[BunnyNamedCraig]

When you changed it, what did you prefer the setting to be with the hd 600?

 

[daerron]

 
I didn`t see any usage explanation of these two pots in the manual.
 
I think this feature is somehow hidden.

I suspect it's hidden for good measure then. I think you should find a multimeter to make sure the valves aren't operating out of spec.

 

[circlecrystal]

When you changed it, what did you prefer the setting to be with the hd 600?

The pointing to the very left, for the coolest side of sound setting on my Mullard M8100 tubes.

On stock tubes (GE JAN 6ak5), I kinda prefer the warmer setting - around middle but closer to the right. Because stock tubes are cooler than M8100 tubes.

I can hear Hugo-like resolving & detailed sound from my Mojo by using M8100 and the brightest setting.
The soundstage is apparently larger, and details are clearer. And it's not strident at all. (BTW, HD600 is always too strident and congested to my ear from either Hugo or Mojo directly...)

I found my Mojo+Watson combo under the brightest setting can now sound same to the Hugo+neutral setting Watson in my local store, with a much deeper bass, more smooth tuby tremble than hugo alone. I don't know how to describe my feeling of it precisely... But it's both tuby warm and resolving transparent.

I think it kinda hits the sweet spot of both a solid amp and a tube amp.

And this finding makes me think maybe the biggest difference between Mojo and Hugo is the tonal balance difference.

I prefer brightest setting on my HD600 on M8100, on some well recorded albums. And the middle netural setting for those poorly recorded pops.

 

[circlecrystal]

I suspect it's hidden for good measure then. I think you should find a multimeter to make sure the valves aren't operating out of spec.

Sorry I don't have a multimeter for this kind of measurement... And I'm not planning to get one in the forseable future either...

The only thing I can rely on is my own ear I guess?

Since I haven't heard noise or cracking or distortion or anything unpleasant form different pot settings, and given both tubes are quite cool during working, I choose to believe that these two pots won't affect the tubes or pushing the tubes out of spec.

One reason I have guessed is: Maybe these two pots are for adjusting solid amp sound vs. tube amp sound?
(Or maybe not..)

Even though I don't really know what's the reason (or magic) behind the sound tuning pots, I can hear the difference clearly under my setup. And both sides (brightest and warmest) sound nice.

 

[Tralfaz]

Hello!

I picked up one of these a couple of days ago to drive my Grado SR325e's. I'm hoping it can tame the Grado's hottish top end - the amp certainly has no trouble in the horsepower department.

If anyone has tried tube rolling I'd love to hear your experiences.

Thanks!

p.s. Source is my iMac into a Schiit Modi 2 Uber through iTunes

 

[circlecrystal]

Hello!

I picked up one of these a couple of days ago to drive my Grado SR325e's. I'm hoping it can tame the Grado's hottish top end - the amp certainly has no trouble in the horsepower department.

If anyone has tried tube rolling I'd love to hear your experiences.

Thanks!

p.s. Source is my iMac into a Schiit Modi 2 Uber through iTunes

I found a pair of Mullard M8100 is the warmest and smoothest sound I can get from the tubes I have rolled, and use the two pots to tune the sound.

I found this amp with M8100 works astonishing well on my HD600.

 

[ostewart]

I'm also using Mullard's, they are very smooth, and more refined than the stock tubes. The stock ones are a bit fuller but less refined.

 

[circlecrystal]

After I tried and tested, I found this setup sounds the best for my HD600:

1) Chord Mojo + www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00B3OJ98Q (Optical cable)

I found the sound quality of Chord Mojo with Watson on different cables goes like this: glass optical > Coaxial > good USB > plastic optical > cheap USB.
Without Watson, Coaxial sounds the best. (Because Mojo alone pushes HD600 too strident too harsh, so Optical cable will make the situation become worse). But with Watson, Optical cable will shine.

2) Elemental Watson + M8100. And rotate the pots to the brightest sound position, for most neutral sound + best instuments separation + largest sound stage + amazing airy tremble, especially with the above glass fiber optical cable. (Yes, with M8100, the brightest position sounds the best. I have repeatedly tested different positions, and always prefer the brightest pots position on M8100!)

3) I'm also using a very affordable AC filter for Elemental Watson to further improve the SQ. I hear the bass going deeper and intruments separation being better with the AC filter.

4) As for the RCA cable, I'm using the very affordable Wireworld iWorld Jack-to-RCA cable.

----

For HD650, I would recommend a pair of Voskod 6ZH1P tubes, instead of M8100.

 

[Tralfaz]

Thanks for recommending the Mullard M8100. I have a pair on the way and will share my impressions once they've arrived and are burned in.

