Roksan Attessa Streaming and Integrated Amplifiers – A Video Review

One is simple and straightforward.
The other is a bit more well-rounded.

Both are beautiful.
Both are well put together.
Both are capable of delivering great sound.
Both are worth a listen.

This was supposed to be a review of the Roksan Attessa Integrated amplifier. It was for a short time, but I was surprised to get to also review the streaming amp.

While reviewing the integrated amplifier, I noticed a bit of a hiss coming from the right channel of the amp. It wasn’t anything overly detrimental to the sound, but it was there and was audible during quiet passages. So, I mentioned it to the distributor team, and they swiftly replaced it with another. The replacement though was the streaming version of the amp, which stood in while they checked out the issue with the standard version.

For me, it was a bonus. Two versions of an amp.

Both amps are essentially the same. Both integrated amps are rated at:
80 W at 8 Ohms and 130 at 4Ohms.

On the outside, they look exactly the same. the differences only appear once you spin them around to the back.

The integrated sports connections for:

• Two speakers.
• MM phono input.
• Two sets of analog inputs. One with the ability to be put in AV Mode.
• Pre-out/sub-out.
• 4 digital inputs. 2 Coaxial and 2 Optical
• Bluetooth.
• Band the obligatory triggers.
• A 3.5 mm headphone out.

The streaming version sports an additional:

• Network connection.
• Two USB ports, one for the Wi-Fi dongle and the other for a thumb drive with music on it.
• The streaming is handled by the BluOS streaming ecosystem.

I think it’s really cool, that in an amplifier line up both amps have the same power. The only difference is the functionality. Unlike how with some brands there’s a lower-powered version with less functionality and a higher-powered one with all of the fixings.

The design itself is gorgeous. Yet I can see how some could find the look to be divisive, though:

• Hard edges.
• Clean corners.
• Bright amber LEDs.
• Lends to a masculine appearance.

But I love the minimal industrial look and I was more than happy to place either of the Attessas on a shelf or sideboard for all to see.

The slim line and symmetrical chassis look great. Dead center is a multifunction knob which if I’m being honest takes a bit to get used and I found myself turning to the remote more often than not.

Attessa is finished in Silver or Black metal, and this is one of the rare instances where I actually prefer the black version over the silver. It might be because of the thin black horizontal strip housing the LEDs on the face. I feel it blends better on the black.

LEDs are interesting.

Roksan went with orange, which if I’m being honest, is a strange color choice. it makes the amp a bit too masculine or at the very least intimidating. I feel as though white would have been a better choice here. When powered on the Attessa looks like the guardian from the movie The Day the Earth Stood Still. The left LEDs show input selection, and the right LEDs are a series of bars indicating volume.

You can customize icons within the available Maestro Connect app.

The remote is a nice small afterthought of a remote, it looks exactly the same as the remote for the Fluance Ai61. It was easy enough to use.

The setup is pretty simple though this is one of those times where my penchant for not reading the manual really bit me in the ass.

The integrated amp is easy as hell, open the box, plug in, and start listening. For the streaming amp, you need to connect the Wi-Fi dongle and then download the Maestro unit app to get the amp onto your network, then prompts you to download the BluOS amp which failed. And failed and failed.

It was frustrating.

Until I emailed the distributor who supplied me with the amps, who informed me to install the updated firmware (which the manual and website clearly say to do mind you). And then it worked flawlessly.

SO READ the MANUAL.

Bluesound’s BluOS system isn’t my favorite streaming method, to be honest. It’s not bad, but I’m very used to the CXN v2 as my streamer of choice and its UI and streaming methods are just easier.

For me.

But some folks swear by BluOS so yeah. Tomato/Toe-ma-toe.

I really used both units and preferred the straight integrated amp for the most part.
Streaming wise. I really only use Spotify and my NAS drive is dormant most of the time. I find streaming more of a pain than a pleasure, to be honest. I’d rather run vinyl or something.

Speaking of vinyl, the ground connection for the turntable is really close to the speaker terminals. I have tiny hands so I didn’t have much of an issue but if you have hotdog fingers you might have a problem. It works just fine when paired with my Cambridge ALVA TTv2 turntable.

The only big miss is the lack of tone controls. I have a few integrated amp reviews coming and ALL of them lack tone controls! It blows my mind that with all of the functionality on offer, the most basic tactile and engaging one is not there. I personally don’t want a flat eq on my day-to-day listening. I wonder if tone control can be added in after the fact via the app?

The other slight pain point is changing sources. switching from an analog input to a digital one means shuffling through inputs to get to the right one. And I understand that this is because they went with a streamlined remote which I am thankful for. But it would be cool if there was a built-in sensor that only activated the inputs that were connected, making switching sources easier. My Cambridge integrated has a much larger remote and therefore direct source selection. So maybe that’s the trade-off.