I bought a pair of Dali Oberon 5s and a Bluesound Node streamer and they’re powered by a Roksan Kandy III bought in 2002. The thing is, I have no problems with the sound but can’t help wondering if I’d be even happier with an upgrade to the amp? I’m a huge fan of plenty of controlled bass; breathy vocals; clear top and a pinpoint soundstage (so, everything, then 😜). Just wondered how much would be a realistic amount to make a noticeable sonic gain, given that the Roksan was £600 back in the day. What calibre of amp would be on a par with my old dog? Would a Cambridge 61 be a sonic improvement or am I going to have to look north of 1k? Thoughts appreciated.
A troll would not take the time to say things are good when they are so here goes.
My Roksan has now been repaired by the company which now owns the brand -Monitor Audio. They had to change everything except the toroidal mains transformer and the case but it had obviously had a very uncertain past with much track damage on the pcb. With a new pcb and the bias set up properly it now runs much cooler and the sound is superb. Stick with the Roksan would be my advice. You get fancy wim wams on more modern amps but they won't sound any better. In addition the signals are switched by relays in the Roksan so you get very little if any crosstalk between inputs.
I am now very very happy with it and my thanks go to Dan at Monitor Audio. He and his team offer a service which is second to none. A 5 year old amp only 2 weeks inside warranty and which I had investigated myself because I did not expect it still to be under warranty. Yes the one I bought new was appalling but that was before Monitor Audio got involved. Fixed and in A1 condition within 3 weeks.
I bought a £2000 Arcam SA30 in the meantime and whilst this is fine (interestingly it uses bipolar transistors with integral compensating diodes in the output) The Roksan is simpler and in my view better although I usually prefer bipolar to Mosfets because I am old-fashioned. Great features but unnecessarily complicated for old codgers like me.
I think we can safely say that this is a brand to trust so if you want a new Roksan I am sure it will be great because they are now part of Monitor Audio and you will have excellent support, should the need arise.