The Engineers Behind the Technology
Used by High-end Audio's Most Prestigious Brands
As a design consultant for some of the most renowned names in audio, Wattson Audio gained invaluable insight into the intersection of tradition and innovation. We learned we could adapt legacy engineering to new technologies and formats, and that inspired us to chart our own course. We reimagined high-performance audio technology to prioritize precision, efficiency, and accessibility, delivering solutions that honor the art of music and meet the demands of a modern, ever-evolving world. We embraced a clean-slate approach, rethinking the interplay between performance, value, and musicality.
A singular vision guides our engineering ethos: to challenge the conventions of audio design and deliver products that embody the future of high-performance sound. Our commitment goes beyond technical excellence; it's about addressing the broader challenges of modern audio. Our designs are not only sonically exceptional but also efficient in space, energy, and materials—ensuring their relevance in a fast-evolving world. This ethos shapes every Wattson product, marrying the demands of contemporary life with an unwavering dedication to the integrity of music.
Bridging Bespoke Hardware
With Proprietary Software
At Wattson Audio, the seamless integration of software and hardware is a defining element of our performance. Wattson network streamers leverage our advanced software, designed to optimize digital audio playback and DAC performance, setting new benchmarks for what's achievable in this category. By integrating reprogrammable integrated circuits into our designs, we deliver upgradability and future-proofing. This approach not only protects your investment but also reflects our commitment to sustainability by reducing waste and extending the life of our products. The software, developed entirely in-house, unlocks adaptability and versatility, allowing products like Emerson and Madison Streamers to deliver performance that would be unattainable through the use of a off-the-shelf software package or hardware alone.
Wattson streamers are built around our proprietary, ARM-based Ethernet interface—an innovative technology that ensures precision and timing accuracy. At the heart of our digital processing lies highly time-domain correct spline filtering, a sophisticated approach exclusively found in Wattson and CH Precision products.
The Time Domain:
Unlocking Jitter-Free Precision
From the beginning of our journey in digital audio interfaces, our guiding principle has been simple and cutting-edge: to transmit data with integrity and maintain perfect timing, free from jitter. Achieving bit-perfect playback demands a highly sophisticated approach to network interface software. Data must traverse multiple software layers—managing network protocols, correcting transmission errors, buffering, file type analysis and decoding, stream shaping, and adapting to the hardware’s precise requirements.
To further ensure flawless timing, we employ an asynchronous transmission mode. This approach eliminates the temporal fluctuations inherent in computer-based environments by relying on the stable, precision clocks of the digital audio system to define signal cadence. Our software team dedicates itself to optimizing these processes, ensuring that every Wattson Audio product delivers data that is both bit-perfect and jitter-free—the fundamental foundation of a streamer designed for sound quality.
Industry-Leading
Streaming Technology
The Madison and Emerson models are powered by Wattson’s proprietary streaming engine, engineered around the Texas Instruments Sitara processor. This advanced platform is the result of years of continuous development, embodying a relentless pursuit of excellence in networked audio performance. The embedded software, central to the engine, manages an array of network communication protocols and ensures flawless decoding of audio streams. Every aspect of its design has been optimized to uphold the integrity of audio data, guarantee reliable transmission, and provide seamless support for high-resolution file formats, including PCM and DSD, without the need for transcoding.
The result is a combination of technical precision and user-centric design, delivering both a responsive interface and a listening experience that sets a new benchmark in audio streaming technology.
Pristine Power:
The Foundation of Superior Performance
The quality of a power supply is fundamental to the performance of any sensitive electronic circuit, influencing every aspect of a device’s behavior. At Wattson Audio, we engineer our power architectures with a singular focus on accuracy. Every choice—from component selection to the refinement of circuit topologies—reflects our commitment to extracting the highest level of performance from the Madison platform.
By employing an external power supply, we isolate the mains voltage from the Streamer’s core electronics, dramatically reducing the potential for interference. The incoming DC voltage is then purified through an advanced sequence of common-mode and differential-mode filters to ensure clean, stable power delivery. Each critical subsystem benefits from its own dedicated filtering and voltage regulation, eliminating unwanted interactions and allowing every stage to operate at peak precision.
In the current Madison Streamer, we take this philosophy to an exceptional level. Derived directly from the original Lounge Edition design, the latest generation features ultra-low-noise voltage regulators that provide optimal, tightly controlled power to the most sensitive circuits—from clock generators and synchronization stages to the analog output architecture. Noise levels below 1 µV RMS (10 Hz–100 kHz) establish a benchmark of clarity and stability rarely achieved in this category, ensuring that even the finest musical details are faithfully preserved.
Swiss Precision:
The Essence of Wattson Audio
At Wattson Audio, every enclosure reflects our dedication to precision, durability, and timeless design. Each housing starts as a solid aluminum billet, machined for structural integrity, perfect fit, and superior shielding against interference. A powder-coated finish is then applied, combining resilience with a refined aesthetic that complements the simplicity of Wattson Audio products.
All components are designed and crafted in Switzerland, leveraging a tradition of precision engineering. This local production ensures that every detail meets the highest performance and reliability standards.
Final assembly takes place in our Préverenges facility alongside the world-renowned CH Precision products. This shared environment allows us to uphold a legacy of uncompromising quality, producing audio solutions that seamlessly blend cutting-edge performance with Swiss craftsmanship.
Proprietary Wattson Audio
64-Bit Volume Architecture
Wattson’s latest digital volume control is the result of a deep engineering initiative shaped by the same team that designs CH Precision’s reference-grade systems. Developed entirely in-house for the Madison architecture, it replaces the former LEEDH algorithm with a solution built from first principles—one that balances mathematical rigor, measurement discipline, and extensive listening evaluation.
At its core is a 64-bit digital attenuator designed to preserve microdynamic nuance and low-level detail with exceptional fidelity. Operating in precise 0.5 dB steps—each verified to within ±0.1 dB—it minimizes truncation and rounding errors, ensuring linearity and accuracy across the full operating range. The result is a volume control that maintains musical integrity whether used as a digital preamplifier or feeding a traditional analog stage.
This new architecture is not limited to the latest generation. All existing Lounge Edition Madison Streamers will receive the updated volume control via firmware, allowing every owner to experience the same improvements in transparency, precision, and fine-grained control.
Wattson Audio's Core Values:
Genuine Innovation and Technical Excellence
At Wattson Audio, our devices embody Swiss precision and a commitment to advanced engineering. This is evident in the design of our high-density multilayer boards, including 4-layer gold-plated boards as standard and an 8-layer architecture in the LAN module. By blending proven components with the latest innovations, we achieve exceptional performance.
Building on this digital precision, Wattson's hardware engineers focused on the critical circuits influencing sound quality. Our engineers carefully select premium components, ensuring every detail contributes to each product's performance, reliability, and musical integrity. Our pursuit of excellence defines the Wattson ethos: technology in service of artistry.
