Here at Audio T, we are excited to announce we have taken delivery of the latest products from the Roksan Attessa range, including a turntable, CD transport, integrated amplifier as well as a separate streaming amplifier full of bells and whistles.

For this blog, we shall be focussing our attention on a product I’m particularly excited by, the Attessa streaming amplifier. So, without further ado…

First off, a little history lesson…

Roksan was formed in 1985 by Tufan Hashemi & Touraj Moghaddam. The name “Roksan” itself is derived from the name Roxana, daughter of the Persian King Darius. This closely reflects the Persian heritage and roots of both Hashemi and Moghaddam. Unsurprisingly, many of their product names have references to cities, places and famous people of Persia.

The name Attessa is a modified version of the Ancient Greek word, “Atossa”, which for fairly understandable reasons, could be misconstrued in English. Literally, this name means “bestowing very richly”. This is certainly very apt, as we will discuss shortly…

To quote from the Roksan website;

“Designed to combine all the wonderfully complex sound of a class-leading Hi-Fi system with the simplicity most listeners crave - making it easier to connect with devices, and with the people around you.
A home audio product which is not intimidating for the first time Hi-Fi consumer.”

We couldn’t agree more.

Bells and whistles

Roksan attessa streaming amplifier connectivity

Features include:

The one-touch dial control user-interface is both simple and intuitive to use. A simple push and turn selects different input options.
There are a wide variety of digital and analogue connections, including Bluetooth® and AirPlay 2
The Attessa has a built-in Moving Magnet phono stage, which allows turntable connection to accommodate the resurgence in vinyl playback.
SPDIF inputs will decode MQA encoded PCM streams including MQA CDs played back by the Attessa CD Transport
The MaestroUnite app allows setup for over the air updates. More on this below.

The business end…

around the back of the attessa streaming amplifier

Taking a look around the back of the Attessa provides plenty of scope for connectivity, with plenty of optical, SPDIF and analogue phono inputs to satisfy the inclusion of the rest of the Attessa range, or if you wish, to mix and match with an existing system.

Set-up and use

This is the first time we at Audio T Brighton have had the opportunity to have a hands-on play with one of the new Roksan Attessa family of components. At a quick glance, it is clear that this range of products are designed with quality, convenience and style in mind.

First impressions are very good, with a weighty and quality feel when it is taken out of the box. The large volume knob has a lovely, smooth motion to it and exudes a feeling of confidence in construction quality.

Set-up was nice and easy using the dedicated MaestroUnite app, which is free to download on Android, iOS, Windows and Mac.

Input selection is easy, with a mere push and turn of the front control knob to select the plethora of inputs available.

Roksan have made a very wise choice in utilising one of the better, tried and tested apps already available on the market (the BluOS™ app) rather than trying to create their own. This Attessa Streaming amplifier works seamlessly with the Bluesound option. Quite frankly, if I owned this unit, I would probably leave it set this way most of the time due to the ease of access to music through either streaming services and/or music stored on a server/drive on your network.

The Attessa proved equally adept using the turntable and CD inputs when tested in store with our Rega RP3 with a Audio Technica AT95ML cartridge and a Rega Apollo CD player.

We’ve been big fans of the Bluesound range of products here at Audio T Brighton. Roksan’s use of the BluOS™ app is an exciting move as it allows for streaming connectivity between Roksan, Bluesound and any other manufacturers who utilise the BluOS™ app.

So what does it sound like?

After unpacking the Attessa, we left it running on repeat over the weekend to give the electronics a good warm-up and run in.

First impressions; listening to Kruder and Dorfmeister’s - DJ Kicks, the unit produced a nicely neutral and well controlled sound with plenty of sparkle at the top end and fluid bass. The detail through the, all important, midrange was on-point as well.

Listening to some 50’s and 60’s jazz, the Roksan Attessa continued to give a good impression of itself, with good tonality, soundstage and sufficient warmth to allow the analogue recordings of the day to create the live feel that they so often have.

Listening to Billy Gibbons F Gibbons’ new album “Hardware”, using MQA playback on Tidal’s Masters gave the expected boost in sound quality and should prove a real “feather in the cap” for those who use Tidal as their streaming service.

Let’s sum things up…

The Roksan Attessa is certainly a great all-rounder, especially considering its moderate price point. It gets a huge two-thumbs-up from myself, Paul and John. It will serve any Hi-Fi enthusiast very well as a multi-sourced system. To add to all of this, it has a sleek look without the possible clutter of multiple boxes and the potential spaghetti around the back of your system.

It would be hard to find another product in the current marketplace at this price point that sounds this good, offers this degree of flexibility and user friendliness, so it gets a hearty recommendation. But why take our word for it? Why not contact us to book a demonstration at your local store today.

Many thanks for reading - Ade, Paul & John - Audio T Brighton

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Roksan can be found at the following Audio-T stores

If you can’t see your local Audio T on the list, be sure to contact them for a demonstration.