In the fast-moving world of high-end audio, innovation is not only about exceptional sound quality—it’s about flexibility, speed to market, and creating products that surprise and delight. For brands like Ferrum, that’s exactly what Volumio OS brings to the table: an open, reliable platform that allows forward-thinking manufacturers to develop next-generation features faster than ever before.

At the upcoming High End Munich 2025 show, Ferrum will unveil WANDLA 2.0.0, a groundbreaking firmware update for its award-winning family of DACs. The highlight? Ferrum Streaming Control Technology (FSCT), a feature made possible in part by the openness and extensibility of the Volumio platform.

Ferrum Streaming Control Technology: A Glimpse Into the Future of Integrated Audio

With FSCT, Ferrum has reimagined what a DAC can do. Thanks to the 2.0.0 firmware update, WANDLA DACs can now control your streaming setup directly from the unit’s touchscreen and remote control. You get play/pause/skip commands and artist and track info displayed in real time—right from the device itself.

Here’s where Volumio OS comes in: FSCT was built to be fully compatible with Volumio’s plugin and control architecture, allowing seamless interaction between the WANDLA DAC and a Volumio-powered streamer. This wasn’t an afterthought—it was made possible because Volumio’s architecture is partner-friendly, modular, and built for this kind of innovation.

“The beauty of FSCT is that WANDLA can show information of the artist, title, and progress bar from any device running macOS, Windows, or the Volumio OS plugin.”

The Power of an Open Ecosystem

Volumio has spent years refining its software to serve the most demanding audio use cases. That experience, especially in the high-end market, means manufacturers can rely on Volumio as a Grade-A software foundation for their own products.

When Ferrum needed a robust platform that could keep up with their fast pace of innovation and demanding customer base, Volumio was the obvious choice. Here’s why:

• Speed to Market: Volumio OS allowed Ferrum to implement FSCT and release it across their full WANDLA product family without building a streaming interface from scratch.
• Hardware Flexibility: Whether using Raspberry Pi boards, CM modules, or custom hardware, Volumio adapts and performs with reliability.
• Extensible Architecture: Volumio plugins enabled Ferrum to tailor features specifically for their use case while preserving compatibility with the wider Volumio ecosystem.
• Proven Track Record: Trusted by audiophiles, integrators, and OEMs around the world, Volumio is already a mainstay in high-end audio—Ferrum’s adoption just reinforces that.

A Win-Win for Brands and Users Alike

For Ferrum, the payoff is enormous. Their users now get smarter, more intuitive control of their streaming experience—without needing to switch apps, fumble for phones, or look at multiple screens. The remote works. The screen shows everything. The experience is fluid.

For Volumio, it’s further proof that open platforms empower creativity. Ferrum’s team didn’t need to wait on closed SDKs or jump through proprietary hoops. They had what they needed to build fast, test thoroughly, and ship confidently.

Conclusion: Volumio OS as a Launchpad for High-End Innovation

The story of Ferrum’s WANDLA 2.0.0 release is a perfect showcase of what Volumio OS was built to do: enable world-class audio manufacturers to bring advanced features to market quickly, reliably, and without compromise.

If you’re an audio brand looking to push boundaries, delight users, and move fast, Volumio is your ally. As Ferrum has shown, the future of high-end audio is not just about better sound. It’s also about better systems. And Volumio OS is the system that lets you build yours.

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Visit volumio.org to discover how we support innovators in creating the next generation of listening experiences.

The post Volumio OS: Powering Innovation and Speed in the High-End Audio Market appeared first on Volumio.

Some of you might have noticed a link in Volumio’s header called “Custom Solutions”. Some of you might have wondered what it is and why we decided to make it so prominent. Well, here’s your chance to have a behind the curtains overview of what it means and why we’re so proud of this.

Essentially, Volumio is not only your favorite Audiophile Music Player, but it’s a technology that we do license to many Hi-Fi companies around the world. The idea is simple: Volumio is the result of the development efforts of our beloved community and of the developers working for the Volumio company. As we are great fan of efficiency, we understood that to create a top-notch music player, we had to involve (both financially and on a co-design basis) the more stakeholders possible: the more ideas we put in it, the more development resources we put it it, the better.

So, what you, in fact, use every day has been funded thanks to all the Hi-Fi companies (there are more than 30, worldwide) that embraced Volumio technology and used them in their product. On the other hand, such companies receive a tailor-made, state of the art streaming software, enabling them to bring new products to the market. And the Volumio company not only provides the software per-se, but a range of services (consultancy on software and hardware, support, branding, fine-tuning of audio performances etc), effectively removing all the complications that software inherently brings.

This is essentially why Volumio OEM has become the choice of many audio manufacturers for their streamers solution, ensuring them a stable, feature-rich and proven platform. And why the OEM program allowed Volumio to grow as it is today.

Enough talking about Volumio, now let’s see a case where we can safely assume that the Volumio OEM tailored software, together with exquisite audio and design expertise produced a remarkable result.

The ORATORIO. Created by France-based brand LIEDSON is an integrated high-end streamer with CD playback and ripping ability built-in. It captivated us not only for its sonic performances, but as well its elegant design. With Volumio OEM Solution, we provided to the ORATORIO a customizable platform where users can manage the device, inheriting proven stability and performance of the Volumio OS, and customizing the looks and feel to provide a coherent package.

Desktop Version

Gilles Aguilera, designer and founder at LIEDSON, created the Oratorio’s OS when he first developed the product. Decided to go on a different path, he later on tested Volumio on the device, resulting in a new decision to incorporate instead a customized Volumio version for the Oratorio’s main OS. As Gilles explained to us, he chose Volumio because the system is “fluid, responsive with very good ergonomics”. 

Mobile Version

 The ORATORIO, more than high-end streamer, a philosophy

Gilles carefully designed and developed the ORATORIO based on its passion for art and audio. Being an awarded painter/sculptor since the age of 18, he was fond by Italian art and the artists surrounding it. In addition, audio was another passion recollected since he was young, creating his first audio server worked under Linux in 2005.

After all, a great product comes with great design. Two years ago, with the help of an Italian designer friend, Gilles developed the first visuals of the Oratorio. Gilles’ wife contributed as well with the first model, developing a modernized device with noble materials while keeping it user friendly with its plug and play convenience. 

All products from LIEDSON are assemble by hand

 

The ORATORIO is built around an aluminum chassis machined in the mass for a weight of 16 kg, the sides and the bottom have a thickness of 10mm, and the front face is 150 mm x 30 mm it serves as housing for the reader CD which is totally trapped, reducing mechanical vibrations to naught. 

The wooden part “the hood” is machined from a noble wood, from 30 years old drowned burl. It is machined to tenths of a millimeter on digital control, to receive the imprints of the internal components (transformers, PCB, capacitor) which are fixed on the bottom of the ORATORIO.

Our products are intended for a demanding clientele seeking custom-built equipment, free from all noise, and unparalleled reliability. – Gilles Aguilera

We can surely agree the ORATORIO provides the complete package. Elegancy, timeless design and universality.

 

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