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Roksan Attessa Streaming Amplifier Review
- Thread starter amirm
- Start date
nygafre
Active Member
- Joined
- Aug 25, 2022
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I demoed the Roksan Attessa (amp only) at one point.. and returned it after 1 day. It had speaker hiss through one of the channels when nothing was playing. After that I read several others reporting the same channel noise.
It was an uneven ‘scratchy/hissing’ sound. Not audible when playing though, and perhaps not any big deal.. but it was an ugly sound.
Edit: so good to have these things reviewed
It was an uneven ‘scratchy/hissing’ sound. Not audible when playing though, and perhaps not any big deal.. but it was an ugly sound.
Edit: so good to have these things reviewed
Last edited:
Guralex
Member
Small update to the "usability review"
Going to double-confirm that the software is CRAP and I'd recommend to avoid buying BluOS devices at all (dunno, maybe the implementation in Attessa is awful, but have no chance to check another device. If someone uses Node/Powernode - please, share your experience)
My story:
@@@
This morning I just wanted to listen to some music. Launched the player and...It didn't appear as an app endpoint
Reboot and router reset just didnt help. Any kind of debugging showed no results
@@@
Had to erase the device to factory settings. It removed an index of my music collection, all the settings.
After a "Fresh setup" the device did not appear in BluOS app on PC (while still present in iPhone app). Magic #1!
Spent 30 more minutes trying to debug. At a random moment I decided to "rename a room" and it just appeared! Magic #2!
But disappeared from mobile app! Magic #3!
Restarted once more and it appeared everywhere
Back off, Harry Potter, what a wizard you are now compared to me, an Attessa owner!
@@@
Now I am trying to re-index my music collection (~1000 songs,~100 GB ). 40+ minutes and it still "In progress" (Collection is stored on SSD in PC connected via gigabit network, so no bottlenecks here)
Sure thing, no progress bars, no interface - you have to guess if the player has finished the re-indexing.
@@@
Moreover, player doesn't care and shuts itself down if no music is playing within 15 mins. Indexing? Fck it, try again later, nerd!
So I had to launch "Never gonna give you up" on loop and just hope it will finish its business before I'll loose my mind, change a haircut and become a new 80s pop-star
@@@@
Conclusion:
Will It finish indexing itself sooner or later? I don't know
Will I face a new issue after this one? I don't know
Will I be able to listen to some music today? I don't know
Does the amp/application/streaming service infrastructure have some tech support/giudes/community to help? No
Do I have any "backdoor"/"guide for experienced users"/any chances to debug/patch something even if I have skills? No
Do I have any possibility to load custom firmware/receive fixes/DO SOMETHING? No
I'd be happy if the problem was only in its price/SINAD/DAC quality/pop sounds or anything related to "fragile world of audiophiles"/
This is a "lifestyle device" and it seems that it proposes you some ****** lifestyle to follow.
It doesn't matter how does the device sound if you don't have an opportunity to launch some music on it.
My butt is on fire and I'm really angry about this device. My 100$ chineese hifi player works better than premium device with 3000$ msrp. Nice.
Not recommended at all, even for 1000$
Will sell it ASAP
P.S. Sorry for such a butthurt comment. Just hoping, it will help to make the right decision for those who were going to buy this device and had doubts
Peace!
ads_cft222
Active Member
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- Aug 11, 2023
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Hello! I have this amplifier (the non streaming version) and I would like to share my feedback.
I will start with the buzz noise in the right channel. Indeed if I press my ear on the right speaker's tweeter I can hear a very faint buzz noise which is otherwise inaudible.
The amplifier gets a little warm near the transformer after operating it for a period of time but not too warm.
Now onto the measurements. Before buying this amplifier, except the auditioning and subjective reviews part, I had seen both the measurements on stereophile and soundstage network.
I have seen the wideband 1w/8ohm sn ratio of 66.5db but this measurement is generally low even with the most competent of AB amplifiers. Cambridge audio Edge A is 78... I think generally amplifiers with big toroidal transformers have some noise issues…
Soundstage network did the measurements at the clipping point of the amplifier - "The signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) measurements were made with the same input signal values, but with the volume set to achieve the rated output power of 80W (8 ohms). For comparison, on the line-level input, a SNR measurement was also made with the volume at maximum, where only 0.45Vrms was required to achieve 80W into 8ohms."
As seen below the figures are different - over 90db.
This amplifier needs volume to showcase its "most clean self" evident by my personal experience. At low volumes it is just ok but at higher volumes is really good.
Now in United States the price of this amplifier is hugely exaggerated and I agree it faces very tough competition. In Europe the non streaming version is 1100 - 1200.
I did not experience any trouble with its operation in the 8months I have it and I am using wiim mini for streaming.
The amplifier is very powerful and drives the elac carina bs243.4 with ease .I am satisfied with the sound.
