Hmmm.
Positives: for a boutique relatively low volume manufacturer, albeit with Monitor Audio’s might behind them now, buying the rights to use BluOS is a very wise move IMO, as per DALI and others who’ve done the same thing.
Saves cost of R&D, and saves putting out a nice amp onto the market only to be spoiled by a flaky troublesome poorly supported in-house app that turns your beautiful piece of hifi into a doorstop in 3 years when your phone’s OS outgrows it.
So a buyer can almost enjoy the best of both worlds here: Roksan’s undoubted amplifier design experience, and with trusted tested streaming software that should continue to be supported and updated over time.
I did think that Monitor Audio’s acquisition of Roksan would introduce additional ranges that would complement MA’s speaker ranges. So this seems to fit firmly below K3 territory, complementing MA’s Bronze series (as per Roksan’s release photo). So presumably they’ll see MA Silver complementing K3 and MA Gold with Caspian etc.
It is noteworthy though that the power rating for the amp is into 4ohms, so slightly misleading, its 8ohm rating is lower at 80wpc, confirming its lower position in Roksan’s hierarchy, compared to the K3’s boisterous 140wpc.
Would be nice to see the BluOS streaming and digital inputs available in the next K3. That would be a mouthwatering proposition.
Also, I tried to see if the Attessa had AV bypass. It’s not marked as such on the rear panel (just A1 or A2), but Roksan’s website seems to indicate that one is fixed and one is variable, so could possibly be used this way. i know the K3 has this feature, and it’s why in my own set-up, the combo of a K3 and the BluOS streaming module from the Attessa range is appealing, especially as my DALI Rubicons are quite power and current hungry. But I guess I’ll have to patiently wait for that. The hardworking R&D engineers can only work on so much at the same time.