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Roksan was founded in 1985 by Tufan Hashemi and Touraj Moghaddam. The company name is a derivation of Roxana; the daughter of King Darius of Persia, reflecting the roots of its founders and starting a strong Persian theme in the company’s naming policy. The original Roksan product was the Xerxes turntable that, in highly updated form, continues in production to this day. The Xerxes was a root and branch reworking of the principles of turntable operation that paid considerable attention to the manner in which the cartridge sat relative to the groove of the record. This meant the abandoning of conventional suspension in favour of a pliant rubber system that isolated the playing surface in a more controlled way.
The Xerxes proceeded to be joined by a variety of supporting electronics, many of which were barely less successful in terms of awards and sales. The long running Caspian and Kandy ranges delivered excellent performance from compact and attractive units and continue to do so. The company also produced some fascinating speakers, including the tiny single driver Hotcake and sophisticated Darius models. The Xerxes was joined by the more affordable Radius and very high end TMS turntables as well.
After Moghaddam departed the company, Hahemi ran it single handedly until 2016 when it was purchased by Monitor Audio who has evolved Roksan into a suitable partnering brand for their extensive range of loudspeakers. The Attessa range of components were the first all new Roksan products in many years and combine the company’s considerable engineering knowhow with features like the BluOS streaming platform that makes them able to function in a manner that is entirely up to the minute. Keeping with Roksan tradition, the range is also complimented by an all new Attessa turntable.
