Roksan LIII amplifier - Help

[Wizerureka0123]

Recently bought a used Roksan L3 amp through e-bay because of the many 5* awards given to it. Highs and sound separation are good BUT bass is very, very poor. Tried different interconnects, speaker cables, single & bi-wired, speaker placement - still very distant bass. Even with the Roksan's volumne at 2 o'clock nothing much. I think you can't turn up the volume to that level in other amps without upsetting the neigbours. But with the rave reviews of Roksan, I put the blame on my speakers as the weakest link and was looking at subwoofers to boost the bass.

After 3 months, feeling totally unsatisfied borrowed a friend's very old Technics SU-Z-11 amp and connected it up just to see how it would sound. Man, the bass was thumping good and the highs not bad for a worn out amp. Clearly I had no need for a subwoofer.

My question is how come the ROKSAN is classed as an all rounder 5* amp by so many reviewers? It's like listening to a transistor radio. Or does my ROKSAN has a fault? Anyone out there who has a similar problem? How do I make it to pump out bass?

Thanks guys.

 

[amarocknrollstar]

Hey buddy.
Have a wee surf and found this:
http://community.whathifi.com/forums/p/32434/33461.aspx
May be of some interest as you are not alone.
Not having heard it I can't really offer anything else.
Sorry bud.

 

[Anonymous]

your Roksan may be faulty? ....

the Technics is only 22wpc @ 8 Ohms (from what I have read) ....

This amp was part of a Technics Z11 system from about22 years ish ago.The system price was then £399 for turntable,amp,tuner,cas deck speakers and rack.The power was 22wpc

so am surprised that you say it performs much better than the Roksan ... take your Roksan to a hifi dealer, and ask them to connect to one of their systems in their demo room and see if it is faulty

 

[Wizerureka0123]

Thanks for the update. I'm very surprised that a two decade old 22 wpc amp is able to produce such huge bass whilst my Roksan LIII rated 125 wpc just produces a 'ghostly' bass - you can't even hear it but it's there. My speakers (Opera Quintas) definately not the weak link here then. Will check out the amp with my local hifi dealer. Thanks again.

 

[plastic penguin]

When I tried the LIII the bass was fabulous. It was deep, crunching and very well defined. As dim_span says, you may have a fault with the amp. Also you mention the Technics bass is "thumping good" Maybe that's the problem? The Roksan's bass isn't hard although it is very prominent.

 

[Anonymous]

Wizerureka0123:

Tried different interconnects, speaker cables, single & bi-wired, speaker placement - still very distant bass.

try this loudspeaker placement calculator (found a link to this on another forum) .... does not have all the speakers, but can be used as a guideline

 

[plastic penguin]

dim_span:Wizerureka0123:

Tried different interconnects, speaker cables, single & bi-wired, speaker placement - still very distant bass.

try this loudspeaker placement calculator (found a link to this on another forum) .... does not have all the speakers, but can be used as a guideline

....Or alternatively contact Roksan and pose the question.

http://www.roksan.co.uk/

 

[Anonymous]

take your amp and cdp to your mates house ... connect 1 at a time to his system and see if you get similar results ... could also be that your cdp or speakers are faulty? ...

without testing, we are just guessing

 

[Anonymous]

hi mate i had a roksan kandy L3 for 15 months running it with monitor audio br5's then atc scm11's and it was exellent with both there was plenty of bass more so than my primare i30! sounds like theres something wrong some were - its a quality amp.

 

[Wizerureka0123]

I don't really know what hi-end reproduced music should sound but to be good and listenable, IMO it must have some low oomph with instrument and vocals, distinct and separate - which my Roksan is not doing, on the bass front. When you say, "the LIII's bass was fabulous. It was deep, crunching and very well defined" I may have a faulty amp in my possession. The Technics oozes out the bass that is not evident in the LIII hence the "thumping good" feeling - it kinda get's woolly and discoloured if pushed.

 

[Wizerureka0123]

Fowler's reply confirms, combined with all your listening experience and replies means that I have a FAULTY amp. ......plenty of bass more so than my Primare i30 - now that confirms it!! I shall be contacting Henley & Roksan to see what they have to say about the problem with my amp. Will come back with results. Thanks guys, this site is brilliant !!

 

[basshound]

Wizerureka0123:
Fowler's reply confirms, combined with all your listening experience and replies means that I have a FAULTY amp. ......plenty of bass more so than my Primare i30 - now that confirms it!! I shall be contacting Henley & Roksan to see what they have to say about the problem with my amp. Will come back with results. Thanks guys, this site is brilliant !!

I found Henley to be very helpful when I had a problem with my amp. so suggest you contact them first.

 

[Wizerureka0123]

Thanks. I've contacted Henley and Roksan - both helpful so far. Sent amp back to them and yes they've confirmed amp is faulty and is being looked at. Can't wait for it to be returned because I'm really very curious to find out what made reviewers of this amp so pleased!! And made me buy it!! Is it worth all the hype given to it? Don't know at the moment.

 

[plastic penguin]

Wizerureka0123:Thanks. I've contacted Henley and Roksan - both helpful so far. Sent amp back to them and yes they've confirmed amp is faulty and is being looked at. Can't wait for it to be returned because I'm really very curious to find out what made reviewers of this amp so pleased!! And made me buy it!! Is it worth all the hype given to it? Don't know at the moment.

Sure you'll love it - it's a very good machine that oozes power and detail. It'll definitely outgun the Technics in every area.

 

[Anonymous]

The Roksan LIII is an excellent amp and produces wonderful bass. What are your speakers by the way?

 

[batonwielder]

Glad you got it sorted out. Enjoy it.

 

[Wizerureka0123]

The newer Opera Quinta and Marantz CD63 KI cd player (to be powered by the Roksan LIII if repaired). I hope the Opera is a suitable speaker for the LIII and that the set-up will deliver good all round music.

All gear purchased separately without auditioning - so I really don't know how they would sound together because the amp was faulty from the start - only found it out through this forum which has been most helpful. Nothing much on the net about the Qpera Quinta and guess it's not a popular brand.

 

[plastic penguin]

Wizerureka0123:

The newer Opera Quinta and Marantz CD63 KI cd player (to be powered by the Roksan LIII if repaired). I hope the Opera is a suitable speaker for the LIII and that the set-up will deliver good all round music.

All gear purchased separately without auditioning - so I really don't know how they would sound together because the amp was faulty from the start - only found it out through this forum which has been most helpful. Nothing much on the net about the Qpera Quinta and guess it's not a popular brand.

I know absolutely nothing about the aforementioned speaker. However, the Kandy is a very forthright amplifier that can bring the best - and worst - from your speakers (if they retailed below a Grand). What I mean by this is that the Roksan is very revealing and any deficiences with a speaker will be exacerbated.

 

[Wizerureka0123]

Thanks to all for the advice.

Amp got returned, fully checked/returned - verdict from Henley Designs: nothing wrong with amp.

Connected it up again, same problem that started this thread, so probably my speakers didn't match the Roksan. Roksan sold off now.