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Ferrum Broen
Ferrum has spent the last few years building a compact ecosystem around digital conversion, headphone amplification and power management, but one obvious piece has been missing - a network transport of its own. That gap is now filled by Broen, the Polish company's first dedicated streaming product and a natural partner for the Wandla DAC family and Hypsos power supply. The model was previewed at the Audio Video Show in Warsaw and the Paris Audio Video Show in late 2025, but has now reached its final production form. Its name means "bridge" in Danish, which neatly summarizes the concept - Broen is designed as a digital gateway between streaming services, local music libraries and an external DAC rather than another all-in-one streamer with conversion and analog circuitry squeezed into the same chassis.
That distinction is important because Broen operates exclusively in the digital domain. At the center of the design is a newly developed version of Ferrum's Serce Digital-to-Digital Converter module, used here as the output stage and optimized specifically for DDC operation. The architecture separates the streaming and control section from the digital output domain, with FPGA-based reclocking, ultra-low-jitter clocks for synchronous outputs and galvanic isolation placed between the internal processing section and every audio output. Ferrum has also provided a dedicated clean VBUS supply for USB DAC connections. The objective is straightforward - let the streaming computer do what it needs to do while preventing as much electrical noise and timing instability as possible from traveling farther down the digital chain.
The output selection is suitably extensive. Broen offers coaxial and optical S/PDIF, AES/EBU, configurable I2S over HDMI and two dedicated USB DAC outputs using Type-A and Type-C sockets. An HDMI video output can also display the system interface on an external screen. Music can come from network services, USB storage, a NAS or an internally installed M.2 NVMe SSD, with Ferrum providing space for 80 or 110 mm drives. The SSD itself is user-supplied.
Network connectivity is one of the more unusual parts of the design. Dual-band Wi-Fi is standard, while an SFP socket allows Broen to use either conventional Ethernet or a fiber-optic network connection with the appropriate module. The latter option is particularly interesting in a high-end system because optical networking creates electrical separation between the audio component and the rest of the home network. Ferrum presents it as another way of limiting noise entering the transport from routers, switches and other network hardware. The company's current specification lists both RJ45 and fiber connectivity through the modular SFP interface.
Ferrum has not developed its own streaming environment from scratch. Broen runs Volumio OS 4, giving it access to Spotify and Spotify Connect, Tidal and Tidal Connect, Qobuz, AirPlay, UPnP/DLNA, internet radio and Bluetooth A2DP playback. It can also play and rip CDs, stream music from USB drives, the internal SSD or a NAS, and synchronize playback across as many as six zones. Volumio's SuperSearch, Infinity Playback and extended artist and album information are included as well. Control is available through iOS and Android devices, a web browser or the basic controls on Broen's front panel.
The more interesting option for existing Ferrum users is Ferrum Streaming Control Technology. FSCT was introduced earlier as part of the Wandla platform and allows Broen to communicate directly with compatible Ferrum converters. When the transport is connected to Wandla, track and artist information can appear on the DAC's display, while playback can be controlled from Wandla's touchscreen or remote. Ferrum therefore treats the two components almost as parts of a single streaming DAC and preamplifier rather than completely independent boxes. The same integration also extends to Erco Gen 2.
There is one more obvious upgrade path. Like several other Ferrum components, Broen can be powered by Hypsos through the proprietary Ferrum Power Link connection with 4TSD voltage sensing. Owners of both Broen and Wandla can go a step further and use the dual-output version of Hypsos to supply both devices from the same power-management system. This modular approach has been part of Ferrum's philosophy since Hypsos launched as the brand's first product in 2020 - individual components can work on their own, but the company deliberately provides routes for building a more tightly integrated system over time.
That emphasis on longevity also appears on the software side. Broen supports over-the-air firmware updates and a plugin-capable platform, while the SFP interface and internal SSD slot leave room for changes on the hardware and storage side. In other words, Ferrum has tried to avoid building a streamer whose capabilities are permanently frozen at launch - a particularly sensible approach in a category where streaming protocols and services tend to evolve much faster than DACs or amplifiers.
Broen is also significant simply because it completes a missing part of Ferrum's range. Until now, the company's digital systems depended on third-party streamers feeding Wandla or Erco. With its own transport, Ferrum can finally offer an end-to-end digital front end built around the same compact chassis format and the same integration philosophy as the rest of the range. At the same time, the large selection of digital outputs means Broen does not require a Ferrum DAC and can just as easily become the network source in a system built around electronics from another manufacturer. Ferrum Broen is available now, priced at $2275/€1995/£1995. Info and pictures by Ferrum.
