Roksan Audio
Encyclopedia
Roksan is a British manufacturer of high fidelity
audio products for domestic use, based in North West
, London, United Kingdom, was formed in 1985 by Touraj Moghaddam & Tufan Hashemi, graduates of the University of London
, Imperial College London
& Queen Mary College
. Roksan's first product, an audio turntable named Xerxes, was swiftly acknowledged as a contender to the LP12
manufactured by Linn Products
.
The name Roksan itself is derived from the name of Roksana, daughter of the Persian King Darius. This closely reflects the Persian heritage and roots of both Touraj and Tufan. Not surprisingly many of Roksan's product names have references to names of cities,places and famous people of Persia (now Iran).
turntable
without a sprung sub-chassis challenged conventional suspension
designs for build and sound quality. It succeeded in finding favour with British "flat-earthers" who, up until then, had almost exclusively been devout followers of the Linn Sondek LP12
.
The design attacked the "high-ground" which had been "won" by suspended sub-chassis designs such as the LP12 by eschewing the spring isolation, which was then regarded as a major strength. Instead, it addressed the issues of Groove drag and lateral rigidity, the ultimate objective of which was to stabilise the relationship between cartridge stylus and the spinning record groove. Springs were not considered sufficiently rigid in the lateral plane, and permitted too much rotation of the suspended parts relative to the motor.
"Groove- or stylus-drag" is said to be one of the causes of the undesirable torsion
al modes in the turntable sub-chassis. While most other designs relied on inertia (through platter mass) to attenuate the problem, Roksan retained a light platter, but addressed drag
by mounting the motor on its own bearing and restricted its long-range movement by a small spring, so that the revolving armature could still drive the system. Momentary increases in drag would be absorbed by the motor itself, and changes in platter acceleration were mitigated. Xerxes was named #53 "Hot Product by Stereophile
in 2002.
In 1991, Roksan launched the flagship Touraj Moghaddam Signature (TMS) turntable, named after the company’s chief designer and founder. In 2002, the TMS2 replaced the TMS turntable.
. This design concept has since been followed by other high end speaker manufacturers.
.
High fidelity
High fidelity—or hi-fi—reproduction is a term used by home stereo listeners and home audio enthusiasts to refer to high-quality reproduction of sound or images, to distinguish it from the poorer quality sound produced by inexpensive audio equipment...
audio products for domestic use, based in North West
NW postcode area
The NW postcode area, also known as the London NW postcode area, is a group of postcode districts covering part of northwest London, England...
, London, United Kingdom, was formed in 1985 by Touraj Moghaddam & Tufan Hashemi, graduates of the University of London
University of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
, Imperial College London
Imperial College London
Imperial College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom, specialising in science, engineering, business and medicine...
& Queen Mary College
Queen Mary, University of London
Queen Mary, University of London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the federal University of London...
. Roksan's first product, an audio turntable named Xerxes, was swiftly acknowledged as a contender to the LP12
Linn Sondek LP12
The Linn Sondek LP12 transcription turntable is produced by Glasgow-based Linn Products, manufacturers of hi-fi, home theatre, and multi-room audio systems...
manufactured by Linn Products
Linn Products
Linn Products is a Scottish company, based in Glasgow, that manufactures hi-fi audio equipment, home theatre, and multi-room integrated audio systems...
.
The name Roksan itself is derived from the name of Roksana, daughter of the Persian King Darius. This closely reflects the Persian heritage and roots of both Touraj and Tufan. Not surprisingly many of Roksan's product names have references to names of cities,places and famous people of Persia (now Iran).
Turntables
The Xerxes, named after the Persian king who "went around having a good time", has been acclaimed by a number of hi-fi reviewers. This belt-driveBelt-drive turntable
There are two main types of phonograph turntable drives still being manufactured today, the belt-drive and direct-drive systems; the names are based upon the type of motor system found in each....
turntable
Phonograph
The phonograph record player, or gramophone is a device introduced in 1877 that has had continued common use for reproducing sound recordings, although when first developed, the phonograph was used to both record and reproduce sounds...
without a sprung sub-chassis challenged conventional suspension
Suspension (vehicle)
Suspension is the term given to the system of springs, shock absorbers and linkages that connects a vehicle to its wheels. Suspension systems serve a dual purpose — contributing to the car's roadholding/handling and braking for good active safety and driving pleasure, and keeping vehicle occupants...
designs for build and sound quality. It succeeded in finding favour with British "flat-earthers" who, up until then, had almost exclusively been devout followers of the Linn Sondek LP12
Linn Sondek LP12
The Linn Sondek LP12 transcription turntable is produced by Glasgow-based Linn Products, manufacturers of hi-fi, home theatre, and multi-room audio systems...
.
The design attacked the "high-ground" which had been "won" by suspended sub-chassis designs such as the LP12 by eschewing the spring isolation, which was then regarded as a major strength. Instead, it addressed the issues of Groove drag and lateral rigidity, the ultimate objective of which was to stabilise the relationship between cartridge stylus and the spinning record groove. Springs were not considered sufficiently rigid in the lateral plane, and permitted too much rotation of the suspended parts relative to the motor.
