THAT WAS THEN
ROKSAN CASPIAN (MARCH 1997)
If you’re in the market for a great sounding premium integrated amplifier, may we point you towards the new Roksan Blak. This chunky unit is reviewed in this month’s issue (see page 14). It combines solid build and a sensible range of features with broad-ranging sonic talents which mean it can work well in a variety of systems and across musical genres.
One for the purists
We’re not surprised at the positive result. While Roksan started life as a high-end turntable manufacturer, it didn’t take the company long to come up with partnering amplification. The original amplifier range was as purist as they come, consisting of two preamplifiers, outboard power supplies, a stereo power amp and monoblocs. The range topping combination cost the same as a small car.
But the company wanted to reach a wider audience, so in 1997 it released the Caspian amplifier. This was a premium integrated, but at £695, was far more affordable than anything the company had offered before – in fact, it was around a tenth of the price of the range-topping pre/power supply/ monobloc combination.
Roksan took great care to ensure that it didn’t compromise too much on performance though, with the Caspian using many of the same circuit ideas that made the separates products so good. It had a good amount of power and sounded more muscular than the 70W per channel claimed output suggested. This led to a generously dynamic performance with a wide range of speakers and a level of composure when pushed hard that few rivals could better. You can add impressive detail resolution and fine stereo imaging to the list of plus points too, along with solid build and a neat finish.
The Blak amplifier could be described in much the same way. It’s better equipped than the Caspian and able to handle both digital and Bluetooth – the original was line level analogue only – but that accommodating nature and involving sound quality we heard in the original is very much intact.