Roksan Caspian 4G integrated amplifier
This reviewing malarkey never ceases to amaze me. Our esteemed editor will ask if I am interested in reviewing a product and I will agree, usually without getting into a lather awaiting the ring of the doorbell by the courier. Other times I cannot wait to get my hands on the piece. If I am being brutally honest, I was not champing at the bit awaiting the arrival of the Caspian 4G. But the wise counsel of an old teacher not to yield to contempt prior to investigation came to mind as I carried the Roksan box into the listening room when it arrived. This thing is substantial, it weighs 15kg without its very comprehensive packaging.
The fit and finish of the black Caspian 4G review sample was absolutely first rate. The metal case work is handsome, with substantial cooling vents on either side of the top plate. The front is dominated by a circular multi-function control knob. To its left are amber lights confirming input selection and a numerical readout of the volume setting and to the right a series of vertical orange LEDs which give a clearer indication of the volume setting.
The rear panel is a well laid out with a single pair of multiway binding posts for loudspeaker connection at either end, plus RCA inputs and a grounding post for the built-in moving magnet phono stage. Next are two more pairs of RCA inputs and a pair of XLR inputs. Below that are three pairs of pre-outs, one being XLR and the other two RCA. Then we have three sockets dedicated to 12v triggers, next to them is a separate but integrated panel for access to the built in DAC with two coax and two optical inputs. Last but not least there is a receiver for connection to Roksan’s Maestro Unite app and the IEC power input socket.
The supplied remote control comes in a fabric sleeve, which is a nice touch. It feels good in the hand and allows the user to wake the unit up from standby, select inputs and control the volume. There is also a mute switch, which comes in handy when the phone rings as it often does during one of my extended listening sessions.
Internally, the Caspian 4G has been very well specified. It is a dual mono design, and is rated at 105W into an 8 Ohm load and 200W into 4 Ohms. The phono stage offers three levels of gain to allow adjustment for different moving magnet designs. My own Vertere Dark Sabre performed brilliantly at the default 0 dB setting, so I left it there, but it may be worth experimenting to make sure you are getting the most from your vinyl front end. Roksan explain the Euphoria amplification design and Rapture DAC technology on their website and I strongly suggest that if this amplifier appeals to you that you delve into that resource.
This review was conducted using my own Harbeth C7ES XD stand mount loudspeakers, connected with Tellurium Q Ultra Silver II interconnect cable, with my trusty Yamaha CD-S3000 acting both as a silver disc spinner and DAC. I chose to connect the Yamaha via the XLR inputs, again using Tellurium Q Ultra Silver II. Power came through the Shunyata Research Delta 6. The previously mentioned Vertere Dark Sabre was mounted in the Ittok arm on my Linn Sondek LP12. For streaming I connected my Auralic Aries Mini via coax into one of the two sockets available. Our television was plugged into one of the optical inputs.
I should say that the Caspian 4G is available in two configurations. There is a ‘traditional’ integrated amplifier, as reviewed here, and another with the same amplification system but with a streaming board added. There is of course an app available called Maestro Unite, which would be a must-have if you choose the streaming version. As I only had the Caspian 4G here for a limited time I stuck to the remote control supplied – it works very well and is all I needed for my use case.
Caspian 4G in action
Waking the Caspian 4G from its stand by state took just one touch of the button on the remote. I scrolled though the input options until I reached the digital one attached to the Aries Mini. With a view to simply warming up the amplifier I cued up the 2019 remaster of one of my favourite albums from the 1960s (it is a long list!) namely the Rolling Stones’ Let It Bleed. This an 88.2Khz/24bit file, and the remastering was done by Bob Ludwig for this edition of the album, released to celebrate its 50th anniversary. I set the volume to a central position using the dial, sat down and pressed play on the Auralic Lightning DS app on the iPad. The Caspian 4G had me from the opening guitar riff on the first track, Gimme Shelter. Even with the amplifier cold this was a commanding performance and by the time we got to the sinister atmosphere of Midnight Rambler I was enraptured.
It had a wide, deep soundstage, with Jagger strutting his stuff and blowing his harmonica to great effect too, while his bandmates got to work behind him. I read recently but I cannot remember who said it that the Stones were a bar band who got lucky. For sure, a lot of their work reflects their love and respect for the blues, but they took the form in new directions. Midnight Rambler is a blues song at its dark heart, but it is also a rock song and it absolutely demanded complete attention when presented through the Caspian 4G. As the album was playing I had nudged up the volume little at a time and by Midnight Rambler I was complying with the instruction on my physical copy’s inner sleeve to ‘play it loud’. The Caspian 4G had the Harbeth’s absolutely singing. The majestic finale of the album is of course You Can’t Always Get What You Want, and the finale chorale turned our modest living room into a huge auditorium. I had goosebumps.
Actually, that one album set the scene for the rest of my time with the Caspian 4G. It made me want to sit and listen to music, sometimes at the expense of other things I should have been doing. I used the phono stage regularly and found it to be an extremely good musical communicator. The Caspian 4G happened to arrive here in early December, so Christmas music featured quite heavily and I brought out my box set of G.F.Handel’s Messiah released by Decca on their L’Oiseau-Lyre label. 44 years after I bought it and first played it I still found it compelling. The Academy of Ancient Music, directed by Christopher Hogwood, were joined for this recording by the Choir of Christ Church Cathedral Oxford. The soloists were Judith Nelson and Emma Kirkby (sopranos), Carolyn Watkinson (contralto), Paul Elliott (tenor), and David Thomas (bass). Together, all these excellent musicians deliver an unforgettable performance, but for me it is Ms Kirkby who stands out, her voice as pure as any I have heard. Through this system the recital had finesse when required but vitality too, and recreated the recording location of St. Jude-On-The-Hill in London to the degree that I felt I was right there at the recording.
In the evenings our attention usually turns to television and here again the Caspian 4G did a stellar job bringing movies to life and giving dialogue a sense of great realism. When watching one of our favourite Christmas movies (pause for vehement debate) Die Hard, the action scenes were delivered with power –when John McClane drops a chair bomb down a lift shaft and all the windows on the floor where it explodes blow out, we both ducked! All this achieved with just two loudspeakers and an exceptional amplifier.
Final thoughts
Last year at some point I had the Roksan Attessa streaming amplifier here for review and I rated it pretty highly. The Caspian 4G is its older sibling and takes the performance forward significantly. Put simply, this is an integrated amplifier that I would put at the heart of my own system with a glad cry, and never look back. It feels extremely well built and would probably see me out and perhaps my heirs and successors too. If it has any vices I certainly could not find them. Its virtues, however, are many and it’s orange light scheme matches the lights on my Yamaha, so they looked great on the rack together.
First and foremost, it is sonically exceptional. There is never space within the confines of a short review to cover everything but I can assure you that this amplifier is totally genre agnostic. From a delicate soprano voice to a rock band in full flow, the Caspian 4G delivers exactly what is required.
It is easy to use because the remote control has just the right amount of tactile feedback and fits nicely in the hand. The combination of a top class phono stage (albeit only moving magnet), both RCA and XLR inputs and a very competent onboard DAC with a power output stage that has the capability to match well with most loudspeakers that one would choose make this a very special amplifier indeed. Given that at the time of writing the purchase price here in the UK is £3,000 I would say that the Caspian 4G is a genuine audio bargain. It is superb and deserves the highest recommendation.