Ferrum WANDLA DAC/PREAMP

The Ferrum WANDLA is a fully balanced high-end DAC and preamplifier, designed and made in Poland by HEM. Ferrum calls it “The Converter”: like a Formula 1 team building the best racing car, they set out to build the best engine for digital-to-analogue conversion. An ESS Sabre ES9038PRO feeds Ferrum’s own current-to-voltage converter, which Ferrum says compares with units many times the price, and WANDLA accepts every common digital source, from USB and I²S to your TV’s HDMI ARC, to drive a power amplifier or active speakers directly.

A different I/V converter

High-performance DACs like the ES9038PRO output a current, which must be converted to a voltage. The ES9038PRO’s output current is strikingly high, especially with its channels paralleled to average out errors, so most designs use a separate I/V converter for each DAC channel and combine them afterwards, which adds errors from the tolerance of each converter’s resistor. In WANDLA, Ferrum parallels the ES9038PRO’s outputs directly and converts the combined current in a single composite amplifier: a fast, low-noise current-feedback op-amp, which keeps the input impedance low even at the very high frequencies of the DAC’s delta-sigma signal, paired with a fast high-current buffer. With the same op-amp, the conventional four-converter layout measured over 10dB more distortion. Ferrum’s aim is transparent, effortless sound that leaves the familiar “Sabre sound” behind.

Truly balanced, with a short digital path

The analogue signal path is fully balanced, through a proprietary modified-IC preamplifier fine-tuned for WANDLA, and RCA inputs are converted to balanced at the first stage. On the digital side, Ferrum’s optimised ARM chip, SERCE, gives the shortest possible signal path, making five other chips redundant, and includes an MQA decoder and renderer for every digital input. USB is specially programmed and the coaxial, optical, AES, ARC and I²S inputs are tuned for audio.

Dynamic Digital Filtering

Choose from a set of digital filters: one from the ESS DAC and four designed especially for WANDLA by Jussi Laako of Signalyst, best known for the HQPlayer app. WANDLA starts on the Ferrum team’s favourite, and Ferrum invites owners to vote for theirs, replacing the least popular filters with new ones through firmware updates, so WANDLA’s filters evolve with its users.

Easy to use, and it controls your streamer

A high-resolution colour touchscreen with an intuitive interface, a volume knob and the included remote control make WANDLA a pleasure to operate. Volume can be analogue, with a bypass option, or digital for DAC use. With firmware 2.0.0, Ferrum Streaming Control Technology shows the title, artist and progress of music playing from a Windows or Mac computer or a Volumio streamer and lets you play, pause and skip from WANDLA’s screen and remote; volume can also be synchronised with your computer, and you can mark favourite inputs. Updates install with the Ferrum Control App for PC and Mac.

Connections

Digital inputs are USB-C and I²S (PS Audio-compatible, on an HDMI socket), both up to 768kHz/32-bit and DSD512; AES/EBU and coaxial up to 192kHz/24-bit; optical up to 96kHz/24-bit (often higher, depending on the cable and source); and HDMI ARC with CEC from a TV. An RCA analogue input lets you use WANDLA as a preamp for an analogue source. Outputs are balanced XLR (10Vrms) and RCA (5Vrms), and a trigger connection is provided.

Made for HYPSOS

WANDLA performs beautifully with its carefully selected 24V adapter, but you can take it further with Ferrum’s HYPSOS power supply. The proprietary Ferrum Power Link (FPL) cable has four wires, two for power and two for feedback, so HYPSOS can keep the voltage at WANDLA’s input exactly right, eliminating the effect of the cable’s resistance and speeding up current delivery.

Good to know

• WANDLA has no headphone output: for one, choose the WANDLA HP or add the Ferrum OOR.
• The Ferrum Power Link cable for HYPSOS is sold separately.
• In the box: WANDLA, 24V DC power adapter, remote control and documentation.