Ferrum Audio thread, Hypsos / Oor / Erco

Sovrce Gear
202

For you Ferrum Stack users,
Just wondering if you turn turn the Orr off by placing the switch for RCA/ XLR to the center (off) position, and then turn your Hypsos off (rocker in the back). Also, have you experimented with sound by leaving it on vs powering off at the end of the day? Or just turning the Orr off and leaving Hypsos on?

I’ve seen some folks mention that the sound was better when the stack is left on vs powering it off, and that it takes 6-12 hours of “warm-up” before the Orr comes to life and has better control / grip over the low end and smoother upper mids and treble.

Yes, I have done some testing but I am not ready to say - I would like your untainted opinion.

5 Likes
203

Hey there! No worries hahaha, thanks for having a read of it regardless!

I’ve spent quite a bit more time with the stack now, and basically everything I said before still holds up.

In the extra time I’ve had with it I’ve been able to test my three current sets of cans on it, the Sennheiser HD 650, the Final D8000 OG, and the Arya Stealth. IMHO they all present really well with the stack. I almost said goodbye to my other two sets and would have been left with just the HD 650, but for reasons I don’t want to get into I’m keeping everything in the end lmfao.

However, when it was still in the cards for me to potentially keep just the HD 650, I honestly was not too broken up about it at all since it was still a super enjoyable experience. It’s no slouch, but given the choice I tend to lean on the other two sets I have. Having said that however, there’s something about the 650 that I find to be like a comforting blanket that I know I can always return to if I had to.

I landed on the Arya Stealth as my daily driver since IMHO its comfort is superior over my other sets. I don’t feel like I’m losing much going between the Stealth and the D8k, but there are definitely things that the D8k is superior for.

D8k is still the kick impact king on the stack, it knows how to blam and how to make you feel it. It’s a pretty lovely experience with most tracks. I have a unit that unfortunately has a low-end rattle issue where If I’m pushing the volume louder than I probably should in the first place on tracks with significant low-end, it’ll make a ZZT ZZT sound. In those cases that’s generally when I’ll hit up the Stealth if I really want to drive a bassy track louder rather than a more reasonable volume (which the D8k absolutely excels at).

D8k also has a warmer profile compared to the Stealth, and definitely provides a sense of a thicker body if that makes any sense lol.

Edit: I wanted to make it clearer that the rattle issue is not a dealbreaker by any means, but because I sometimes like to scramble my brains with the Refraction Point EP album I happened to notice it lmao. It’s known to exist on this model, but some people never experience it so it could either be they aren’t driving their volume high like I do sometimes, or its a unit variance type thing. In the cases where I want to listen to that album (or a track like Singularity by BTS) beyond a reasonable (and still enjoyable) volume level, I will move on to the Stealth.

I’ll probably post another update once I’ve spent more time experimenting with switching between the Stealth and the D8k but this is basically where I’m at, at the moment!

3 Likes
204

The more time I spend with the Oor/Hypsos the more it has grown on me, to the point where I am now quite fond of it and will be keeping it. I can’t put my finger on it directly what’s changed besides time, but I feel it is more than brain burn-in/adjustment or out-right familiarity. It’s currently paired back up with the Spring 3 KTE, and I am very much happy with what I am hearing no matter which headphones I’m using and this was not the case even as little a 3 weeks ago.

13 Likes
205

Got curious when I saw some people not only one online saying after hearing the Ferrum stack and Enleum23r they preferred the transparency and more detail of the Ferrum over the midrange focused 23r (in their words) and sold their Enleum 23r.

Could this be because of a lower tiered Dac so the 23r was bottlenecked? there was no mention of the dacs but only one of them mentioned a pontus.
But on the other hand the reviewer [Sandu Vitalie] using a Rockna Wavelight ranks it for the Susvara as: Ferrum>Volot>SoloistGT >>> Enleum23r >> Trafomatic Primavera that is similar to M0n’s ranking.

2 Likes
206

I could see the preference in signature/voicing, but for me the 13r is a definite technical step up in the majority of aspects for the susvara imo

Very possible

5 Likes
207

I own both the Ferrum and Enleum and still trying to figure out which one I’m keeping. Differences exist but question for me is if it’s worth the added cost or I can use that money for something else.
Both connectes to Spring 3 KTE and I’m using Susvara, Atrium and VC.

5 Likes
208

This seems to be the general consensus from what I read, will be curious about your final decision when you finally decide and the “why”.

1 Like
209

Sell the lot and upgrade to jnog → 789 /s

1 Like
210

Lol yeah
But might be that I sell both and get a WA33

3 Likes
211

Well with the 23r being only single ended you are already not using the full potential of your dac since the spring 3 is effectively only using half the dac SE. So if you are leaning towards keeping the enleum you ideally would want to get a different dac as well. I’ve not heard either but I find it hard to believe the oor is anywhere near the performance of the 23r based on impressions from other people.

