I have the first Ferrum Erco in the US running at our offices. The Roon Nucleus works perfectly with it via USB.
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ooh! ready to post any impressions?
Nice to know. Thanks for posting!
I figured I’d go ahead and post some thoughts on the Ferrum stack now that I’ve spent a few days listening quite heavily to it. 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 (at least 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.
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Speaking with Ferrum at CanJam it looks like we should have a shipment on the way to us either this week or next!
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Hi
Thank you for sharing your impressions, very helpful. My dealer doesn’t have the Hypsos available. In your opinion how does the Hypsos improve the sound?
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Hi! I only have tried the stack as a whole unfortunately, so I can’t comment specifically on what the HYPSOS is providing specifically, more so that I find the overall stack is pleasing.
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The Oor and Hypsos combo is the solid state amp for tube lovers. Having the ability to alter the voltage which does something subtle but unique to the sound is truly addictive.
I’m not an audiophile but rather a metalhead. So i don’t know all the correct terminology. But for my ears using ZMF Atrium and turning the voltage down by slight increments, the sound becomes grittier/different in a similar way the tube rolling can achieve. No, it is not a tube sound but its own unique sound.
Another analogy: low voltage is like course natural sugar. Default voltage is regular sugar. And high voltage is powered sugar.
The bass response and tightness is incredible with fast rhythmic music. The sound stage has nice vertical imaging. Seperation is also wonderful
This is the endgame compliment to my Linear Tube Audio MZ3.
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Really interesting take, and I love your sugar analogy. Thanks for sharing!
ZMF Atrium 23.3 volts
ZMF Atticus 24.6 volts
Heddphones 25.3 volts
Sweet spots abound!
I just got mine delivered less than a week ago so it is not fully burned-in yet but I enjoy it so far.
One thing I noticed immediately is, the higher the voltage fed-in to Oor, the smaller the soundstage would become. I normally run it with Arya Stealth using the standard 24v. As for Verite, it’s between 25-26v however as in overall enjoyment, the Feliks Audio Elise II is still the preferable pairing with Verite.
LTA MZ3 → Ferrum Hypsos / Oor (bypass mode) → ZMF Atrium = pure auditory ecstasy.
Truly the greatest headphone experience of my life.
There is a lush thickness added to the sound without any loss of clarity, speed, slam, or resolution. Also, the holographic separation that I love from the MZ3 is applied.
So worth the expense and research. Too bad it has taken me well over a decade to get to this point. If only i had my twenty year old ears instead of my middle-aged ones.
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Also, I am completely flabbergasted by how good my Sony MDR-Z7M2 sound through the MZ3 → Oor / Hypsos combination.
Never have I heard this level of sound out of these cans. Like discovering something new about a partner you’ve been with for many years. Cool!
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That’s interesting. Most people I know that have the mz3 find it pretty darn neutral (but organic). What DAC are you using?
Yes, the MZ3 is neutral and holographic. I chose the MZ3 because of the “modern” tube technology (ZOTL) since I listen mostly to metal, industrial, and electro. So, it is awesome that combining the MZ3 with the Hypsos / Oor somehow adds that missing warmth without losing speed and accuracy.
Thanks for your reply,
Cheers
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Well, not always cool…. 
but I get what you’re saying.
Glad you’re loving it.
I’ll have to look more into the mz3. Don’t know that much about it.
Anything from Linear Tube Audio is fantastic in my opinion. I love them. I own a Z10 power amp and my first amp from them was a MZ2 which I still use for tube rolling madness.
Also, the guys at LTA are great at customer service. Years after the purchases, they readily answer emails and assist with questions. Truly a great company that flies under the radar.
Nice. Well, I’ve only really heard good things about LTA in general.
Like @hifiDJ i am curious what DAC you’re using . I’m also interested in the difference between running it through the Ferrum stack as opposed to the headphone out of the Mz3 by itself. What are you gaining with the Oor…power?
I’m on the lookout for amps to pair with Susvara. Which is why I’m wondering if additional power is the reason for that particular chain. Or is it just synergistic?
I don’t think lta should be on your radar for a susvara. They generally do well with your focals, zmfs, finals, more efficient hps.
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