[ChJL]

I currently have Ferrum Oor on loaner from generous group of audio friends. I am using it with FiR XE6 and if I keep Oor stacked up over Hypsos then I hear lot of noise like transformer whining kind of noise and if I move it on the side or even move slightly up like 1ft, it reduces significantly.

I don’t think Ferrum should advertise it as stacked unit. May be ok with hard to drive headphones but with IEM and all it is audible.

If that noise actually comes from your Hypsos, mine hums... so after many many inquiries and even sending it in, I randomly fount out when I apply some pressure on it's top, the whining disappears!

 

[hypnos1]

Re transformer (etc) hum, this is a facinating - not to mention frustrating! subject, and one with various causes. And usually it's not necessarily the transformer itself as such the main culprit...including Hypsos's. So often it will be down to electronic/electrical equipment within one's environment and which can sometimes be very hard to trace...not to mention crud in the mains supply.

For example, the gigantic trafo in my Balanced Mains power conditioner suddenly went from whisper quiet to loud hum for no apparent reason. After much searching and head scratching the culprit turned out to be a pond air pump located outside in my greenhouse! Mind you, there was no hint of disturbance in the sound system...probably courtesy of the conditioner's 'Advanced Filter System'.

And so, if unable to be thus fortunate in locating the offending gremlin and mechanical hum is still present, I suggest using what I personally use on all electronic hifi equipment anyway - ie adhesive 'Dynamat Xtreme' sound deadening mat, or the cheaper alternative 'Silent Coat' wherever possible inside or outside the units. This amazing stuff will kill most noise from component vibration/resonances...with beneficial effect on sound quality as well as annoying mechanical intrusion. In addition, applying this mat to equipment feet will be more effective than any uber expensive isolation feet IMHO, and far cheaper lol...even if also adding some hard wood (like oak) cone ones. Plus, of course, standing units on solid hardwood platforms...something like 2cm solid oak being just as good IMO as (again) uber expensive 'fancy' isolation ones. Using these methods (along with well shielded/dual construction cables) has enabled me to do the unthinkable re stacking units - ie Chord's TT2 atop mscaler(!!), let alone Hypsos atop OOR...and without the slightest hint of hum or any other noise related degradation to sound performance.

In conclusion, and as mentioned at the beginning, I believe one should look into these areas first before worrying too much if a particular unit is of itself faulty...the problem most likely lives somewhere else...

 

[kumar402]

Re transformer (etc) hum, this is a facinating - not to mention frustrating! subject, and one with various causes. And usually it's not necessarily the transformer itself as such the main culprit...including Hypsos's. So often it will be down to electronic/electrical equipment within one's environment and which can sometimes be very hard to trace...not to mention crud in the mains supply.

For example, the gigantic trafo in my Balanced Mains power conditioner suddenly went from whisper quiet to loud hum for no apparent reason. After much searching and head scratching the culprit turned out to be a pond air pump located outside in my greenhouse! Mind you, there was no hint of disturbance in the sound system...probably courtesy of the conditioner's 'Advanced Filter System'.

And so, if unable to be thus fortunate in locating the offending gremlin and mechanical hum is still present, I suggest using what I personally use on all electronic hifi equipment anyway - ie adhesive 'Dynamat Xtreme' sound deadening mat, or the cheaper alternative 'Silent Coat' wherever possible inside or outside the units. This amazing stuff will kill most noise from component vibration/resonances...with beneficial effect on sound quality as well as annoying mechanical intrusion. In addition, applying this mat to equipment feet will be more effective than any uber expensive isolation feet IMHO, and far cheaper lol...even if also adding some hard wood (like oak) cone ones. Plus, of course, standing units on solid hardwood platforms...something like 2cm solid oak being just as good IMO as (again) uber expensive 'fancy' isolation ones. Using these methods (along with well shielded/dual construction cables) has enabled me to do the unthinkable re stacking units - ie Chord's TT2 atop mscaler(!!), let alone Hypsos atop OOR...and without the slightest hint of hum or any other noise related degradation to sound performance.

In conclusion, and as mentioned at the beginning, I believe one should look into these areas first before worrying too much if a particular unit is of itself faulty...the problem most likely lives somewhere else...

When I said “hum”, it is not Hypsos but when Oor is placed on top of Hypsos there is audible hum via IEM and it’s measured in SBAF as well and it goes away when Oor is placed at certain height or on side of Hypsos. So may be something solid in between like you mentioned will help.