 

[grig]

I just tested this today in a shop in Melbourne, well i have to say was really a lot of fun and is definitely in my list. I was just wondering if is better to invest 50$ more and buy the Crack 1.1 OTL?! In case not we're i could buy this one on an online shop but not ebay, that ships to Australia ?!

 

[circlecrystal]

I just tested this today in a shop in Melbourne, well i have to say was really a lot of fun and is definitely in my list. I was just wondering if is better to invest 50$ more and buy the Crack 1.1 OTL?! In case not we're i could buy this one on an online shop but not ebay, that ships to Australia ?!

Imho this one is a better option.

Because Watson can pair equally well with a high impedance dynamic driver headphone or a low impedance planar magnetic headphone, or some new tech mid impedance headphone (eg. Focal headphones).

BH Crack sounds slower. With speedball, it does sound much faster... but the sound signature becomes brighter than before.

 

[Tralfaz]

I just swapped the stock tubes for Mullard M8100s and am letting the new tubes burn in. First impressions are positive - the upper mids/lower treble on my Grados is much more listenable now, which I hope portends good things.

Also, this amp exerts a viselike grip on tube pins!

 

[circlecrystal]

I just swapped the stock tubes for Mullard M8100s and am letting the new tubes burn in. First impressions are positive - the upper mids/lower treble on my Grados is much more listenable now, which I hope portends good things.

Also, this amp exerts a viselike grip on tube pins!

Yes! I always slightly push the tube left and right a little bit, trying to lower the gripping force, while pulling it out. And this trick works well for me every single time.

 

[Krisna13]

Hi everyone, 
 
I'm new to head-Fi and this will be my first post. 
 
I recently purchased the Watson with around 15 hours of burn in. I think I may have a defective unit. 
 
The headphones I'm pairing up with the amp are Hifiman HE500, 400s, Fostex TRP50 mk3's and Philips Fidelio X2s. 
 
Theres a huge amount of distortion with all the headphones listed above, especially the harder to drive ones HE500 and Fostex (volume past 2 o'clock), but even with the X2's at 10-11 o'clock im getting heavy distortion in the mid and lower frequencies in particular, rendering the amp unusable. I let it warm up 30 minutes to an hour before using it. 
 
Has anyone else experienced this? Or perhaps you can share some wisdom? By no means I am an audiophile and don't have much knowledge on the electrical, mechanical or engineering side of things with audio, just a love for music and good sound. 
 
I see others on the thread have paired the Watson with HE500s with no issue...
 
The distortion doesn't occur with the iem's I have (JVC FX1200 and PFE 122). 
 
I've tried with different dacs (iFi idsd nano and NuPrime uDSD) using RCAs and an Xduoo XD5 using a line in connection with the same results. 
 
I'm also using a Tacima power conditioner to clean up the signal. 
 
Any help is greatly appreciated. 
 
Thank you in advance,
 
Krisna

 

[circlecrystal]

Hi everyone, 

I'm new to head-Fi and this will be my first post. 

I recently purchased the Watson with around 15 hours of burn in. I think I may have a defective unit. 

The headphones I'm pairing up with the amp are Hifiman HE500, 400s, Fostex TRP50 mk3's and Philips Fidelio X2s. 

Theres a huge amount of distortion with all the headphones listed above, especially the harder to drive ones HE500 and Fostex (volume past 2 o'clock), but even with the X2's at 10-11 o'clock im getting heavy distortion in the mid and lower frequencies in particular, rendering the amp unusable. I let it warm up 30 minutes to an hour before using it. 

Has anyone else experienced this? Or perhaps you can share some wisdom? By no means I am an audiophile and don't have much knowledge on the electrical, mechanical or engineering side of things with audio, just a love for music and good sound. 

I see others on the thread have paired the Watson with HE500s with no issue...

The distortion doesn't occur with the iem's I have (JVC FX1200 and PFE 122). 

I've tried with different dacs (iFi idsd nano and NuPrime uDSD) using RCAs and an Xduoo XD5 using a line in connection with the same results. 

I'm also using a Tacima power conditioner to clean up the signal. 

Any help is greatly appreciated. 

Thank you in advance,

Krisna

Passing 2'oclock? That's really way too much volume... Have you used dac's line out output?

I think it's also likely that your pair of tubes are broken / amp is not powerred up but it's still connected to the AC power. Because only when this situation happens, I do need to turn the volume to 2 o'clock to hear something.

When pushing both hd600 and he400i, my volume is below 9 o'clock (around 7-8 o'clock). Anything close to 9 o'clock is too loud for me.