[WDitters]

Thanks. In my short listen I sort of felt like the Ferrum stack may have been more detailed. Now being more technically capable doesn’t always mean more enjoyable. I previously owned a Chord Dave/mscaler with Focal Utopia and currently enjoy my Naim HE and Caldera just as much, if not more. But I was impressed with Ferrum stack, so will give another listen at some point in the future.

Too bad the Oor doesn’t have a remote. Not sure if roon can control its volume the way it does with Naim.

Just to confirm that the Naim HE also benefitted from optimising its surroundings. My HE now sits inside an environment with a PowerQuest 3, a Bonn N8 / Forester F1 and Supra Cat cabling… and the end result is a little bit blacker with a bit more air and authority/slam… Definitely worth the investment

 

[Daniel Johnston]

Roon can always control the digital volume, but as a trade you will lose bit-perfect

Roon digital volume control is bit perfect according to a site proclaiming to be about audio science.

That being said, I don't see anyone investing thousands of dollars into a HP stack being happy using that method to control volume.

 

[George Hincapie]

Thanks. In my short listen I sort of felt like the Ferrum stack may have been more detailed. Now being more technically capable doesn’t always mean more enjoyable. I previously owned a Chord Dave/mscaler with Focal Utopia and currently enjoy my Naim HE and Caldera just as much, if not more. But I was impressed with Ferrum stack, so will give another listen at some point in the future.

Too bad the Oor doesn’t have a remote. Not sure if roon can control its volume the way it does with Naim.

Wandla does - time for you to get the full stack

 

[iamoneagain]

Wandla does - time for you to get the full stack

What’s funny is when I was trying to research the Ferrum stack I accidentally ended up over at Audio Science site. According to them, I should just get a Topping D90. I think their answer for everything is Topping.

Besides Ferrum, Holo May comes up but it’s too big for my space. I’ve also heard the Silver Fox mentioned, but haven’t looked the dimensions. What I like about the Ferrum setup is its small footprint, the DAC has built it HQPlayer filters, separate power supply. I even saw there’s a GoldenSound version of the DAC with tubelike setting, bass boosts, and some other features. Not sure if I’d need all those. The tubelike setting is interesting since Caldera works best on solid state but then can add a little tube coloring to the mix.

At moment, funds are tight. But probably around SoCal CanJam, I might be interested in seeing what else is out there. But don’t get me wrong, I still really love the Naim HE. Its sound and functionality.

 

[mtenga]

I bought a Topping HE that was cheap feeling and went pop on day one. I also own amps from Yamaha, Anthem and Denon which are fundamentally broken equipment to the scientists over there yet all sound great and are robust as units. Kinda lucky my ears are not scientific like those chart obsessed engineers

That aside I’ve considered getting an external amp to support the Naim, though I I currently only own easy to drive Focal cans. The Cayin HA6A was my first tube but had a terrible crackling noise on silent passages. I’ve considered the Ferrum. Will hopefully be getting more difficult to drive planars over the next year.

I’d be interested to hear about peoples experiences with external dedicated HE amps and the Naim as source.