Ferrum OOR / HYPSOS Headamp Review: Girl You Know It's True

Yes. Forgot to mention that I set it to 26V while using with the Gungnir A2 as the DAC and using the Audeze LCD-R and LCD-X. 26V I found to be a good spot. I tried higher with the Yggdrasill LiM but just bad source match no matter what.

For those reading unfamiliar, 24V is the base. Lower voltages will sound more relaxed.

 

Just finished lunch with the family. It's going to be hard to go back to the local K-BBQ place in town (or anywhere else in Texas). It's hard to beat quality meat, proper marinade, and proper dipping sauces.


Anyway, I just wrapped up the H2, H3, and H4-20 sum distortion surfaces from a few posts prior:
https://www.superbestaudiofriends.o...iew-girl-you-know-its-true.14059/#post-422226

Below are the THD / THD+N overlays (the overlays are inspired by @atomicbob). This is super duper interesting from an academic standpoint because the THD+N is much worse than the THD. This is when we need to be smart scientists in interpreting the data instead of being measurement fascists or extremists.

Going back to post #15, there are two causes to the noise:

1. AC mains hum and its harmonics
2. Rise in the noise floor (power supply related?) peaking at 500kHz (with still a sizeable rise up to the 90kHz measurement bandwidth)

I wouldn't worry about either. I'd rather take that rise in noise floor than see a spike or two say at 225kHz and 450kHz from a switcher. As for AC mains, just wait for a power failure (I am very used to this living on a reef island in an area with high winds), and we will realize that we are inundated with hum... when the power goes off.

Ferrum OOR/HYPSOS
THD and THD+N

 

I actually liked the Monoprice LAu X with @rhythmdevils Audeze LCD-X mod specifically and cannot actually attest to it for other orthos. I hear you guys though. Sure it's a bit murky and I didn't make anything of the separation either way, but the combo clicked for me. Anyway, is there a thread for LAu X impressions. Free absolutely free to crap on it there: https://www.superbestaudiofriends.o...mplifier-from-monoprice-by-alex-cavalli.8287/

 

Ferrum should have added an extra power socket on the back of the Hypsos that is already $1200. An extra $250 for a splitter would piss me off. Seriously, how much money do you guys have?

By the time I'm done with it all, I've either got my 445 custom EC (with boutique Monolith interstages and tweaked "advanced" OPTs, a DNA Supernaut (with boutique Audio Note OPTs), or x2 Tyr monobocks (ortho or ribbon duty).

 

Umm, why hasn't anyone pointed out that, despite measurements not being everything, these measurements do clearly look like total shit?

How does stuff like this sell and at these prices? It's an embarrassment that anyone has recommended this amp over... most of the magni range.

 

So you're saying it's two wrongs trying to cancel each other out?

 

To be clear, the fact that it gets so much worse going to H4-H20 is very, very bad. I generally am okay with mediocre measurements but a rise in H4-H20 is not something we can pave over. Hell, this is like, basic music theory.

The further from the fundamental you get, the "worse" the distortion sounds. A little H2 is pleasing and acceptable. H4+ being that bad is really, really bad. One of the few "oh f**k this is a deal breaker" measurements. I generally am tolerant but, very truthfully, I can already tell I'd take the Topping over this amp.

 

Wire with massive open loop gain (and corresponding massive global feedback?)

Evidently the Oor uses a discrete operational amplifier design. Operational amplifier (discrete or chip) means massive voltage gain (and massive feedback to correct a lot of shit). There was a craze in the late 70s or early 80s for low THD, hence the use of opamp in many higher end amplifiers.

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FWIW, the high H4-H20 in the upper mids (90kHz bandwidth) is likely the result of the rise in the noise floor. If there are higher order components, they would be buried. Because we are summing so many components, the end result THD+N / SINAD for this bandwidth is like 50db.


Now whether this is bad or not is another question.

 

Another couple hundred bucks that I'd rather spend taking my family/friends/girlfriend out, that's what. Or on whiskey. Or cigars. Or heck, more CD/vinyl albums. I really despise this attitude of "oh well I'm already spending 5 grand, what's another couple hundred." That kind of justification leads to people overspending or buying really dumb shit they don't need.

As far as the amp itself goes, other than the measurements not looking good I can't say much about the amp since it's clearly not for me. I hate planars and an amp for planars that's ass with dynamics is the last thing I want.