I always enjoy your reviews. They are real world and mostly affordable equipment. Your rating system and descriptions are on the mark and most helpful for fools like me! Too bad the Blak isn't available in the US. But I'm waiting on an Aegir and Freya+ right now anyway.
I have just upgraded to the Roksan Blak as I've already had a Caspian M Series-1 before, so I am well familiar with that Roksan house sound if you will which is just addictive. It is dynamic, punchy, but yet lush and sweet. Now I am in the process of looking for speakers to pair up with the Blak. I have been thinking about the Dynaudio Special 40, Evoke 50, Evoke 20 or even the Contour 20 as Dynaudios are voiced more neutral or slightly laid back which should balance well with an exciting amp like the Roksan Blak. I have also thought about the B&W 705 Signature, but I am concerned the Roksan might push it off the edge in making an already bright-leaning revealing speaker bright. Do you have any speaker suggestions or recommendations to go with the Roksan Blak?
Roksan used to be available in the US, but I had problems with some of their product in the 90's. They seem to have made some changes, improved their product, and decided not to come back to the US.
More proof that there are no perfect amps, DACs or speakers for ALL genres of music!... Thanks for your honest review as usual! 👍🏼 I have one HUGE visual complaint about this amp (I am an obsessive photographer)...WHAT IS UP with that hex nut around the headphone jack left,smack, front, center on the facade of this $3300 amp.?? Can you say UNACCEPTABLE! 😂😂😂 THAT really bugs "me". (I am sure that others may not have even noticed or cared 🙃) (Near topic 😯), Would you possibly have a suggestion for an inexpensive way to stream Amazon Ultra HD from my iPad via WiFi to my older Anedio D2 DAC? I think that the Bluesound Node 2i would do this...but I am looking for a more economical/quality solution than the $550 that Bluesound gets for that streamer... This stuff gets complicated at times....
LOL well on a practical standpoint, i'd rather have it there than at the back. Or probably could've done away with it. As for the streamer, try looking for a chromecast audio, or build a raspberry pi with a hifiberry digi or equivalent, there are also some solutions like bose soundtouch wireless link, but I havent tried those.
@@TheAudiofool It’s not so much the headphone "hole/access" ...It's the hex nut! They could EASILY have put a tiny bit of time into that and procured some simple trim rings. Thanks for you suggestions for my streaming dilemma! This has turned into quite the research project!
if I was looking for a 150w amp that roksan would definately be on my list of options. I finally got the Aegir monoblocks now and your right. Easily the best amplifiers at that price point atleast for my speakers (Zu Omen Dirty Weekend). I havent bothered to test my LS-50s yet as I feel like the Zu is more suited to that particular room than the LS-50s as its not a small room. I might do in the future, maybe with a sub added. But as of now not tempted to move stuff around. Maybe if I get LS-50 metas....
@@TheAudiofool I have been thinking about getting it. Can you describe the improvement from it? I see that my local distributor carries it so I will order it for sure next week. To be honest I have delayed it because it seemed just slightly annoying to install it but having the Aegirs now gives me a real reason to finally do it.
I didn't glue the cap, I just kept in hanging. Once you remove the woofer, you don't need to remove the tweeter if you have deft hands. The ersa cap + wiring can be easily removed via the connector in the woofer, and push to release in the bare wire in the tweeter. I just used a similar connector for the woofer side (if you didn't order the kit fro Zu).
@@TheAudiofool I did get the kit indirectly from zu just no instructions but I just found them online. I considered to leave the cap hanging as well but I just ordered one of the glues they recomended as I didnt like the idea of it just hanging as its glued in the instructions. As i didnt know what you just told me now I also ordered a #1 square driver tool to remove the tweeter as that square driver really is not something you normally would see used over here. Anyway thanks, not really too complicated but some annoying details, especially in dealing with glue I have bad experiences with that and I wanted something that will just work without trying a million different ones.
In the video, I only referred to a single Aegir. I did compare the Blak with monoblocks but the results (same preferred tracks, same comparison chart mapping) were mostly the same as with the single Aegir so didn't include it.
Two quick questions. Any opinions on the Roskans headphones jack. Come to think of it I can't recall you ever mentioning headphone jacks on your reviews. Do you use headphones?? Nice job on this review
Thanks for watching. I used to do headphones but focused on home audio as it was getting too expensive. I used to have a Aeon Open and HD6xx but sold them; I did keep a Ety ER4XR as a reference to check how much the room affects the music. I dont really say if a headphone of an amp is good or not as my only reference would be a Schiit Ragnarok which is a hell of a headphone amp. But I'll see what I can do in future reviews.
Hey there, have you considered reviewing the Benchmark AHB2? I think you're probably the only reviewer I'd trust to review this amp, which I'm sure you know about. It actually seems like a bizarro version of the Aegir monoblocks, with its own patented solution to crossover distortion.
Thanks! I'm still waiting for a good deal on one, but to be honest, I'm not really that excited about it. I've heard it on Demo and wasn't really that impressed. Very clean for sure but also a bit too lean for my tastes. Still, can't really pass judgement until I do my comparisons, but maybe I'll have a chance one day.
@@TheAudiofool Hey thanks for the reply. That's the same impression that I've gotten from a few comments and parts of reviews, but mostly just praise for its measurements, and not much clarity surrounding its other qualities. The Crimson 640e III monoblocks would be interesting too, being completely Class B.
It is certainly going to be a very enjoyable pairing, but I personally think the Blak should be paired with more expensive speakers to maximize the amp. For the LS50, you can try the Rega Elicit R or Hegel H95 or Schiit Rag 2.
@@TheAudiofool have you heard LS50 with H95 yet? I am thinking about getting H190 from your review but if H95 can get the best out of LS50 then I can safe some money. Thanks for your reply.
@@veerasakbenjadol6957 Yes, H95 is very good with LS50; H190 will sound a little better, but I also think it is wasting the potential of the H190... H95 will maximize the LS50 without going overboard in my opinion.
@@TheAudiofool If I want the sound signature that close to Blak ( sweet mid, lush) but not going overboard for the LS50, which one would you recommend? Thank you.
@@veerasakbenjadol6957 I think you should try the Hegel and see what you would like to improve. Closest thing to the Blak would be the Aegir and low watt class A amps like Sugden/Pass. Or maybe Tubes if you dont mind going that way.
If it's hi end, it would depend on your definition of high end... While there are systems that cost as much as decent cars, I'd personally think so because it's at a price where most people will not think of spending this much just for an amp. It's hifi as it's much closer to accurate sound production compared to say your typical bluetooth speaker or soundbar.
