⚪ Roksan - Occam's Razor in audio
I really liked the interview with the technical director of Roksan, published in the magazine “AudioVideo Salon” in 2006: THE BRITISH COMPANY ROKSAN WAS FOUNDED IN THE SPRING OF 1985, AND THE SAME FIRST PRODUCT, THE XERXES VINYL PLAYER, BROUGHT IT SUCCESS. THEN PICKUPS, PHONOCORE RECTORS, ACOUSTICS AND INTEGRATE AMPLIFIERS APPEAR, AND A LITTLE LATER, CD COMPONENTS. ROKSAN HAS ALWAYS BEEN DIFFERENT BY NOT ONLY THE LEVEL OF TECHNOLOGY, WHICH WAS ALWAYS CLOSER TO HIGH END THAN TO ENTRY LEVEL, BUT ALSO BY ITS OWN PHILOSOPHY. TURAJ MOGADDAM, TECHNICAL DIRECTOR OF THE COMPANY, WILL TELL ABOUT IT. BY THE WAY, I ALMOST DID NOT HAVE TO ASK ANY QUESTIONS - SO TEMPERAMENTAL MY INTERLOCUTOR PROVED TO BE. — Yes, I have my own understanding of what Hi-Fi is. I have long noticed that a recording - be it vinyl, CD or television broadcast - never evokes as much empathy as a live performance, regardless of the class of technology. And vice versa: no matter where we listen to our favorite band live - at a stadium, in a concert hall or a cozy cafe, we will never confuse it with another. Even though the sound will be completely different in each case, you will recognize the playing style of each musician. Therefore, some kind of connection arises between the performer and the listener. You can make a CD player with colossal resolution, low noise and distortion, and a wide dynamic range, but it will not give this feeling. Throughout the 20 years of its existence, Roksan has adhered to the main principle: not to sacrifice performance for the sake of sound, to try to make people want to listen to our equipment. When we first demonstrated the Rok-DPl CD transport, almost all reviewers wrote: without a doubt, it was created by vinyl specialists. Its sound was too analog, despite the completely different principles of reproduction. - How did you achieve this?
- Yes, that’s the point, they didn’t try to do it on purpose.
The sound of Xerxes is very close to music, and when designing the transport we also wanted to get as close to it as possible. I don't want to say that our CD player is better than a vinyl one, it's not. For all its advantages - low noise, ease of control, etc. - it will never give the same feeling of music. I bring the prototype of any device that should go into production to my home and listen to it. If the audio system plays music, not sound, then no matter how tired, irritated or upset I come home from work, my favorite disc will solve all my problems. Achieving such an effect is the main thing for Roksan. Take pickups, for example. Over the course of 20 years, I have listened to a huge number of them and again I will say that record-breaking performance figures are not always combined with musicality. I am often asked why the Kandy amplifier is cheaper than the Caspian, because it is more powerful. I answer: listen, and you will understand. Caspian sounds more convincing at lower power because it controls the load better, it has very low distortion at both 1 and 20 ohms. For us, a step up is not an improvement in performance, but if the listener gets more pleasure. I remember when we released our first amp, one of the audio reviewers asked what we did to make it sound different from others. And we just asked other questions. — What questions should be asked when designing an amplifier?
— You just need to ask: what is an amplifier in its essence.
This is not a device that increases the amplitude and power of the signal applied to the input, as many people believe. It's actually a photocopying machine. It analyzes the input signal, modulates the power source, and it creates an enlarged copy at the output. From this comes the understanding of three things. First: how well the circuit senses the input signal, does it clearly see it. Secondly: does the output stage interact correctly with the power supply, and thirdly, how good is the power supply itself, does it immediately respond to commands from the output stage. An exact copy of the output will be obtained only if the power supply has the same speed as the entire path. Once you understand these things, the specific implementation methods no longer matter. I made Xerxes for three years, and it was this player that taught me to ask the right questions. — But CD players are designed completely differently.
— You probably don’t remember our DPI transport, released in 1992. Ken Ishiwata really liked it, and he kept wondering when I learned how to design CD players. I say: I just know how to make vinyl record players. Indeed, in CD the rotational speed changes, but the linear speed remains constant, but in LP the opposite is true. The optical head has no physical contact with the media, and the pickup stylus must accurately follow all the bends of the groove. But they have everything else in common! The optical head must have low inertia, then the servo system can track the track faster and more clearly. In addition, this reduces the pulse effect on the power supply, which is very important. If the head is heavy, then when it moves, the main motor supply voltage will jump. It's like hitting a vinyl record while playing it. And the subchassis of the CD player must also protect the head from vibrations, and the servo, like a tonearm, must move it accurately and smoothly. - But a CD player is not only a drive; you also need to convert digital into analog.
