[grig]

A couple of questions for those that own the Xduoo XD-05, first, how is the pair XD05 and Watson ?
 
Some of you ever heard the oppo ha-2 and can compare with the XD05 ? Actually i could test the ha 2 and i felt in love with this device.
 
Anyone had the chance to test the watson with the Asus Xonar Essence One ?
 
As you can imagine guys i own the Asus Xonar Essence One which has a dual mono design so quite curios how eventually will sound those 2 together. My cans at the moment are a brand new HD600 and the DT 990 pro. On my short shopping list are Watson, Lycan as amp and Xduoo Xd-05 and Oppo HA 2 as dac/amp to pair with my Fiio X1 for on the go sessions.

 

[Krisna13]

  A couple of questions for those that own the Xduoo XD-05, first, how is the pair XD05 and Watson ?
 
Some of you ever heard the oppo ha-2 and can compare with the XD05 ? Actually i could test the ha 2 and i felt in love with this device.
 
Anyone had the chance to test the watson with the Asus Xonar Essence One ?
 
As you can imagine guys i own the Asus Xonar Essence One which has a dual mono design so quite curios how eventually will sound those 2 together. My cans at the moment are a brand new HD600 and the DT 990 pro. On my short shopping list are Watson, Lycan as amp and Xduoo Xd-05 and Oppo HA 2 as dac/amp to pair with my Fiio X1 for on the go sessions.

The Xduoo XD 05 and Watson make an excellent pair. From my personal experience, the XD05 gives added resolution and bite that 'may have been lost' due to using a tube amp compared to solid state or hybrid. This was my experience whilst using the Hifiman HE500 with the Watson. Although a great combo, it just didn't cut it for some genres of music which demanded faster pace and rhythm such as bop, fast instrumentals, rock and especially electronic music. For slower genres, it gave the HE500 a more sophisticated, rich and laid-back sound, unfortunately however at the expense of the planners attack and speed. The Xd05 did bring a little bit of that magic back. 
 
I don't see it as a bad thing, just depends what mood your in and what your listening to. 
 
The Watson beautifully adds body, depth and timbre to the XD 05, which to me sounds a little thin and brittle at times. Honestly, I prefer the Xd05-Watson combo compared to pairing the Watson with my iDSD micro. For some reason, when pairing the Xd05 to the Watson, it seems to drain the battery much faster than using it by itself which may be something to consider...
 
I can't give any impressions on the HA 2 and pairing it up with the Watson, perhaps someone else can. From iems to headphones, the Watson- Xd05 pairing has yet to disappoint me

 

[grig]

 
The Xduoo XD 05 and Watson make an excellent pair. From my personal experience, the XD05 gives added resolution and bite that 'may have been lost' due to using a tube amp compared to solid state or hybrid. This was my experience whilst using the Hifiman HE500 with the Watson. Although a great combo, it just didn't cut it for some genres of music which demanded faster pace and rhythm such as bop, fast instrumentals, rock and especially electronic music. For slower genres, it gave the HE500 a more sophisticated, rich and laid-back sound, unfortunately however at the expense of the planners attack and speed. The Xd05 did bring a little bit of that magic back. 
 
I don't see it as a bad thing, just depends what mood your in and what your listening to. 
 
The Watson beautifully adds body, depth and timbre to the XD 05, which to me sounds a little thin and brittle at times. Honestly, I prefer the Xd05-Watson combo compared to pairing the Watson with my iDSD micro. For some reason, when pairing the Xd05 to the Watson, it seems to drain the battery much faster than using it by itself which may be something to consider...
 
I can't give any impressions on the HA 2 and pairing it up with the Watson, perhaps someone else can. From iems to headphones, the Watson- Xd05 pairing has yet to disappoint me

was so nice to read you, but the watson is more a hybrid amp then a pure tube one, for what i know to power a tube amp you need hundreds of volts ?!

 

[Krisna13]

 
was so nice to read you, but the watson is more a hybrid amp then a pure tube one, for what i know to power a tube amp you need hundreds of volts ?!

To be honest, I have no idea... To me it has tubes and so its a tube amp

. I may be completely wrong, but the Watson definitely sounds lush, rich and warm and thats what matters in my opinion. If you do decide to invest you won't be disappointed!

 

[circlecrystal]

was so nice to read you, but the watson is more a hybrid amp then a pure tube one, for what i know to power a tube amp you need hundreds of volts ?!

i guess you mean Watson is a HYBRID design amp, rather than a OTL design amp, right?