The dac though is very jitter sensitive and it seems to not be able to reject jitter at all as evident in the relevant tests. So you need to pick sources that have as low jitter as possible for best results.
www.soundstagenetwork.com
I would like to say that I appreciate the work that you and many others are doing in this forum , and your efforts to bring objectivity and rationality to the audiophile world. I understand that based on the retail price in U.S this amp may not be a good value but I think it is definitely not "trash"...
I will start with the buzz noise in the right channel. Indeed if I press my ear on the right speaker's tweeter I can hear a very faint buzz noise which is otherwise inaudible.
The amplifier gets a little warm near the transformer after operating it for a period of time but not too warm.
Now onto the measurements. Before buying this amplifier, except the auditioning and subjective reviews part, I had seen both the measurements on stereophile and soundstage network.
I have seen the wideband 1w/8ohm sn ratio of 66.5db but this measurement is generally low even with the most competent of AB amplifiers. Cambridge audio Edge A is 78... I think generally amplifiers with big toroidal transformers have some noise issues…
Soundstage network did the measurements at the clipping point of the amplifier - "The signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) measurements were made with the same input signal values, but with the volume set to achieve the rated output power of 80W (8 ohms). For comparison, on the line-level input, a SNR measurement was also made with the volume at maximum, where only 0.45Vrms was required to achieve 80W into 8ohms."
As seen below the figures are different - over 90db.
This amplifier needs volume to showcase its "most clean self" evident by my personal experience. At low volumes it is just ok but at higher volumes is really good.
Now in United States the price of this amplifier is hugely exaggerated and I agree it faces very tough competition. In Europe the non streaming version is 1100 - 1200.
I did not experience any trouble with its operation in the 8months I have it and I am using wiim mini for streaming.
The amplifier is very powerful and drives the elac carina bs243.4 with ease .I am satisfied with the sound.
The dac though is very jitter sensitive and it seems to not be able to reject jitter at all as evident in the relevant tests. So you need to pick sources that have as low jitter as possible for best results.
SoundStageNetwork.com | SoundStage.com - Roksan Attessa Streaming Integrated Amplifier Measurements
I would like to say that I appreciate the work that you and many others are doing in this forum , and your efforts to bring objectivity and rationality to the audiophile world. I understand that based on the retail price in U.S this amp may not be a good value but I think it is definitely not "trash"...
Last edited:
What a shame BluOs isn't working in your equipment setup.
My experience has been very good with streaming services and with music library originally using NAD 658 and now Bluesound Node. My wife is adept at streaming radio and Spotify around the house.
Granted finding Bluesound Pulse speakers on the network can take time.
I hope your experience improves.
Guralex
Member
Thanks for that!
Can't say that I have to suffer each time when trying to listen to music.
However, my experience with BluOS is pretty close to experience with Bluetooth headsets from 00s-10s comparing to Apple AirPods.
Sometimes it lags, sometimes after reindexing a library it wipes covers. Sometimes it is just not displayed in app till reloading. Sometimes it starts to bufferize the files right in the middle and pauses a playback.
I expected plug-n-play and seamless experience for that money (
The storage device, file structure, and/or network may be factors? I changed to Synology and BluOs would only re index correctly when the library was deleted and re attached.
Good luck.
AudioSceptic
Major Contributor
Can BluOs work with UPnP/DLNA? Can you use it with the Media Server or MinimServer running on the NAS?
No, it uses file share protocols. Here's the link:
AudioSceptic
Major Contributor
Thanks. So it connects using SMB or NFS and builds up its own index?
Yes, SMB. I use MusicBrainz to organise the folders and find correct album art.
Roksan, like another British brand Rega (DAC reviewed recently ) started off as turntable manufacturers, then expanded into Arms and Cartridges , and much later on to electronics.
Not successfully.
Not successfully.
Or a gutless one.
Rule Britannia, Britannia rules the waves but not the airwaves!
Is there any U.K. made component that is at least halfway competently designed?
Keith
Is there any U.K. made component that is at least halfway competently designed?
Keith
AudioSceptic
Major Contributor
I *think* that Linn and Naim are, at least their top stuff, but it's too pricey for what you get. In the mid-range Arcam are OK.
Galliardist
Major Contributor
Arcam aren't made in the UK (only "designed". Some KEF products are still made in the UK. It's possible some Meridian stuff is still decent and made in the UK. Not being there any more, I'm not sure about any other smaller manufacturers that could be decent.
Exposure still manufacture in the UK, and should meet the halfway mark at least.
I am sure, if one gets a magnifying glass to the US flag, there is probably a little badge on it that says "made in China", so let's not go there.
Designed in UK, is sufficient, even owned by a foreign country does not count.
Yes, Meridian can be added, so can Leema. You can even add Chord to it, using evidence supplied by ASR! with the exception of their mscaler, all other products reviewed have been performant. Perhaps too expensive, but what that has got to do with "competently designed"?
The original comment was a bit racist/bigoted, or at least out of line, it didn't even merit a reply. Don't loose any sleep over it.
AudioSceptic
Major Contributor
Didn't know that about Arcam, thanks. I forgot about Exposure. They were popular with journos in the 90s, IIRC.
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