does it make your Pink Floyd sound better or maybe it makes Diana Krall sound up close and personal ?

[@Del_987]

The upsampling on this thing is incredibly weak for $2700. A mid range nvidia GPI can upsample far more for far less via HQPlayer. It caps at 352.8 or 384khz and that’s the highest bitrate it accepts. Absolute rip off.

[@joohhn]

All those DACs are ridiculously overpriced. How can you justify paying $2,795 for a PCB with some chips in a housing? The only reason it's so expensive is that they know audiophiles are crazy people with money.

[@eskamobob8662]

R&d, setting up hew manufacturing lines, stock management, and building distribution networks all cost money....

[@mini-337]

You just described your phone, your PC, your smartwatch... This is a dogshit argument

[@nicktan4530]

That is why is mostly for audio enthusiast, its no longer for ordinary peasent who enjoy and love music. My sister love music more than me, have CD album, goes to concert but never into audio gear.

[@mikeg2491]

@@nicktan4530”no longer for” what does this even mean. We have moderately priced gear out there just like in the 70s you had top of the line stuff that most normal people couldn’t afford. Nothing has changed.

[@nicktan4530]

@@mikeg2491 no long for peasant like us. But sure...

[@davestevens4193]

You lost me at ESS. More of a R2R/FPGA kind of guy.

[@alstonmaccow9386]

Over priced and over here plus what’s with the gold/rusty colour?

[@ChristopherTaylor-wd8fr]