Ferrum Wandla

D/A PROCESSOR

- HERB REICHERT

I can roll out of bed and install a $10,000 phono cartridge while finishing my coffee, but I postpone DAC installations until I am in the exact right mood to handle the potential stressespecially DACs with a touch screen and a complex menu. To my delight, Ferrum Audio's new Wandla digital converter was completely stress-free to install. It took only minutes to connect the USB-C cable, the Cardas Audio Clear Beyond interconnects, and 24V DC power adapter.

Connecting the power adapter caused a power-switch symbol to appear on the front panel touch screen. The moment I touched it, I smiled like the Cheshire Cat, because I saw a USB-C symbol, a loudspeaker symbol, three dots in a box, and a volume control bargraph. That told me the Wandla recognized my chosen input and was waiting for a signal. All that remained was for my Roon Nucleus+ server to recognize and enable the new DAC, which it did without prodding or reprimand. For me, that was a wow moment, a good start to what promised to be an interesting review.

I reviewed Ferrum's first product, the trailblazing HYPSOS stand-alone power supply, and their second, the OOR headphone amp, and found them both to be smart and good-sounding-an auspicious start for this new company from Eastern Europe.

These first products led with style and followed with innovation and thoroughly considered engineering. The software control in the HYPSOS felt like it was designed by engineers who knew what they were doing and finished the job. In today's feature-obsessed marketplace, that's rare.