Roksan Attessa Streaming Amplifier Review

[sarumbear]

FYI, owner said he heard it at a dealer and it had hum in one channel! So my results must be accurate. See how JA concludes his measurements:

"With separates, it is possible for the designers to maximize resolution and minimize noise. With a single-box solution like the Roksan Attessa, it is difficult to do these things, with the current-heavy power supply in such close proximity to the low-level analog and digital decoding stages. However, the Attessa's measured performance, especially that of the low-noise, low-distortion phono input, indicates that the inevitable compromises have been managed well."

This, while measuring SNR of just 66 dB at 1 watt: "The unweighted, wideband signal/noise ratio (ref. 1W into 8 ohms), taken with the inputs shorted to ground and the volume control set to its maximum, was 66.5dB (average of the two channels), ...."

No wonder these companies sit still and don't think they have to do better. 66 dB is just 11 bits of dynamic range!

@John Atkinson you should do better. How can you look us in the eye (metaphorically speaking) and say "inevitable compromises have been managed well" when you measured 68.4dB SNR in the audio band?

Yes, you are earning a living but you also have a responsibility to the consumer. We should trust you. You should tell us when a manufacturer is not doing well. Not the opposite!

 

[Guralex]

Oh
I've bought Attessa recently =(
Wish I could wait for this review

Can totally confirm all the disadvantages described in the review:
- pop sound is really there
- performance and sound signature is really average. Cannot say that I've heard much difference comparing to the Cambridge Audio CXA61, that costs half the price of Attessa.
- Software IS REALLY ANNOYING. Can talk for ages about how janky and bad the BluOS is. All the famous "Reviewers and Audiophiles" such as Darko etc. promoted this system as "one of the best". I find this crappy piece of code much less attractive.

However, the good news are:
- look and build quality is nice IMO
- phono is really nice comparing to external boxes around 200-250 bucks
- I was able to find one in new condition for something around 1100$ in Ukraine. Considering the price and package "streamer+amp+phono+nice look" it's kinda nice deal

Unfortunately, it seems that popular brands just doesnt care about the engineering as much as about paying some reviewers, so THERE'S LITERALLY NO NEGATIVE OR NEUTRAL REVIEWS ON THIS AMP IN THE ENTIRE INTERNET.

 

[amarsicola]

What does Attessa mean in any language? It sounds Italian but it's misspelled, "attesa" means waiting

 

[voodooless]

What does Attessa mean in any language?

ChatGPT doesn't seem to know:

"Attessa" does not have a widely recognized or standardized meaning in any specific language. It is possible that "Attessa" could be a proper noun, a brand name, or a fictional term, but without further context or information, it is difficult to determine its meaning.

And it knows a lot of languages

Roksan for that matter, doesn't mean anything either... well, other than the names of his children.

 

[Sokel]

ChatGPT doesn't seem to know:

And it knows a lot of languages

Roksan for that matter, doesn't mean anything either... well, other than the names of his children.

Seems like ChatGPT is not to be trusted,attessa is Italian for "expectancy" (also written as attesa) but you can see it in formal documents with 2 "s" as well.

 

[voodooless]

Seems like ChatGPT is not to be trusted,attessa is Italian for "expectancy" (also written as attesa) but you can see it in formal documents with 2 "s" as well.

Yeah, the spelling is incorrect. It came up with that explanation when asked to speculate on it, so it works perfectly fine (in this case anyway ).

Google can't find many Italian sites spelling attesa as attessa. Basically, all references in Italian are to this product or some luxury yacht. I'm sure people make spelling errors, even in formal documents

 

[Sokel]

Yeah, the spelling is incorrect. It came up with that explanation when asked to speculate on it, so it works perfectly fine (in this case anyway ).

Google can't find many Italian sites spelling attesa as attessa. Basically, all references in Italian are to this product or some luxury yacht. I'm sure people make spelling errors, even in formal documents

That's couple of old ones,"atessa" can be the older version who became "attesa" for simplicity as a gazillion others.


Probably nothing to do with the naming of the amp,rare words,ancient names,etc is kind of tradition in audio.

 

[sarumbear]

Unfortunately, it seems that popular brands just doesnt care about the engineering as much as about paying some reviewers, so THERE'S LITERALLY NO NEGATIVE OR NEUTRAL REVIEWS ON THIS AMP IN THE ENTIRE INTERNET.

This is why ASR is so important. Nobody other than @amirm is willing to say “the emperor has no cloths.”

 

[mps]

Although it’s expensive, it appears to measure poorly as an engineering statement with an equally poor lifestyle experience. Not clear what it’s selling point is.

 

[Yasuo]

That's a shame, it looks very good.

 

[Matias]

Although it’s expensive, it appears to measure poorly as an engineering statement with an equally poor lifestyle experience. Not clear what it’s selling point is.

It's a known English brand. And looks pretty. That's it.

 

[amarsicola]

...

Roksan for that matter, doesn't mean anything either... well, other than the names of his children.

The name Roksan itself is derived from the name of Roxana, daughter of the Persian King Darius (Wikipedia)

 

[voodooless]

The name Roksan itself is derived from the name of Roxana, daughter of the Persian King Darius (Wikipedia)

That is literally what I mentioned

 

[JSmith]

JSmith

 

[AlexHRider]

I thought about it but that would not have left room for equipment which gets SINAD in 40s and 50s.

Could fit well an "useless panther"

 

[AlexHRider]

That's couple of old ones,"atessa" can be the older version who became "attesa" for simplicity as a gazillion others.
View attachment 297194

Probably nothing to do with the naming of the amp,rare words,ancient names,etc is kind of tradition in audio.

Naa thats just a mispelling into an official document

 

[ta240]

Although it’s expensive, it appears to measure poorly as an engineering statement with an equally poor lifestyle experience. Not clear what it’s selling point is.

Ironically, I think one of the main selling points is the price. Although it isn't really high end pricing, it is high enough to guarantee a bit of exclusivity.
Some manufactures of high priced clothing don't mark down their leftovers at the end of the season they destroy them. They do that just to protect their high priced and exclusive image.

 

[Overseas]

The thing won EISA award.

 

[ta240]

......

The Hifi News pic of the inside hints as to why the PS noise may be so high, with the ripple caps right next to the output stages:
.......

It does seem to be an odd choice building the power supply board into the middle of the amplifier section. They didn't even bother to twist the A/C wires going to the board. The inexpensive, DIY Akitika has a separate power supply board and a metal divider between the power section and the amp section.

I often wonder if the engineers said they should move things but marketing said it had to be in that exact case. Did the engineers say to twist the A/C wires and management said "that's stupid and would cost a few cents more each"?

 

[muslhead]

Because otherwise, nobody would buy it . "Justify" is of course highly subjective.

Really? Subjective. Amazing you, of all people, who crap on everyone who speak subjectively
Its ok for you but not them? Got it.
Still love ya voodoo, its just your double standard sometimes is embarrassing.