Watts's music and concerts

Watts, Chord, community and miscellany

Answers on this topic

What music does Rob listen to?

Everything he said on this topic (58)

One-line summaries in our words, oldest first. Each link opens the original.

2015-03-23Watts mentions a busy Far East trip and says he should add days to his trips so he can hear live music. Audiophile Style, Mar 2015
2015-09-25Watts says the F1 race in Singapore was amazing, followed by concerts from Pharrell Williams, Maroon 5 and Bon Jovi. Head-Fi, Sep 2015
2016-04-22Watts says he listens to BBC Radio 3 at 320k AAC at home and a 4 TB drive away, and that Hugo first made poor recordings musically enjoyable. Head-Fi, Apr 2016
2016-12-23Watts reflects on a busy year, says Davina progress lagged but he is back on it, thanks the Chord team, and describes buying a 5TB drive and classical box sets. Head-Fi, Dec 2016
2017-04-18Watts says closing the gap to live acoustic instruments is his main goal, notes electronica best reveals the stopping of notes as WTA improves, and says he enjoys all genres. Head-Fi, Apr 2017
2017-10-18Watts describes a St. Petersburg Symphony concert in Swansea and his son's unamplified drums, and says Davina will reveal the weakest link from microphone to loudspeaker. Head-Fi, Oct 2017
2017-12-09Watts says his favorite genre is classical, lists composers from Hildegard von Bingen to Gorecki, and names Oistrakh, Richter and Jacqueline du Pre as standout performers. article, Dec 2017
2017-12-31Watts says he cites unamplified music as a fixed reference point, also listens to electronica, and says all well-recorded genres benefit from musicality and transparency. Head-Fi, Dec 2017
2017-12-31Watts reviews 2017: the M scaler (half-million taps Aug 2016, 1M Dec 2016, heard at CES 2017), Brilliant Classics and Oistrakh recordings, and his MrSpeakers Aeon closed. Head-Fi, Dec 2017
2018-06-10Watts says rock/pop originals are hard to get, often only MP3 which he refuses to buy; 99% of his purchases are classical from Chandos and Presto, preferring 96k masters. Head-Fi, Jun 2018
2018-11-11Watts describes his homemade TT2 speaker adaptors and annealed 16-core PTFE silver-plated copper speaker cables, and says he mostly listens to classical, electronica and prog rock. Head-Fi, Nov 2018
2018-12-09Watts says the Relics on his mobile was the 1996 version and he has not compared it to the original. Head-Fi, Dec 2018
2018-12-09Watts says Jóhann Jóhannsson's Arrival soundtrack is on his playlist, praises his Sicario score, and notes his death earlier that year at 48. Head-Fi, Dec 2018
2018-12-13Watts says he listens to more electronic music lately; its artificial depth still opens up, and its abrupt stops let the M Scaler show starting and stopping of notes clearly. Pursuit Perfect System 22:17
2018-12-13Watts says live amplified music sounds poor in many ways, completely flat with no soundstage at a big concert for 50,000 people. Pursuit Perfect System 23:23
2018-12-23Watts clarifies he called live amplified music awful, not genres; he loves prog rock, electronica and classical, says the M Scaler enhances depth, and asks for tolerance. Head-Fi, Dec 2018
2019-06-14Watts shares album recommendations, including 44.1/24 and 96k releases, Brilliant Classics box sets he says have never disappointed, and Naxos CDs of James Whitbourn. Head-Fi, Jun 2019
2020-05-04Watts says the JitterBug helped Hugo 1, suspects USB treatments add brightening RF, heard no USB-optical difference on M scaler or ungrounded Hugo 2, and enjoys Tangerine Dream box sets. Head-Fi, May 2020
2021-12-31Watts says he likes Arvo Pärt, his son has played piano for a year, and he plans to record it as a repeatable live-versus-reproduced reference. Head-Fi, Dec 2021
2022-03-22Watts says he has 5TB of music, enjoys classical from early music onward, prog-rock and electronica, and plays at random, e.g. Hildegard von Bingen then Tangerine Dream. article, Mar 2022
2022-03-22Watts names Jacqueline du Pre's Elgar Cello Concerto as the piece that has stood the test of time, giving him spine-tingles, 'which is what this is all about'. article, Mar 2022
2022-09-18Watts says the first five or six seasons were superb in script, cinematography, acting and music, and he listens to some of its music tracks. The Source AV 4:00
2022-09-18Watts says his taste is eclectic and most of his listening is classical music. The Source AV 9:33
2022-09-18Watts says his classical listening ranges from Hildegard von Bingen to Philip Glass. The Source AV 9:38
2022-09-18Watts says he loves all genres of classical and also very much enjoys electronica. The Source AV 9:48
2022-09-18Watts says he likes classical-electronic crossover such as Max Richter. The Source AV 10:01