Well, OTL and Hybrid both has their merits and cons.

Hybrid design will power those low impedance headphones, such as all those recent Planar Meganetic headphones, and also those traditional high impedance headphones, both to the best of this amp can.

Meanwhile, OTL amp will power high impedance headphones to the best. But OTL won't work well for the rest --- unless it's specially designed for low impedance ones.

 

[grig]

i guess you mean Watson is a HYBRID design amp, rather than a OTL design amp, right?

Well, OTL and Hybrid both has their merits and cons.

Hybrid design will power those low impedance headphones, such as all those recent Planar Meganetic headphones, and also those traditional high impedance headphones, both to the best of this amp can.

Meanwhile, OTL amp will power high impedance headphones to the best. But OTL won't work well for the rest --- unless it's specially designed for low impedance ones.

yes, right

 

[Plazmodia]

Hey guys! I've been on the hunt for a new setup to replace my HD598Cs, including getting a dedicated headphone amplifier. At first, I was sold on the HD600/650, but I heard the HD700 sounds very nice with a good tube amp since it tames the treble peaks a bit. As someone who fairly new to the whole Hi-Fi world with no prior experience with great headphones and headphone amplifiers, I was wondering if someone could help me out a bit. 

First of all, for those of you with the Watson, what would be your opinion on pairing this amp with the headphones I stated above? The 600/650 are staples in the headphone community that seem hard to pass up, but due to the music I listen to (a lot of instrumental music of all kinds) it seems that the 700 would be amazing for me. I've done a lot of research on what headphones to get next, and for the great prices I could obtain them at this moment I've narrowed down the selection to those three; however, I am still on the hunt for an affordable amp and the Watson seems like an absolute steal.. despite the limited resources for me to read up on. Tube amps seem very fun due to the various tweaking I could do with tube rolling, and would give my music a warmer, more wholesome sound. Unfortunately I don't have a shop nearby where I could demo some headphones and amps, so I really want to solidify my decision on an amp and headphone pair before taking the plunge. 
 
Again, since I haven't had the opportunity to try out many amps, I am quite unfamiliar with what options are out there. I've heard about the entry level gear from Schiit and JDS Labs, but not much for tube amps in the ~$200 price area. Do you guys have some tube amp recommendations for a beginner like me? What about the Watson stands out sound-quality wise vs. the competition in the same price range? What are some things I should look (out) for in my search for the right amp?
 
I'm not entirely sold yet on the Watson, but that's mainly because I don't know what all is out there. Any and all advice is much appreciated!

 

[BunnyNamedCraig]

Hey guys! I've been on the hunt for a new setup to replace my HD598Cs, including getting a dedicated headphone amplifier. At first, I was sold on the HD600/650, but I heard the HD700 sounds very nice with a good tube amp since it tames the treble peaks a bit. As someone who fairly new to the whole Hi-Fi world with no prior experience with great headphones and headphone amplifiers, I was wondering if someone could help me out a bit. 


First of all, for those of you with the Watson, what would be your opinion on pairing this amp with the headphones I stated above? The 600/650 are staples in the headphone community that seem hard to pass up, but due to the music I listen to (a lot of instrumental music of all kinds) it seems that the 700 would be amazing for me. I've done a lot of research on what headphones to get next, and for the great prices I could obtain them at this moment I've narrowed down the selection to those three; however, I am still on the hunt for an affordable amp and the Watson seems like an absolute steal.. despite the limited resources for me to read up on. Tube amps seem very fun due to the various tweaking I could do with tube rolling, and would give my music a warmer, more wholesome sound. Unfortunately I don't have a shop nearby where I could demo some headphones and amps, so I really want to solidify my decision on an amp and headphone pair before taking the plunge. 

Again, since I haven't had the opportunity to try out many amps, I am quite unfamiliar with what options are out there. I've heard about the entry level gear from Schiit and JDS Labs, but not much for tube amps in the ~$200 price area. Do you guys have some tube amp recommendations for a beginner like me? What about the Watson stands out sound-quality wise vs. the competition in the same price range? What are some things I should look (out) for in my search for the right amp?

I'm not entirely sold yet on the Watson, but that's mainly because I don't know what all is out there. Any and all advice is much appreciated!