"Groove- or stylus-drag" is said to be one of the causes of the undesirable torsion
Torsion
The word torsion may refer to the following:*In geometry:** Torsion of a curve** Torsion tensor in differential geometry** The closely related concepts of Reidemeister torsion and analytic torsion ** Whitehead torsion*In algebra:** Torsion ** Tor functor* In medicine:** Ovarian...
al modes in the turntable sub-chassis. While most other designs relied on inertia (through platter mass) to attenuate the problem, Roksan retained a light platter, but addressed drag
Drag (physics)
In fluid dynamics, drag refers to forces which act on a solid object in the direction of the relative fluid flow velocity...
by mounting the motor on its own bearing and restricted its long-range movement by a small spring, so that the revolving armature could still drive the system. Momentary increases in drag would be absorbed by the motor itself, and changes in platter acceleration were mitigated. Xerxes was named #53 "Hot Product by Stereophile
Stereophile
Stereophile is a monthly magazine that focuses on high end audio equipment, such as loudspeakers and amplifiers, and audio-related news, such as online audio streaming. It was founded in 1962 by J. Gordon Holt....
in 2002.
In 1991, Roksan launched the flagship Touraj Moghaddam Signature (TMS) turntable, named after the company’s chief designer and founder. In 2002, the TMS2 replaced the TMS turntable.
Loudspeakers
Roksan was the first company ever to mechanically isolate the speaker tweeter from the bass unit using springs, in their Darius loudspeakerLoudspeaker
A loudspeaker is an electroacoustic transducer that produces sound in response to an electrical audio signal input. Non-electrical loudspeakers were developed as accessories to telephone systems, but electronic amplification by vacuum tube made loudspeakers more generally useful...
. This design concept has since been followed by other high end speaker manufacturers.
Other products
Roksan now has over 30 different products which include analogue and digital sources, electronics amplification and loudspeakers for audio as well as home cinemaHome cinema
Home cinema, also commonly called home theater, are home entertainment set-ups that seek to reproduce a movie theater experience and mood with the help of video and audio equipment in a private home....
.
Milestones
- 1985, introduction of the Xerxes turntable.
- 1986, launched the Darius loudspeaker
- 1987, introduced the Artemiz tonearm
- 1987, their first moving coil phono cartridgeMagnetic cartridgeA magnetic cartridge is a transducer used for the playback of gramophone records on a turntable or phonograph. It converts mechanical vibrational energy from a stylus riding in a spiral record groove into an electrical signal that is subsequently amplified and then converted back to sound by a...
, the Shiraz, was launched. - 1988, Roksan's first lifestyle product, the Hot Cake loudspeakers introduced.
- 1989, introduced their first phono amplifier, Artaxerxes, fitted inside the Xerxes, into which plugged directly the tonearm cable.
- 1989, launched the budget Radius record player, Tabriz arm and Corus moving magnet cartridge.
- 1990, first range of electronics, the ROK S1 stereo amplifier and M1 mono amplifier with matching pre amplifiers and power supplies.
- 1991, Roksan's first CD player, the ROK DP1 introduced
- 1991, launched top of the range TMS record player.
- 1992, Roksan replaced the ROK DP1 with the Attessa CD playing system consisting of CD transport, DACDigital-to-analog converterIn electronics, a digital-to-analog converter is a device that converts a digital code to an analog signal . An analog-to-digital converter performs the reverse operation...
and power supply. - 1993, production of the new Ojan 3 and 3X loudspeakers started.
- 1994, Rokone loudspeaker was released in a variety of real wood veneers.
- 1994, Attessa and the ROK series of products were fully upgraded to DP3 and ROK 1.5 versions.
- 1995, the 3 plinth 10th anniversary Xerxes.X, implementing design ideas from the TMS, replaced the original Xerxes turntable.
- 1998, the four piece Caspian Audio System (Integrated amplifier, CD player, and FM Tuner) was launched.
- 1999, a digital surround sound processor (DSP), a five-channel AV amplifier and DVD playerDVD playerA DVD player is a device that plays discs produced under both the DVD-Video and DVD-Audio technical standards, two different and incompatible standards. These devices were invented in 1997 and continue to thrive...
were added to the Caspian system. - 2000, Introduction of the new Kandy line, lifestyle starter Audio System.
- 2001, the Caspian phono amplifiers were released.
- 2002, TMS2 replaced the original TMS.
- 2003, release of the Radius 5 turntable and Nima tonearm, and the Roksan set-up LP for record players.
- 2003, Kandy MKIII system, (Kandy integrated amplifier, stereo amplifier, Three channel amplifier, CD player and AM/FM Tuner) released.
- 2004, Caspian M-series (Pre amplifier, mono amplifier, integrated amplifier, stereo power amplifier, phono amplifier, CD player, FM tuner and dedicated Xerxes speed control).
- 2004, released ALTITUDE, its first ever recording of a collection of some very special music from some very talented musicians.
- 2005, 20th anniversary Xerxes.20 replaced the Xerxes.X, incorporated the new improved TMS2 bearing ball and the new Rmat-5 sub-plinth for record players; reference R-series7 mono block, pre amplifier
- 2007, Platinum pre amplifier and stereo amplifier
- 2008, TMS3 record player
- 2008, K2 CD Player
- 2008, K2 Int Amplifier
- 2009, K2 TR5 Speaker
- 2009, K2 Stereo Amplifier
- 2009, Radius 5 Mk-II/Nima
- 2010, Radius 5 Mk-II/Nima
- 2010, M2 CD Player
- 2010, M2 Integrated Amplifier