2 Likes
212

Rockna sells single ended and balanced versions of their Wavedream line at substantially different price points. They’re the exact same DAC, but the SE simply has half decoder modules. It makes good sense for single ended amp like the 13r.

213

Just tbh, the spirng 3 into 13r was already solid enough i wouldnt realy worry about it unless aiming to step up a tier. Its not ideal but i didnt feel it was super gimped or anything when i tried it personaly

214

yeah but it’s half the dac, I just know I wouldn’t be okay with that personally.

215

You’re not wrong but I think the first decision I want/need to make is if I keep it or not. Having it run the Ferrum stack through balanced and then potentially using the SE output for another tube amp is just as likely than keeping only the Enleum and this is without even spending more money (if the tube component would be roughly the $2.5K delta between the two solid states).

1 Like
216

This is my dilemma when looking at the 13r or 23r - It would mean a new DAC as well and at that point it might be better to ditch all and start over, something which I am not ready to do again now. I am at a point where I to want to listen, just for enjoyment, not as a gear audition.

yup, it would nag at me that I was not using my existing DAC to its full potential

It may just be in my mind suiting a subliminal agenda, but I think the Oor+Hypsos is better than one would think (no I am sure it is no WA33 but its 1/3 the cost - and that’s a lot of cables and other items for the chain).
At first I thought the Oor just OK and was on the fence about it. After more time with it and also using it with different DACs it has grown on me. It does suit a purpose for me in that it works with Susvara at a level that really allows me to enjoy the Susvara (more than I do with my other amp) and allows me to use either the Spring3 KTE or Yggy, leveraging their balanced outputs. (I’m still debating which DAC I prefer with the Oor + Susvara but that’s for another conversation.

I look forward to what you conclude. Without dragging this on n on - much of what you are working out for your setup - I am too, and the arguments and situations you present are also real for me.

Personally even if the Oor is not same class (and I know it is not) as WA33 it is also 1/3 the cost while sounding really good to me. So as long as I don’t actually listen to something better and “hear” the difference, then ignorance can be bliss and that $ savings on the amp can be better utilized elsewhere in the chain - aka better source, better cables, power perhaps etc., etc.

2 Likes
217

Do you like your Th909 with Yggy+Ferrum? And do you feel the Ferrum affects the th909 treble in a good or bad way?

218

The TH909 with the Yggy+Ferrum stack is not my favorite match up, and I was rooting for it to be so. The treble gets a bit too harsh for me. Grainy is the word I would use its not as smooth and clear. The the lower mids lean out as well as the impact it adds to the Susvara is clearly lacking now on the 909, just weird and not what I expected.

I will admit to you though that I have not played with different voltages in the Hypsos or tried other cables for the 909 to see if I could wrangle the 909 in closer to what I prefer. I bought the Ferrum stack for the Susvara and was prepared for building a chain just for that headphone, and it appears that is what is happening, like it or not.

The Yggy + v550 + TH909 = NICE. Same with substituting the Spring 3 into that chain as the DAC - I have not yet tried the Spring 3 + Ferrum + 909 - I’ll be doing that next weekend when I swap the Spring3 back into the setup with the Oor.

3 Likes
219

I was being a bit unfair and closed minded with my response in regards to the Yggdrasil+Oor+TH909. This evening I adjusted the gain from where I normally operate the Oor with the Susvara, which is the medium setting (DB gain switch set to 0), and I switched to low (-6 dB) and the sound is much more pleasing to my ears. The 909s are much more sensitive than the Susvara and I really should have started off at the low setting initially but I am stubborn and wanted to leave everything the same. The upper mids and treble have cleared up and there is more space in between sounds and placements. Bass has more grip and stronger sense of authority, and too is less congested. The combined affect has given more height and width but depth is pretty much the same or only a tiny bit deeper.

For my tastes and preferences I still don’t feel the 909 is the best candidate with this combo, but others may hear it differently.

9 Likes
220

A bit of a follow up note regarding matchups and my experience;
Spring3 KTE → Ferrum OOR/Hypsos → TH909 = :notes:

I like this so much more than I did with the Yggdrasil - The inherent Holo smoothness and more expansive stage, its lush midrange and natural timbre the Spring3 offers up makes for a pleasurable combo with the TH909. Takes away that mismatch I was feeling in the upper mids through the treble region.

I am able to run the 909 at the medium gain setting too without harshness - can’t get the pot much past 9 o’clcok before it becomes too loud for me so I knock it down to about 8:30 or move to the low gain and run about 10:30-11ish - this is with the Hypsos at 24v with the amp pulling about 14-14.1w @ 0.6A

I wish there was a display on the OOR itself that showed what it was actually pushing to the load/phones

13 Likes
221

That’s an awesome stack. Visually stunning too!!

I noticed how the headphones are the lease expensive of the entire chain. I guess that’s how it goes once one gets to that tier of gear.

2 Likes