[SomeGuyDude]

I can get some noise if I have my phone sitting next to the Watson, that isn't what you guys are doing? Or something completely different?

I'm not blaming the Watson, I'm blaming my DAC (since that's what's transferring the raw analog signal). The Watson y'all have at the store is rock silent, likely because you've got dedicated hardware and the cabling is shielded. 
 
Me? I'm at my desktop which is full of USB hookups and cables absolutely everywhere. I've got no doubts there's just noise in the system, trying to decide if using a better DAC (a dedicated DAC instead of an audio interface) or something like a Jitterbug would be the best course of action.
 
FWIW I've had this same issue pop up now and again with every amp I've used, which is why I'm inclined to suggest it's earlier in the chain.

 

[BunnyNamedCraig]

in my case the amp is close to my laptop, and this should not be a problem, i believe. far away from my phone but

Try moving the amp farther away just to see if it's causing any interference. Just to rule it out

 

[grig]

I want to share with you guys a reply from the shop we're i bought the Watson. My question was about the 2 pots inside the amp, and the answer was: 
 
Hi George,
Thanks for your email, these pots are actually to control the pre-amp gain into your tubes. As you're probably familiar with adding gain will colour saturate the signal more and lower your noise floor, though easing off the gain will clean up the signal but raise your noise floor. 

The differences with the pre-amp on the Watson are subtle at best but it's a great way to get a little more control on your amp!

If you have any more questions please don't hesitate to get i touch.

Best,

Guy / Jaben Staff

 

 
So i will consider these reply as an official explanation about the pots inside the amp. Hope you find these helpful.

 

[SomeGuyDude]

Interesting. So which way does which, then? Clockwise turn will color it more but fix the noise floor?

 

[SomeGuyDude]

Thinking of pairing this with a Schiit Modi 2 multibit, anyone tried? 

 

[grig]

  Interesting. So which way does which, then? Clockwise turn will color it more but fix the noise floor?

didn't had time yet to test this amp properly so i'm not sure yet

 

[Krisna13]

  If you can ever get a solid answer on what the heck the two screws do, let us know. 
 
I'm gettling all antsy for my birthday haha, gonna come up and snag the Elear with my 15% discount.

The Elears make an excellent pairing with the Watson. Listening to the Elears on anything else in my arsenal is almost pointless. Not that the Elears need more bass, but my goodness, the Watson adds such depth and texture to the bass. Mids are much more musical and lush as well. Detail retrieval and seperation is simply excellent with this combo. I recommend using a high quality interconnect too. Neutral-bright cables do beautiful things when connecting to dac/dap/source to the Watson. 
 
From my experience, playing around with the screws does change the sound every so slightly, theres definitely a sonic difference. Turning them full twist either direction results in distortion, with my set up anyways, perhaps others experienced differently. Turning it anti-clockwise does seem to 'brighten' up the sound a little and clock-wise 'darkens/loosens' the sound. I prefer anti-clockwise as it adds bite to the Elears, which is very much welcomed. 
 
Enjoy birthday shopping!

 

[SomeGuyDude]

My observation: because of the open design, the Watson is VERY susceptible to any kind of electrical interference in the room. It took me a while to find a spot where I wasn't getting crackles, but now that I did, life is good again. 

 

[rikk009]

  My observation: because of the open design, the Watson is VERY susceptible to any kind of electrical interference in the room. It took me a while to find a spot where I wasn't getting crackles, but now that I did, life is good again. 

Make a Faraday's cage. See Garage Ember thread.

 

[CarlosUnchained]

The price of it in Taiwan is 160 usd.

UPDATE: The price of this amp increased to 220 usd in Taiwan recently... Maybe the early price is a welcome price period.

Hey, is there any place in Taipei where I can test it?

 

[rikk009]

Yeah for 160USD I would like to buy this too.

 

[CarlosUnchained]

I'd like to see RCA out on it.

 

[SomeGuyDude]

  I'd like to see RCA out on it.

For what purpose? If you're going to RCA out you'll be using another amp, right? 

 

[CarlosUnchained]

  For what purpose? If you're going to RCA out you'll be using another amp, right? 

To use it as a preamp for powered speakers.

 

[Andrew Rieger]

The Elears make an excellent pairing with the Watson. Listening to the Elears on anything else in my arsenal is almost pointless. Not that the Elears need more bass, but my goodness, the Watson adds such depth and texture to the bass. Mids are much more musical and lush as well. Detail retrieval and seperation is simply excellent with this combo. I recommend using a high quality interconnect too. Neutral-bright cables do beautiful things when connecting to dac/dap/source to the Watson. 

From my experience, playing around with the screws does change the sound every so slightly, theres definitely a sonic difference. Turning them full twist either direction results in distortion, with my set up anyways, perhaps others experienced differently. Turning it anti-clockwise does seem to 'brighten' up the sound a little and clock-wise 'darkens/loosens' the sound. I prefer anti-clockwise as it adds bite to the Elears, which is very much welcomed. 

Enjoy birthday shopping!

What amps did you compare the Watson to with the Elear?