Roksan Blak
It’s a testament to the quality of Roksan’s Blak integrated amplifier that our biggest issue with it is the deliberately misspelled name. Blak. Really? Aside from that, the Blak is a superbly rounded product that’s well made, sensibly featured and capable of very fine sound.
Roksan has decided against the minimalist approach with this design. If you want just a premium line-level analogue integrated, we would point you towards either the Naim or the Rega, despite their higher price tags. But if you need a fully equipped unit that can connect to your computer, smartphone, turntable and headphones, the Blak makes a mighty strong case for itself.
Particularly when you consider its impressive muscularity – it's rated at 150W per channel into an 8ohm load, rising to 230W as impedance halves. As a comparison, the Supernait 3 outputs just over half that while the Aethos still falls short at 125W per channel into 8ohms. Of course, it’s best to remember that on-paper specifications don’t always translate into real world performance.
This Roksan is a hefty amplifier in every respect. It weighs in at 14kg – and runs a little warm too, so make sure there’s enough space around it to ensure good ventilation.
Fisher Price vibe
The Blak feels well built – it’s solid, nicely finished and a pleasure to use. There’s a bit of a Fisher Price vibe to the large display, though at least you can read it from a distance, even in bright sunlight.
There are a few oddities that need to be accommodated, though. The main power switch is hidden on the left-hand lower edge, while plugging a pair of headphones in – there’s a 6.3mm output on the front panel – doesn’t automatically switch the sound away from the speakers. This leaves you having to select the headphone output through another switch under the front panel. And finally, the volume level works in steps of two rather than one, which is a little odd.
Get past these eccentricities and you’ll find the Blak accommodating of both partnering equipment and musical genres. There’s plenty of connectivity. Traditionalists will be kept happy with balanced XLRS, three single-ended line-level inputs and a moving-magnet phonostage. Those into digital get a USB Type B that will cope with 24-bit/192khz PCM as well as DSD music files.
Unlike either of its rivals, the Blak has embraced aptx Bluetooth connectivity too – so listening to music from phones, tablets as well as computers is easy. Outputs are limited to the headphone socket on the front panel and a single set of high quality WBT speaker terminals.
It takes a few days of running before the Blak really comes on song, but even in the first few minutes of listening the signs are good. Our initial impression of an enthusiastic, big-boned presentation remains unchanged throughout the test.
We start off with Holst’s Mars and are greeted by a large-scale sound that’s packed with authority and power. It’s good enough to rival the muscular Naim
in this respect. The music is packed with dense, textured low frequencies and the Roksan Blak responds with glee, delivering them with all the punch and presence they deserve. There’s a lovely sense of ease, even when the music becomes demanding and volume levels rise. That impressive claimed power output rings true.
Staying composed
The music’s wide-ranging dynamics are delivered with plenty of drive. There’s little sense of the amplifier holding back as crescendos come through with tangible impact. The Roksan stays composed throughout.
This amplifier renders a lovely soundstage, painting instruments with a steady brush and positioning them with skill on an expansive canvas. It’s a stable presentation, the instruments staying locked in place even as complexity rises.
We switch to Nina Simone’s Ain’t Got No, I Got Life and the track charges along, packed with energy. Simone’s characterful vocals are delivered with verve, yet there’s enough in the way of nuance and texture to keep purists satisfied. But listen to either of its two competitors in this test and you’ll find there’s even more in the way of outright resolution and insight available.
Despite a slightly rich overall tonal balance, the top-end still has enough in the way of bite. We sit back and admire the amplifier’s refinement and the way it copes with less than perfect sources and recordings. Roksan has gone for listenability over outright analysis with this amplifier and that’s a fair trade.
We try out the moving-magnet phonostage and are pleased with what we hear. It’s a lively sounding circuit, reflecting the insight and transparency delivered through the line inputs. Noise levels are low and, unless you have a premium deck costing, say, £1500 and upwards, we can’t see a reason to use anything else.
We’re equally positive about the onboard DAC. It’s a good module, offering roughly the performance level of a good £400-ish stand-alone unit.regardless of whether we play Nick Cave’s moody Push The Sky Away or Kanye West’s frenzied Yeezus, the DAC takes it all in stride, serving up a detailed and entertaining sound.
It’s a shame the company hasn’t seen fit to offer coaxial or optical inputs options. The Bluetooth performance isn’t quite as pleasing, sounding thinner and notably less expressive, but that’s as much the limitations of the transmission method as it is a character of the Roksan module. The most important thing is that the amplifier is open to a range of sources and connects swiftly.
Punchy and detailed
We try the headphone output, and once we find the hidden switch to put these into circuit, we’re impressed. Often headphone circuits are box-ticking exercises for manufacturers, but not this one. It sounds punchy and detailed, delivering a similar character of sound to that we hear through the speaker outputs.
The Blak amplifier is nicely judged. It has a powerful and energetic sound, with enough in the way of insight, subtlety and refinement to keep us happy.
It’s also well equipped, and capable of sounding right at home in a wide range of systems. Recommended? You bet.