Ferrum Wandla Golden Sound Edition

Thinking about the potential of WANDLA’s computing power Thinking about the potential of WANDLA’s computing power, our Ferrum team thought up of the ultimate experiment. Could we make Digital Signal Processing really work for us? Enter WANDLA GoldenSound Edition with Elevated digital headroom, Spatial Enhancement, Tube Mode and Impact , all done in the DSP of our SERCE module. DSP done properly. Ferrum parent company HEM has always been operating at the forefront of audio technology. HEM was one of the early adopters of the MQA codec, striving for the purest possible digital and analogue audio processing. One of the main features of WANDLA was the experiment with our own digital filtering, next to the ones of ESS Sabre, giving our audience a complete new set of tools to fine tune their sound with, done directly in the DAC oversampling stage. Could we offer our user base even more? Time for the ultimate experiment. What could be achieved with the use of Digital Signal Processing when done right? What if we leave out MQA? WANDLA’s heart, SERCE, had so much more to offer, using its full potential. This is when WANDLA GoldenSound Edition came into being and the Ferrum team started implementing new features into WANDLA’s software. The fruitful collab between our own talented workforce and Cameron Oatley from GoldenSound gave us some very interesting ideas to develop extra functionalities for WANDLA, aptly dubbed The Converter. Our team was able to create extra settings to tailor the sound to the need of the individual and created a set of brand-new features in WANDLA GoldenSound Edition. Enter Elevated digital headroom, Spatial Enhancement, Tube Mode and Impact . We chose to omit MQA decoding to get the best performance from the DSP engine for the new features. What is more, WANDLA GoldenSound Edition uses the exact same voltage adjustment feature as standard WANDLA for better compatibility with a wider range of amplifiers. To make it even better, in the foreseeable future it will be possible to convert the original WANDLA into WANDLA GoldenSound Edition. Because we want to give Ferrum owners the possibility to make the ultimate choice themselves. Elevated digital headroom Higher immunity to intersample overs even in bypass mode at full output level, allowing you to play back any music free from additional distortion, and enjoy a high-quality sound. Tube Mode An intentional increase of the even-order harmonic distortion produced by the DAC, similar to the distortion added by a tube amplifier. This allows the user to enjoy a warmer, richer sound without directly changing the frequency response. Spatial Enhancement A unique spatial enhancement to provide an expanded soundstage and improved clarity of separation between musical elements, whilst avoiding the drawbacks commonly found in other approaches. It has two modes of operation: headphone and speaker mode tailored differently for different use cases. Impact For those who enjoy a little more low-end in their music listening experience. This feature uses a customized two-band EQ which not only elevates bass but provides additional ‘punch’ and dynamic impact as well. New Voltage Adjustment The WANDLA GoldenSound Edition benefits from a hardware level output voltage adjustment of standard WANDLA, allowing the user to swap between just below 10 Vrms output to a just below 4 Vrms output. This is facilitated via a dedicated hardware voltage divider, allowing the user to select lower output voltage and ensure compatibility with all amplifiers, without a need to use any digital volume control, or to have analog volume control components in the signal path. Dynamic Digital Filtering WANDLA has three ESS digital filters to choose as standard and, as a world first, two digital filters created for Ferrum by renowned filter-maker Signalyst, know for their HQPlayer app. More filters will follow after interacting with WANDLA users. Proprietary amplification Fully balanced modified IC pre-amplifier, fine tuned for WANDLA. Optimized Digital inputs Specially programmed USB, and tuned coaxial and optical S/PDIF, AES, ARC (TV) and I2S ports, optimized for audio. Made for HYPSOS WANDLA performs beautifully right out of the box, but you can take its performance above and beyond when pairing it with HYPSOS. Using the proprietary Ferrum Power Link (FPL) connection with 4TSD voltage sensing, both components will perform to their absolute maximum, unleashing unheard-of musicality. SERCE Digital audio system module – Our optimized ARM chip offers the shortest signal path possible, making 5 chips redundant. TOMORROW’S HIGH END AUDIO TODAY As The Converter WANDLA leads the way for tomorrow’s high end at tentative price levels. WANDLA offers flagship audio quality at an unprecedented price. FINELY TUNED DA CONVERSION WANDLA is the embodiment of Ferrum’s digital know-how and their in house developed analogue audio and electrical technology. The ESS Sabre ES9038PRO current to voltage (I/V) converter is fine-tuned to perform to its maximum. OPTIMIZED ARM Optimized ARM chip offers shortest signal path possible making 5 chips redundant. Includes MQA® decoder and renderer. TRULY BALANCED The signal path stays truly balanced using the XLR inputs and becomes truly balanced using the RCA inputs. ENHANCED TRANSPARENCY The whole design is focussed on a balanced and very transparent sound signature, making listening fatigue something of the past. “With Dynamic Digital Filtering, DDF in short, digital filter maker HQ Player created a total of eight filters exclusively for Ferrum. At the introduction WANDLA will feature three special filter options. We will engage with our community to make new filters available, one by one. Doing this we create a new community of digital filter specialists by interaction with us and their WANDLA’s, in search of the best possible, tailor-made sound. This is truly unique to Ferrum, to the category of DA converters and to the hifi community in general.” Marcin Hamerla Founder and CEO HEM Unique output cable design: two wires delivering the power and two wires providing the feedback to ensure flat voltage at every moment. We named this technique Ferrum Power Link (FPL) and it eliminates the harmful effects of the cable’s resistance effectively improving transient response. The current delivery speed at the powered device’s input is significantly improved. WANDLA comes with a carefully selected DC power adapter. To get the most out of WANDLA you can connect it with HYPSOS using our proprietary Ferrum Power Link DC power cable. This FPL cable can be ordered separately. Specifications Operation – Fully balanced, proprietary IC power amp DAC Chip – ESS Sabre ES9038PRO DAC Resolution – 768k/32bit, DSD 256 Digital Inputs AES/EBU (up to 196kHz/24bit, DoP 64) Optical S/PDIF (up t/24bit) Coaxial S/PDIF (up to 192kHz/24bit, DoP 64) USB-C (up to 768kHz/32bit, DSD 256) ARC (up to 192kHz/24bit), TV input with CEC I2S (up to 768kHz/32bit, DSD 256), PS Audio® compatible MQA® – decoder and renderer (on all digital inputs) Analog inputs – RCA Analog input Vmax – 9,5V RMS (2 – 3,5V RMS recommended) Analogue input imp – 47kΩ Line outputs – balanced XLR; unbalanced RCA Volume control – analogue with bypass option / digital for DAC operation only Output level – @0dBFS, 1kHz sine 9,3V RMS balanced, 4,65V RMS unbalanced Frequency response – 10Hz – 200kHz /- 0,1dB DAC THD – -121dB (0,00009%); THD N: -115dB (unweighted) Analog input THD – -123dB @ 2V RMS output level Dyn. range analog – 127dB (A-weighted) Dyn. range digital – 127dB (A-weighted) Crosstalk – -120dB for 1kHz, better than -100dB for 20Hz -20kHz Output impedance – 22Ω unbalanced Output impedance – 44Ω balanced Power consumption – 10W idle / 15W max Power inputs – 5,5/2,5 mm DC connector centre positive proprietary FPL 4-pin DC connector (FPL) 22-30VDC Power adapter – 100-240 VAC to 24VDC Dimensions – 21,7 x 20,6 x 5 cm (8.6 x 8.1 x 2.0 inch) Weight – 1,8 kg (3.97 lbs)