Question for those with the Ferrum stack, Hypsos/Orr; Did you experience burn/breakin and if so do you recall approximately the timeframe of that? I know a couple of you had the Hypsos prior to the Orr still curious about the same with just that piece too.
This might be more an @M0N question: What would you think of Sonnet Morpheus / Ferrum stack synergy might be?
Hmmmm, I can’t say I really noticed any burn in for the hypsos, but for the oor I thought it did change a bit but not all that much, could have just been me acclimating so can’t really say for sure, but I really didn’t notice anything that drastic in change personally
I can only guess since I haven’t tried the two together, but I bet it would actually be pretty nice, help to emphasize some of the lower level nuance and information that the ferrum somewhat doesn’t really showcase well, and also lean toward a warmer and smoother sound to tone things down. Again not really sure, but the micro focus of that dac seems like it would work well with the larger macro focus of the ferrum stack
Cool, cool - that’s something I’ve been thinking could be the case. Also, was thinking that since the Morpheous has a volume control too, I’ve been thinking that could allow me to try putting the Orr into amplifier mode.
Yes bypassing the volume on the oor was worthwhile in my setup (well I was using a bit of an unfair advantage over the internal volume with the pass), but I’d bet it might sound better with it bypassed using the sonnet volume
That’s an interesting proposition. I’ve always thought that the non digits volume control on the Morpheus has potential.
Feedback about the “voltage regulated direct from the chip” volume control is mixed on SBAF. But mixed is half good!
From my experience it’s pretty decent, not amazing but def not bad and better implemented than some other dac volume control at that price point, so it’s better than just acceptable. I just think the volume on the ferrum just isn’t the best compared to the quality of pot in other amps, so bypassing it can be worthwhile
Hah, yes of course. 
The Morpheus’ volume control doesn’t need to be the “best volume ever’” to be worthwhile in this case. It just needs to be better than the Oor’s.
Reminds me of the two guys in the woods who come upon a bear. As one guy runs away the other guy says “you can’t outrun a bear!” The first guy looks back and says “I only need to outrun you!”
Early impressions from Sajid
I got my Ferrum Stack (+Benchmark DAC3b) in today! I’m gonna spend a while with it to let it seep into my brain and then I’ll share my thoughts on it!
I figured I’d go ahead and post some thoughts on it now that I’ve spent a few days listening quite heavily to the new stack. If anything changes as I go further out into the future I’ll be sure add an addendum to my thoughts here, but over the last several days I’ve been able to pinpoint what I noticed as the main improvements (atleast on the Final D8000 OG) coming from the A90 + D90 Stack into the OOR + HYPSOS + Benchmark DAC3B.
I won’t claim to know which aspects of the improvements I noticed belong to what part of the stack, I’m mostly going to be talking on a purely experiential level.
I’ll keep it short and sweet because that’s what I feel like the differences I noticed deserve.
Bass: I noticed an immediate increase in the quality of the bass coming from the A90 + D90 Stack to the Ferrum stack + Benchmark DAC3B. Bass has a more physical presence, extension appears to have increased, I can hear the bass extending further out than I was previously, and I feel the slam is carrying more punch with it. Overall I would say the body of the bass has increased, the stack I believe is presenting bass with more warmth or at least unlocking more of the warmth that the D8000 OG is able to provide. I love love love this about the new stack. It has really upped my enjoyment of a range of albums. Particularly Dreamland by Glass Animals, Vicious Delicious by Infected Mushroom and the Refraction Point EP by SIXIS
Detail Retrieval / Reverb Quality / Decay: I feel like the new stack has allowed me to hear more detail in the tracks I’ve listened to, the best example of this that I can paint is that on the track Singularity by BTS as the vocals reverb outward, I can hear not only the reverb extending further out than I could previously, but I can hear a secondary vocal echo in the background after the reverb has extended that was not immediately noticeable to me before on the A90 + D90 stack.
Instrument Layering / Separation: Another area I noticed pretty immediately compared to the A90 + D90 stack. Each of the composing elements of a track have gained greater presence and a higher level of intelligibility compared to my previous stack. Each of these elements now more clearly occupy their own space in the mix. I didn’t previously perceive this as a problem with my previous stack, but going into the new stack has enhanced this aspect enough for me to perceive a welcomed difference in quality.
Bite / Digital Sheen: There were times while I was listening to the A90 + D90 stack that I was wondering if I was really getting a true representation of the tracks. I didn’t always have this experience, and I could never be 100 percent sure that I was actually experiencing what I thought I might have been experiencing. However, moving into the new stack I feel like I’m more confident now than I was before that I’ve moved beyond a certain bite, or glare, or sheen that was subtly enveloping my music previously.