 

[hypnos1]

When I said “hum”, it is not Hypsos but when Oor is placed on top of Hypsos there is audible hum via IEM and it’s measured in SBAF as well and it goes away when Oor is placed at certain height or on side of Hypsos. So may be something solid in between like you mentioned will help.

Yes indeed k402...this kind of hum is also an interesting/frustrating one as, with my TT2/mscaler example, some folks have no problem and yet others are forced to separate them, even with full sized headphones let alone iems. I suspect the reason could often be the degree of shielding/EMI & RFI suppression in (all system) connecting/power cables etc, especially with highly sensitive transducers.

 

[mdbuck]

I have the Ferrum Kit combined with the Spring 3 KTE and it is a great match sonically. I agree with Kay to not stack these pieces they get warm to the touch side by side after several hours on so stacking for me would be too much heat so close to me not to mention how it might affect the equipment.

I'm a bit late to the party, but could you point me to where you got your wood shelving system? Such a beautiful display!

 

[OneEyedHito]

I'm a bit late to the party, but could you point me to where you got your wood shelving system? Such a beautiful display!

Thanks for the compliment. It’s the Salamander system. Crutchfield carry’s them.

 

[nae45ro]

Macroeynamics and musicality. HPA has plenty of microdinamics but as I said I find it a bit sterile sounding. My EMM Labs seems to have both the HPAs resolution and the musicality/analog sound.

 

[akukula]

Questions guys. Need some help here. So many months ago I had my WANDLA on bypass mode. This allowed me to adjust volume via the OOR. For some reason doing this downgrades my music. Say a tract is 192 KHz 32 bit itll go down to 164 KHz. I couldnt understand why. So I switched off the WANDLA bypass. I maxed the WANDLA volume to 100 and adjust volume level via the OOR. Today I moved that tiny switch behind the OOR to bypass. Now I control volume via WANDLA entirely with the volume control of OOR disabled. This also disabled the low-med-hi gain switch of the OOR. Surprisingly I find the SQ improved on this setting. It sounds more open. More detailed. More crisp. Was wonderong if anyone else have similar experience? Has any of you have the OOR on bypass too? Thank you

 

[OneEyedHito]

Questions guys. Need some help here. So many months ago I had my WANDLA on bypass mode. This allowed me to adjust volume via the OOR. For some reason doing this downgrades my music. Say a tract is 192 KHz 32 bit itll go down to 164 KHz. I couldnt understand why. So I switched off the WANDLA bypass. I maxed the WANDLA volume to 100 and adjust volume level via the OOR. Today I moved that tiny switch behind the OOR to bypass. Now I control volume via WANDLA entirely with the volume control of OOR disabled. This also disabled the low-med-hi gain switch of the OOR. Surprisingly I find the SQ improved on this setting. It sounds more open. More detailed. More crisp. Was wonderong if anyone else have similar experience? Has any of you have the OOR on bypass too? Thank you

I used the OOR in bypass mode with the Woo WA22 all the time. Bypassing the preamp and going basically line out of the Oor gives more headroom and possibly more dynamic range (not 100% on the DR) but regardless it sounded noticeably better in bypass but the WA22 was the preamp in that scenario and it imbues its own flavor and sonic character.

There’s posts here in this thread about it. Search preamp and bypass for keywords if you haven’t already.

 

[Aetherhole]

That is strange that it is downgrading your music signal. I don’t know why that it would do that, but maybe something you could ask Ferrum directly about?

I’ve tried it both ways, with the Oor in bypass and the Wandla pre-amping the Oor, and also the Wandla in bypass feeding to the Oor. I much prefer the Wandla in bypass and controlling the volume on the Oor. Having the Wandla feeding a hot signal to the Oor has given me better dynamic range, more bass impact, better detail separation, and generally improved sound quality for me.

 

[chrisgee5]

Can someone explain to me exactly what the Hypsos does in basic terms? I've been unsuccessful finding out. Does it add more power to the ORR, or does it make the power sound better at the same amount? What can/should I adjust other that setting it to the "ORR" setting, which puts it at 24v of nominal voltage. Woud you set it higher or lower than what it recommends for the ORR? I'm using it with Susvara in balanced.