The Watson is a very interesting amp because it is very powerful (yet small) and it has a very clean sound. What I mean by that is, some tube amps and some tubes in general can add a lot of warmth to the sound or "tube sound". The Watson on the other hand sounds like a really good solid state with added warmth which isn't over bearing. If you were to tube roll which you said you were interested in, you could have very interesting combinations with this amp. I like the sound as is but that doesn't mean I wouldn't want to experiment as well . I feel like due to the sound signature of the amp itself any headphone you throw at it should have favorable results due to the more neutral sound of the amp. I think it's a great amp and it would make for a great starter amp to get into tube amps for a more then affordable price for what it is. If you have any more questions about the watson or about headphones or amps in general feel free to PM me. I work for MTME in Pittsburgh and we sell the Watson and are a dealer for just about all the top brands.

All the best with your audio journey!
-Craig

 

[feinanng]

Just bought a used Watson for fairly cheap price. How to adjust the two screw correctly? My left and right screw just doesn't seems on the same position.
 

 

[circlecrystal]

Just bought a used Watson for fairly cheap price. How to adjust the two screw correctly? My left and right screw just doesn't seems on the same position.

Either use your nail, or a screw driver.

Rotate to whatever position you like.

I would recommend you try different positions and see which one do you prefer. Just make sure both screws are pointing at the same direction.

(There is an arrow mark one the screw. So it's relatelitvely easy to see which position the screw is at.)

 

[SomeGuyDude]

So I just picked up a Watson (at Music to my Ear, actually!), and I'm loving it. Threw in a pair of slightly warmer tubes (Mullard M8100) with my HD650s and daaaaaaaamn. I'm amazed at the power these have, not to mention how clean the sound is. I'm in love!
 
Craig, ya might see me up there soon picking up a pair of Elears!
 
Side note: what do those screws do? Mine aren't quite lined up.

 

[BunnyNamedCraig]

So I just picked up a Watson (at Music to my Ear, actually!), and I'm loving it. Threw in a pair of slightly warmer tubes (Mullard M8100) with my HD650s and daaaaaaaamn. I'm amazed at the power these have, not to mention how clean the sound is. I'm in love!

Craig, ya might see me up there soon picking up a pair of Elears!

Side note: what do those screws do? Mine aren't quite lined up.

Haha the thing is a tank!! I love this amp....

Like Circlecrystal said, make sure the arrows are lined up the same way when turning the screws around. I have yet to play with them my self and I am curious to what they do.

If you come into the store make sure you try the Elear with the Watson so you can hear for your self what it will be like at home. The Watson has no problem powering the Elears, and should sound great. I'll cya there some time!

 

[gug42]

Any good website to buy it ?

Thx !

 

[SomeGuyDude]

Haha the thing is a tank!! I love this amp....

Like Circlecrystal said, make sure the arrows are lined up the same way when turning the screws around. I have yet to play with them my self and I am curious to what they do.

If you come into the store make sure you try the Elear with the Watson so you can hear for your self what it will be like at home. The Watson has no problem powering the Elears, and should sound great. I'll cya there some time!

 
I did, actually! I test the HD800s, the Elear, and the Utopia. I was (and I feel dirty saying this) underwhelmed by the Utopia coming from the Elear. The Senn and Elear both made my jaw drop, the Utopia made me go "wait, these are the $4k ones?"

 

[BunnyNamedCraig]

 
I did, actually! I test the HD800s, the Elear, and the Utopia. I was (and I feel dirty saying this) underwhelmed by the Utopia coming from the Elear. The Senn and Elear both made my jaw drop, the Utopia made me go "wait, these are the $4k ones?"

 


funny, because I did something similar about a month ago or so. I was trying to hear the difference between the Utopia and the Elear. I put the Utopia on first (I think?) and then I put the Elear on second. The difference in that moment wasn't that huge.... I then realized after listening to both for a while now that in that moment I was only picking up on the similarities of the 2... Which similarly they both push the sound out like speakers and have this immediacy to them. Great punch! BUT when on their own the Utopia smokes the Elear on sound stage accuracy in regards to Depth of stage, and also instrument separation is superb... Tonally the Elear is more warm (which I like) and the Utopia is more neutral. I think the warmth of Elear may take away some detail compared to the Utopia but not 100% sure. mind you this is only my opinion... Both are excellent and for the price of admission of the Elear for what it does is fantastic... Anyways I don't want to make this less about the Watson ha. Feel free to pm me if you want to continue. I would like to hear your thoughts!

Edit: The senn 800s btw is great with the Watson... Loved that pairing as well.