 In audio the importance of the power supply quality can be underestimated. In those cases an external power supply is used, upgrading it to an audiophile version can have a big impact on the sound quality, as we will see in this review. Ferrum is a new company, sort of. It is founded by HEM, which is a more than 20 year old Polish company that collaborated with MiTech Digital. They co-designed and manufactured the MiTech products and also handle distribution in European and Far East countries. If I understand it well, this cooperation has come to a halt and HEM started up Ferrum to issue audio equipment under their own brand. The first product being the Hipsus, a rather special approach to a power supply. The Hipsus power supply can be used to power any audio device that needs up to 6A of DC voltage between 5 and 30 volts DC, which is about any audio device save power amplifiers. It does need to have a DC power input of course. I will review the Hipsus powering the MiTech Brooklyn Digital to analog converter since I have some experience using several power supplies on the Brooklyn. By the way, that goes for the Brooklyn, the Brooklyn Plus and the Brooklyn Bridge. I started to use the Brooklyn on its own built-in power supply about 5 years ago. After a while I hooked up the SBooster BOTW PMP Eco power supply, which improved the sound quality to a degree. A bigger improvement came 2 years ago with the €850 syntax extreme performance linear power supply that was later on internally upgraded to the improved €1200 iCon version. This is now compared to the €1000 Ferrum Hipsus to be used in my reference setup 1. See my video about my reference setups November 2020 for details. The Hipsus has a metal housing and front that with 218mm is as wide as the Brooklyn and at 207mm is only 1mm deeper. But at 58mm it is 14mm taller. It weighs 2.9 kilos. On the front we see a rotary encoder that is used for settings and adjustments, on which later on more. The color display shows the nominal output voltage, the actual output voltage, the power output in watts and the output current in amperes. The display on this photo differs slightly from the current model in that it shows the input voltage instead of the nominal output voltage. On the left the FE logo that is lit on operation and will dim in standby. On the rear we see the IEC mains input, the fuse holder and the power switch in one unit that internally also contains a two stage mains filter. The micro usb is for updating the power supply using a Windows 10 computer. No support for macOS or Linux. The trigger connector can be set as input or output so the Hipsus can be switched on by another device or can switch on another device. The power output is a locking four-pole connector. A matching cable comes with the unit. You can choose between a 5x2.5mm or 5x2.1mm DC plug. An extra cable will set you back 99 euros. Inside we see a two stage filter that is integrated with the mains panel on the rear. From there the AC voltage goes to the circuit on the right of it. That measures the transformer output voltage to switch between 230 and 115 volts AC by switching the primary windings in parallel or in series. The transformer outputs 34.85 volts AC over the two white wires. What exactly happens on the main board is not fully clear to me. I see an ARM microprocessor, four times 4700 microfarad capacitors and a set of two Scottke barrier rectifiers that are known for being fast and able to deliver large currents. Another thing to notice is the four wires leading to the output connector. Two of them sense the voltage near the device it powers to compensate for losses in the cable. For as far as I understand, the transformer output passes to a heavily filtered low ripple switching mode power supply. This is followed up by a low dropout regulator, so it is a cascade of switch mode and linear power supply. It is claimed that this way it offers the best of both systems. Fast transient response, high efficiency, low ripple and low noise. On ordering you have to check what DC power plug your device needs. That can be seen on a long list of devices, currently 180 devices long. Since it is hard to find, I have put a link in the show notes. After switching on for the first time you are asked to select your device from the same list of devices on the display. The Hipsos is then automatically set up. If your device is not on the list, you can set the voltage and polarity manually. Actually, apart from power amplifiers there will be few devices the Hipsos cannot power. Even an Intel NUC10i7 is powered with ease. An audio service like those from ELAC, INUOS, Melco and the Rune Nuculus. Headphone amps, pre-amps, phono pre-amps, DACs, audio processors and so on can all be powered from the Hipsos, as long as they require a DC voltage between 5 and 30 volts and no more than 80 watts. Once the Hipsos is set up, you can fine tune the voltage for optimum sound. Depending on the device powered, this can have a clear effect on the sound quality. Then there are many other settings to customize it by your taste. The brightness of the EV logo during operation and standby, the display brightness, display auto-off and auto-return to the main screen. Furthermore, the trigger connection on the rear can be set to wake up the Hipsos when a trigger signal is received from another device or the Hipsos can trigger another device to wake up. You can even pair an Apple remote control to scroll the menu at a distance. Through updates, the in-device list of devices is updated from time to time. As said, I judged the Hipsos using the MiTech Brooklyn. It has its own internal switch mode power supply. To use it you connect the mains power cable to the IEC power inlet. Alternatively you can connect an external power supply to the DC input here and leave the IEC mains inlet unused. As I told you in the beginning of this video, I initially used an sBooster power supply that was followed up by the syntax that gave an impressive improvement in sound quality. Now I had to judge whether the Hipsos perform better or worse and I can be quite clear about it. It scores higher on all points. But since Ferrum has an integrated possibility to vary the output voltage of the Hipsos within a safe range and since the Ferrum designers know the Brooklyn inside out, I varied the voltage to notice that a lower voltage leads to a less inspired sound lacking power and speed. Increasing the voltage does the opposite. It makes the sound more alert, faster and better focused. It also further improves low end resolution. Increasing the voltage further, you go to a point where stress starts to add. After Apple listening, I finally settled for 13.1 volts. It then outperforms the syntax in every aspect. More spatial information, better focus, deeper lows with more texture, cleaner mid-range and highs. It's just one notch up from using the syntax. The Ferrum Hipsos is an ingenious piece of work. It is suited for about any audio device safe power amplifiers. It's easy to set up and lets you tweak the voltage settings within a for that device safe region. And it delivers the power whiter than white, so to speak. When in the future you change gear, you can use it again as well as with other power supplies you have to hope the new gear runs at the same voltage. From what I heard from people around me, it seems to work great on other gear too, even on network switches. Which makes sense, for 6 amps of clean power is 6 amps of clean power and that will make any audio device perform at its best. In combination with the Brooklyn family, you maintain the unique Brooklyn properties, like being a preamp, a phono preamp and an MQA DAC. But it brings it to a clear higher level sound wise. In that light, the 995 Euros for the Hipsos is a very sound investment. Which brings me to the end of this video, but no, there will be a new video next Friday at 5pm central European time. If you don't want to miss that, subscribe to this channel or follow me on the social media, so you will be informed when new videos are out. Help me reach even more people by giving this video a thumb up or mentioning it on the social media. It's much appreciated. Many thanks to those viewers that support this channel financially, it keeps me independent and lets me improve the channel further. If that makes you feel like supporting my work too, the links are in the comments below this video on YouTube. I am Hans Beekhuyzen, thank you for watching and see you in the next show or on theHBproject.com. 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