 

[Aetherhole]

Can someone explain to me exactly what the Hypsos does in basic terms? I've been unsuccessful finding out. Does it add more power to the ORR, or does it make the power sound better at the same amount? What can/should I adjust other that setting it to the "ORR" setting, which puts it at 24v of nominal voltage. Woud you set it higher or lower than what it recommends for the ORR? I'm using it with Susvara in balanced.

The Hypsos effectively “cleans up” and regulates the power/voltage to the Oor. It does make the sound of the device better (how much better is up to the individual). You can play with the voltage from 22v to 30v. It’s a minor change in sound, but it gives you the ability to change the sound just a bit further. It’s really a matter of preference, but I end up just coming back to the nominal 24v.

 

[ApexPredator]

Questions guys. Need some help here. So many months ago I had my WANDLA on bypass mode. This allowed me to adjust volume via the OOR. For some reason doing this downgrades my music. Say a tract is 192 KHz 32 bit itll go down to 164 KHz. I couldnt understand why. So I switched off the WANDLA bypass. I maxed the WANDLA volume to 100 and adjust volume level via the OOR. Today I moved that tiny switch behind the OOR to bypass. Now I control volume via WANDLA entirely with the volume control of OOR disabled. This also disabled the low-med-hi gain switch of the OOR. Surprisingly I find the SQ improved on this setting. It sounds more open. More detailed. More crisp. Was wonderong if anyone else have similar experience? Has any of you have the OOR on bypass too? Thank you

I don't know why you dropped from 192 kHzto 164 kHz (?).

But I do agree that using OOR in bypass and adjusting volume with WANDLA sounds noticeably better (cleaner) than using the preamp mode on the OOR. And it's not surprising at all, since you're bypassing the preamp. The preamp on the WANDLA is very good, so you can feed it into the OOR in bypass mode. If you have the WANDLA and the OOR, this is clearly the best setup, at least IMO

EDIT: Ah, I realize that maybe you're using "192 KHz 32 bit itll go down to 164 KHz" as metaphorical example of sound quality degradation, not literally?

 

[ApexPredator]

That is strange that it is downgrading your music signal. I don’t know why that it would do that, but maybe something you could ask Ferrum directly about?

I’ve tried it both ways, with the Oor in bypass and the Wandla pre-amping the Oor, and also the Wandla in bypass feeding to the Oor. I much prefer the Wandla in bypass and controlling the volume on the Oor. Having the Wandla feeding a hot signal to the Oor has given me better dynamic range, more bass impact, better detail separation, and generally improved sound quality for me.

I also have the WANDLA and the OOR (with HYPSOS), feeding my HiFIMAN Susvara (balanced cable), and I used the same setup as you for about 1 week:

I used the OOR in preamp mode and used the WANDLA in bypass mode, after initially trying OOR in bypass mode. The high gain -- which can not be used in bypass mode -- made it possible to play louder on my Susvara. However, I experienced listening fatigue. This was a potential dealbreaker.

I couldn't figure out why my ears got fatigued after relatively short listening sessions. And no, it wasn't because I was playing particularly loud. I was playing at the same 'safe' levels as I do on my Sennheiser HD800S (paired with another amp, not the OOR), which I've been using for years and never had listening fatigue issues with.

In a last desperate attempt, I decided to give OOR bypass mode another try, which was -- after all --the recommended setup by most people on audiophile forums. To my surprise the fatigue issues not only disappeared, but the sound quality -- I realized -- was noticeably better!

How could that be? I think I fooled myself initially because OOR with high gain in preamp mode could play louder (gave the impression of better dynamics, etc.). But louder doesn't equal better, and I could certainly play loud enough with OOR in bypass mode. In bypass the sound was cleaner, more detailed and -- importantly -- more relaxed. This is most likely the reason why my ears didn't have any issues with this setup. I actually listened to two OOR + WANDLA setups and the fatigue problem disappeared every time I switched to OOR bypass.

I'd suggest that you give OOR bypass another chance, maybe you'll reach the same conclusion as I did But then again, we have different ears, so I guess there's no objective answer

EDIT: Also forgot to mention that from a practical standpoint I also prefer controlling the volume on the WANDLA, because I can see the volume numerically, and because I can use my WANDLA remote control to change the volume (although I use volume control in Roon most of the time). AFAIK the OOR can't be remote controlled.

 

[George Hincapie]

I find it strange that Wandla has a superior preamp section to Oor. Ferrum should address that.