I feel like sometimes this bite served to add a little extra flavor (in an enjoyable way) to the treble range (Particularly with the Refraction Point EP by SIXIS, an album I know intimately) on the A90 + D90 compared to the new stack, but as I am more of a bass and mids appreciator than I am a treble appreciator I am willing to accept this trade-off. Particularly with how lovely the bass is on the new stack.
I think that about wraps up my overall experience so far with the new stack. I haven’t experimented enough yet with the HYPSOS to be able to tell if I’m able to hear an intelligible difference based on voltage output changes, so if I end up playing with that more I’ll be sure to share my thoughts on that at a later date.
So for an experiment I picked up a Bifrost 2/ I wanted to try a different DAC with the amp before selling it off. The BF2 is a couple tiers down from my Spring 3 KTE but the Orr/Hypsos is now very much slammy and the Susvara is reacting to the positive… and my urge to sell the Orr faded…
I will need some more time but I am thinking its my DAC synergy with the Orr/Hypsos that is leaving me feeling a little empty. I’ll have to try some other headphones too but I’m starting to lean towards finding myself a YGGY A2 to put with the Orr/Hypsos to work the Susvara from.
Belongs in another thread but I am now questioning my position with the Spring 3 KTE -
This was a very strong combo from my experience, really great synergy there, actually imo at times better than the may with that amp and headphones
I am watching you steps man here. I spent today sometime trying to figure possible options for amp upgrade if I am not fully satisfied with v550 and Susvara but got to the point where all options that look good are way to expensive for me.
Will see. But I don’t plan to go through DAC change l.
Honestly, the Susvara works very well from the v550 - I really liked the overall tonality and the timbre - music was enjoyable and believable but, the slam head in me was under the impression that I was not good enough and that there had to be more - Yes the Orr has a slight bit more slam out of the box than the v550 but at the cost (to me and my tastes) of sounding leaner and more linear. Others go the other way and feel the Orr has better tone - so it is something you will have to hear and judge for yourself. Also, I came to the realization that I was trying to force the Susvara into being something that it is not. It is sooo good at sooo much that I thought I could force it to be a one and done, but it will never be a 1266 TC or Fostex Th9xx - now that I’ve accepted that fact its easy to pick up something else for the times where I want that casual listen where fun is more forward than technical ability.
I think (without knowing) that your DAC and the v550 could be a nice setup for the Susvara. I think the Spring3 KTE is almost too smooth and that is having a negative impact since it is adding on to the smoothness from the amp and it becomes overpowering
This is great thought. That is why I kept th900 so if I am in need for fun I can grab it.
I consider platauf hpa-100 as a possiblity but I will ask M0N about it once I have Sus in house for some weeks. Looks like good amp but there little to no information available.
I don’t want to go sideways and upgrades seems to be now too far to go. But no rush.
Rofl. I had the same reaction with 13r and yggy. I suspect yggy would pair faily well with Oor but havent tried it myself
Trying out a different DAC with the Orr/Hypsos has been enlightening. I had previously suspected that whether you ran the Orr at 0 or +6dB gain was a matter of the DAC out put voltage and I feel confident now that it is. My Spring 3 balanced output is rated at 5.8v and if I run the Orr in high (+6dB) it is a bit too gritty for me, but setting to medium (0dB) on the Orr, the sound was much smoother. Now using a different DAC that is rated at 2v, setting the Orr to high (+6dB) it is much fuller with a bit of perk in its step and I can hear why that is preferred by so many. I still prefer personally the medium setting on the Orr (0dB) and giving more turn on the volume because it still feels smoother to me but, that is a personal preference.
Also, since I’m here and talking, I have tried adjusting voltages on the Hypsos and I prefer lowering the volatage from the norm 24 to @ 22v vs raising it up to 28-30v. I find there to be more bass and better quality with the voltage lower than higher. The higher voltages appear to add emphasize linearity and maybe add some precision, but its not a sound I like. TL;DR is I actually just let the voltage roll at the Ferrum menu setting for the Orr - 24v and call it a day.
sell me yours I’ll tell you lol
jk
Seriously though, the more I listen to the Orr mated to this BF2 and even though the BF2 does not have the stage and a slew of other technical finesses that the Spring has - it is still very much fun and enjoyable and the slam I was craving is there, if YGGY A2 is at the edge of all the Fun you can have but still technical enough to be in Nice Shit tier - I think I would have to go for one.
Hahaha. If i find something better ill be more than happy to. In the mean time its my subjective preference benchmark
I apologize for being caught up in myself and not getting to read your post sooner. Congratulations the Orr/Hypsos is a nice stack indeed. I think its the first amp I’ve had that has let me actually hear my DAC without additives (good or bad).
Its funny you pointed out your Final D8000, I have the Pro and I was like WOW these guys really pop with this amp - to me it helps with presenting the mids better to my ear bringing them forward a touch and filling in more but without changing the whole vibe overall.
Curious to hear more of what you have to say after getting more time with it.
Cheers 