The cynical amongst us might say that I began my coverage of Warsaw’s Audio Video 2024 with Polish audio company Ferrum because they were also taking me (and a huge bevy of other press people) out to dinner. While I won’t deny that one of many ways to an audio critic’s heart is through their stomach, my gut reaction to Ferrum has far more to do with its “amazing for the price” sound than its perks.
When I entered the room, I encountered some poorly recorded, edgy rock. A recording of the kind that might convince many a showgoer to forego this room, never to return. But because I’ve become familiar with Ferrum’s sound over the years, I stayed put.
As it turned out, once Ferrum owner Marcin Hamerla saw me, he pretty quickly switched to classical music. But not any classical. Hamerla unconsciously chose to prove the adage that all classical music (other than Vivaldi’s Four Seasons and Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring) is overly serious and depressing by cueing up “Das Wandern,” the first song from Franz Schubert’s song cycle, Die schöne Müllerin.
As perversely amusing as that may have been—the young miller eventually drowns himself in a brook after his girlfriend abandons him—I experienced sheer pleasure as I immersed myself in the earnest and somewhat grave beauty of Christian Prégardien’s fresh tenor, recorded over 30 years ago with Andreas Stader on an historically accurate copy of an 1825 hammerflügel. The sound was quite open and timbres natural as Prégardien’s voice floated out from the ATC loudspeakers with liquid ease. The music was especially captivating in the softest passages, which demonstrated how mesmerizing this simple system could be.
After that came a bit of Béla Bartok’s Music for Children on solo piano. Again, timbres were natural and true.
Heard: Ferrum Hypnos power supply ($1200) and Wandla DAC/preamp/headphone amp ($2800) with active class-A/B ATC loudspeakers. “Our Wandla works best with class-AB amplification rather than class-D,” Hamerla told me as I was exiting the room.
As it turned out, once Ferrum owner Marcin Hamerla saw me, he pretty quickly switched to classical music. But not any classical. Hamerla unconsciously chose to prove the adage that all classical music (other than Vivaldi’s Four Seasons and Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring) is overly serious and depressing by cueing up “Das Wandern,” the first song from Franz Schubert’s song cycle, Die schöne Müllerin. 