The path has an even greater effect on the sound. — We tried a bunch of DACs until we received a prototype from Crystal Semiconductor. It sounded so good that we purchased a large batch, but with the condition that this chip would not be supplied to anyone for 5 - 6 months after our player entered the market. And here's why: although this DAC was of the delta-sigma type, it actually worked like a bitstream. And this word at that time was abusive, its synonym was soundshit. Most Japanese companies used such DACs, and their players really sounded terrible. If Roksan had entered the market with bitstream, failure would have been guaranteed. Therefore, we resorted to a trick - we gave the public time to try out the sound of the player, saying that it uses a new principle of delta-sigma conversion. And only a year later everything was revealed, but we have already managed to prove that bitstream can also sound if it is properly implemented. Here we need to ask: what should the chip do, how can it be helped in this, and what is the role of the clock generator? A group of scientists in Cambridge, at our request, analyzed jitter in various systems and developed digital filter circuits. There is still much that has not been explored in CD-Audio, and the format has huge untapped potential. Its problem is not at all in the dynamic or frequency range - you've probably noticed that a live broadcast of a concert in the FM range sounds amazing, and there is compression and an upper limit of 14.5 kHz. The weakest point of CD players is the extremely primitive laser control system, and the focusing algorithm is stupid, like the first video cameras. In the 21st century, you can come up with something better than PLL*, but drive manufacturers don't want to change anything. The servo drive should not react to changes that have already occurred, but anticipate them in advance and correct them on the fly. And the quality of the discs themselves is also below any criticism - the substrate material is disgusting, the technology in the production of the voice matrix is often not followed. But these questions are no longer for Roksan...
Kandy K2 BT: Roksan flexes his muscles. WHAT HI-FI review, June 2014
There are so many expectations placed on the new Kandy K2 amplifier that they are surely weighing heavily on Roksan. Its predecessor received the “Product of the Year 2008” Award, then remained without awards for two seasons, and after a serious price reduction it was awarded the title “Best Buy of 2011”. How to make the new model even better? Roksan added Bluetooth and the suffix “BT” to the name. Of course, the list of changes is not limited to this; the company also worked on the sound - in particular, the output power was increased from 125 to 140 W. When you remember that the Naim Nait 5si has only 60W, you will agree that for this segment of the market the new amplifier is simply a monster. Exterior design The exterior design remains unchanged; Opinions about it are still polar: whether you like the mirror strip on the front panel or not, the white text printed on it is practically indistinguishable from afar. To see the volume level, you need to come close. It's the same story with the remote control: who said that gray text on a silver background is a good option? The collection of inputs is more positive: there are six line inputs (one of them, marked “AV”, for those who want to integrate the amplifier into a multi-channel system, a step we can only welcome), an MM phono stage and a through channel. There is one set of speaker terminals on the rear panel, and a 3.5mm headphone output on the front panel. Increased power provides one of the main advantages of the K2 BT - a strong, bold and weighty sound that is subject to the most significant changes in dynamics. He is equally good at both grand orchestral soundtracks and albums by heavy metal stars. It is noticeably more energetic than the previous version of the Kandy K2: the precision of the front and decay of each note, combined with high power, creates a truly irresistible swiftness of attack. It is also worth noting the high detail and open reproduction of voices. However, not all sound changes seem positive to us; If individual notes are distinguished by precise boundaries, then the sound as a whole lacks smoothness. Due to some rhythmic issues, the sounds don't integrate as cohesively as they should, and the instruments don't create one cohesive field. The Roksan amplifier fails to unravel the web of complex combinations, which is why they are presented in a confused and illegible manner. Because of this, microdynamics also suffer, for example, in moments such as the beginning of the debut album The XX, the drama is lost, and in the soundtrack to the film “The Road” the natural interaction of instruments deteriorates. This is very annoying; If increasing volume leads to improved dynamics and enhances the emotional impact of music, then decreasing smoothness and sophistication, on the contrary, reduces it. The same qualities are inherent in the amplifier when connected via Bluetooth; The detail and energy are a little lower, but overall the quality of the wireless transmission is stable. Kandy K2 BT is a very strong new product; its power, energy and skillful transmission of enormous changes in dynamics are amazing for this price category. All the more offensive is the loss of some proprietary sound properties.
Roksan Kandy K2 review. Magazine "DVD Expert"
The sophisticated design of the Roksan Kandy K2 player will decorate any interior and will please the eye, and the magnificent sound will delight the ears.
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The march of the British Roksan across the world began in 1985, and the company’s calling card was the legendary high-end Xerxes vinyl turntable. In 2009, the wonderful Roksan Kandy K2 CD player was born, which received recognition from many audio magazines. At first glance, it is clear that specialists who truly have extraordinary taste worked on its design - a solid metal anti-vibration body, a thick front side made of milled aluminum, an elegant panel made of mirrored smoky plastic, rounded on one side and slightly recessed. On this panel there is a barely noticeable tray plug, to the right there are six small chrome-plated control buttons, and if you turn on the power, a nice fluorescent display will appear through it, which not only displays symbols, but also lights up the abbreviation K2 in red, which does not seem superfluous at all. It is curious that on the black top cover the brand and model names, as well as the purpose of the device, are written in huge and also black letters. The latest generation Sanyo drive is used as transport. The Burr-Brown PCM 1798 Advanced Segment chip (24 bit/192 kHz) is responsible for signal conversion. The company also installs this chip in its more expensive devices of this type. A powerful, low-noise toroidal transformer supplies all necessary blocks and components with separate power via seven adjustable buses. The outstanding remote control deserves special praise - a learnable, ergonomic device in a large, convenient case and with a large LCD touch screen. By the way, it can be used as the main remote control for all types of audio equipment.
We had virtually no complaints about the sound of the Roksan Kandy K2. Detail, dynamics, accuracy, bass, three-dimensionality of the scene, and from subjective sensations, realism, a good amount of warmth and its own charm - it all had it. There were absolutely no genre contraindications. At least when playing our prefabricated test discs, the player demonstrated its worth as a universal performer. We confidently recommend this device to a wide range of listeners.
Eventually
The sophisticated design of the Roksan Kandy K2 player will decorate any interior and will please the eye, and the magnificent sound will delight the ears.
Prepared based on materials from the magazine “DVD Expert”, October 2010.
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