2022-09-18Watts says that on a plane he sometimes just likes dance music, and his taste is eclectic. The Source AV 10:42
2022-09-18Watts says he does not go to concerts, then says he remembers one. The Source AV 11:57
2022-09-18Watts says the best concert was Queen in Singapore. The Source AV 12:08
2022-09-18Watts says he saw Queen with "Adam" (surname not given) at the Singapore Formula One, Brian May's solo was spine-chilling, and he does not go to many concerts. The Source AV 12:13
2022-09-18Watts says concerts are never as good and often hard and too bright; Queen was mixed well, but Kylie Minogue before them sounded rough with a different engineer. The Source AV 12:40
2022-09-18Watts says he sits close to the mixing desk at concerts because it is not quite so loud there. The Source AV 13:07
2022-09-18Watts says early Pink Floyd, before Dark Side of the Moon, sounds impressive with sharpness and speed, later Floyd is softer, and albums unplayed since the 80s sound much better. The Source AV 31:57
2022-09-19Watts lists electronica and other non-classical music he enjoyed over the summer, from Billie Eilish and Daft Punk to Max Richter and Tangerine Dream. Head-Fi, Sep 2022
2022-12-11Watts says a long concert recording day ran down his powerbank, prompting him to order the Bixpower, and describes enjoying the concert's soprano, choir, orchestra and bass saxophone. Head-Fi, Dec 2022
2023-03-26Watts says sit close at classical concerts, about the fifth row; many concerts use discreet sound reinforcement, so his unamplified reference excludes them. Eric's Hi-Fi 40:00
2023-03-26Watts says chamber orchestras are good references because they are never reinforced and you sit very close. Eric's Hi-Fi 41:11
2023-03-28Watts says he listens mostly to classical, lately modern composers such as Max Richter, and uses Dan Clark Stealth headphones, which sounded closer to live than expected during his recordings. The Headphone Show 56:30
2023-10-01Watts says he had a few Nils Frahm albums and found much more of his music on Qobuz. The Source AV 41:09
2023-10-01Watts says it is beautiful music to work to. needs context The Source AV 41:27
2023-10-01Watts says music plays constantly while he works; heavy metal is too much, but Nils Frahm-style music is perfect and occasionally draws him in for five minutes. The Source AV 41:31
2023-10-01Watts says live Formula One sounds unlike TV even on a high-end system, and Singapore has great concerts afterwards, including Robbie Williams and a Japanese girl group. The Source AV 42:30
2023-10-01Watts says the Japanese group was dressed in school uniforms, which was quite weird. needs context The Source AV 43:13
2023-10-01Watts says that group's music was actually quite enjoyable. needs context The Source AV 43:18
2023-10-01Watts says he really enjoyed it, and that the event combines Formula One with music. The Source AV 43:21
2023-10-01Watts says Singapore offers two or three hours of great music then a short trip back to the hotel, like a music festival. The Source AV 43:28
2023-10-01Watts says he has attended the Singapore race about six times and his favorite memory is seeing Queen. The Source AV 43:54
2023-10-01Watts says Queen was amazing, and Kylie Minogue played just before them. The Source AV 44:00
2023-10-01Watts says Queen used the same mixing desk and setup next, so he expected them to sound bad too. The Source AV 44:19
2023-10-01Watts says Queen actually sounded very good. The Source AV 44:27
2023-10-01Watts says Brian May is a fantastic guitarist, hearing him was emotional, and it is his favorite Formula One memory. The Source AV 44:32
2025-09-14Watts says he will show Quartet to a group of audiophiles in Asia following its progress, and will attend Singapore Formula One, where Elton John is playing. The Source AV 19:08
2025-09-14Watts says the music at Singapore Formula One is the big reason he goes; it is like a festival, but his hotel is five minutes away. The Source AV 19:38
2025-09-14Watts says Hans Zimmer played at Singapore Formula One. The Source AV 20:23
2025-09-14Watts says he went to a concert featuring Hans Zimmer and Max Richter. The Source AV 20:59
2025-09-14Watts says the concert was at the Royal Albert Hall, and asks whether the host knows where the choir sits. The Source AV 21:03
2025-09-14Watts says they sat in the front row behind the orchestra, two meters from the musicians, and the sound that close was much better; a fantastic experience. The Source AV 21:12
2026-10-17Watts says he listens for pleasure, has Philip Glass's Koyaanisqatsi on now, and listens as an engineer only during subjective testing. article, Oct 2026