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How good or otherwise is an original Roksan Xerxes with original psu and Rega RB300 arm

I think the other angle is the effect the LP12 had on my record buying through the mid 70's to the mid 80's. I was heavily into Peel and all the punk and new wave stuff, but I had foolishly bought an LP12 and the adaptor was such a PITA, that I rarely bought any 7" singles and then later, the 12" stuff started to come out and it was a real frustration! It was this that led me to buy the Xerxes; something to play 45's on! If I had used my sense, I would have bought a deck that played 45's in the first place!
 
wylton said:
I think the other angle is the effect the LP12 had on my record buying through the mid 70's to the mid 80's. I was heavily into Peel and all the punk and new wave stuff, but I had foolishly bought an LP12 and the adaptor was such a PITA, that I rarely bought any 7" singles and then later, the 12" stuff started to come out and it was a real frustration! It was this that led me to buy the Xerxes; something to play 45's on! If I had used my sense, I would have bought a deck that played 45's in the first place!
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That was my main reasoning too. I was never much for 7” singles, but I have a good amount of 12” and the six or seven-track 45rpm mid-priced ‘mini-album’ was a very popular indie format in the ‘80s and I have a lot of those (even played on one). A sadly neglected format these days. The only lasting benefit of buying the Xerxes was I do at least have a great collection of that type of record. Obviously with 20/20 hindsight I wish I’d gone down the vintage idler path earlier and just bought a mint 301, 401, 124 or even an EMT, but I just didn’t know about those decks at the time other than they existed and were used by radio stations etc. So annoying as you could find them so cheaply at the time!
 
Tony L said:
The Roksan one wasn’t simple, the first version at least was a full circuit board and ran very hot to the point it cooked itself/failed in under a year.
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Likewise, I had Rayleigh Hifi travel down to Ramsgate to install Xerxes, Artemiz and Shiraz just before Christmas 1987 (I think). The very hot-running p/supply packed up shortly after. The deck lasted well for 6/7 years or so with a replacement but sounded awful in that last year. I thought it might have been the cart. or the Michell Iso phono stage ( to replace Naim boards), but wonder now if the geometry had been thrown out by a (not noticeable to me at the time) sagging top-plate. Whatever, the Orbe, Five and Clavis, fresh out of Borehamwood, was a totally different ball game.
 
Yep..just to be clear I was quoting from another post and further on commented that I did understand the vitriol!! After all my Xerxes also sagged but fortunately didn't suffer the other problems experienced by Tony and Wylton. From their posts it is as much the unhelpful and bloody minded attitude they experienced in dealing with Roksan that still raises the blood pressure - totally justified. However in the context of the OP's post and given he already is a long term Xerxes owner it's not really addressing the question. Being in a similar position, I am sorely tempted by the new Rega decks and also the new entry level Vertere deck (I'm not keen on anything with a bouncy suspension) and wonder if it is time to mothball the Xerxes if these newer models provide a significant upgrade. Amazingly so many years after vinyl was supposedly dead there is currently a huge choice so using the Xerxes as a benchmark is a sensible approach in trying to narrow the choice. I guess the obvious thing to do is go and have a listen once lockdown is finished.
 
IMHO
There are only two UK main stream decks from that period and general price range that stand up for total reliability and ease of ownership. These decks will run almost indefinitely until the laws of physics/nature take over.
The Michell and the Townshend and both were well supported to boot.
Neither, however, offered the peak of performance though very good.

I have deliberately not mentioned the LP12, up until now, as I've held a pet hate for it for a very long time and this forum on the whole, loves it. Owned one briefly, sorry but neither I nor Linn themselves, could ever get it to sound competitive. A Mantra, of curiously similar design, out performed it and severely under priced it. Linn is, in my view, the epitome of over priced but well marketed gear that is easily out performed by far cheaper offerings.
This view was not changed by working with a dealer for them either, to the contrary it was reinforced. The only Linn stuff I ever had time for was their multi room, custom install kit of the time which was class leader.
 
daytona600 said:
bought a Xerxes , Xerxes 20+ , TMS & currently a Vertere & they never missed in beat in decades
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Now you sir, have my respect! Loved my Roksan... oh the pain and it, with all my lovely records, gone forever.... The TMS..... a thing of beauty.
Prey do tell sir ,what of the Vertere and it's beguiling beauty. Please do tell us how it sounds.....
 
Tony L said:
What?! The crappy bendy MDF? The wonky ‘blobs’? The exploding PSU?! It had a nice shiny platter, but that aside to my eyes the build quality was far below say a SEE Revolver or Rega 3 which was a third of the price. I’m sorry, but the Mk I Xerxes was junk IMHO. The only hi-fi product I’ve ever bought where I later felt I’d been mugged. Dreadful build quality and terrible product support (they repaired the blown-up PSU but refused to acknowledge the obvious bent MDF top-plate issue as I suspect I was one of the first to observe it). I’d never personally buy Roksan (or for that matter Veritas) again as a result.
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I don't think 35 years of good service (which I've had from mine) fits with your description but by all means rant away!

Tim
 
onlyconnect said:
I don't think 35 years of good service (which I've had from mine) fits with your description but by all means rant away!
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Fair enough. I clearly got a crap one along with an awful customer service experience. I don’t feel I’m ranting at all, just very accurately describing my personal experience of buying a Xerxes in 1986 and trying (and failing) to have it put right. I’m pleased to hear they were not all as bad as the one I was sold!

PS I own this website so obviously have to be very careful about libel. Everything I have written I know to be 100% true!
 
Was it just me.But could anyone else hear any difference with the removable center spindle removed ?
I certainly couldn't.
Maybe with a maxed out Xerxes - Artemiz - Shiaz - Artazerxes you could.
Also looking back buying a very early Xerxes,I think it was only available in black with black lid.
It was a very depressing looking piece of kit.
At least with a LP12 in black you had the clear Linn lid at that era in time.But all that black it was like having Darth Vader in the lounge.
It certainly had some radical new ideas like the motor suspended on springs.Something they adopted on the Darius Loudspeakers in those caged stands.With the tweeters hung from the cabinets on the springs.
My mate who was Roksans UK sales manager at the time had a pair of Darius back in 1988 - 1990 and his Mrs resented them from a looks point - Big time.System sounded pretty good though.Maxed out Xerxes and a Bryston 12B preamp and 4B power amp.
Roksan had started importing Bryston back then for a year or 2,then PMC took over the agency.
 
Stunsworth said:
What amazed me was that I never lost it.
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I kept on forgetting it and then it coming off when I removed the record, I dropped it down behind the records below the deck many times. If you see my picture upthread that involved removing the cassette deck, dismantling the shelf (a couple of planks resting on painted breeze-blocks) and removing the records. A total PITA! I remember one time I couldn’t find the damn thing anywhere the day after a somewhat drunken late-night session only to eventually locate it still stuck in the record centre hole back in the sleeve!

To be honest I rather liked it as I’m quite pitch-sensitive and it offered an option to manually centre an eccentric record. It was fiddly to do, but certainly possible. I can’t recall ever hearing a difference in vs. out otherwise, and don’t really see a logical mechanism how one would. For all its obvious faults the Xerxes was a very quiet deck indeed, I was never aware of any mechanical noise etc.
 
The idea was that the LP wasn’t coupled directly to the bearing wasn’t it? I’m guessing that with it removed the intention was that the felt mat offered some decoupling.
 
That was the idea, but given it was a very quiet bearing and well decoupled from the motor I can’t see there would be much if any measurable gain. Do the current Veritas decks retain that design element?
 
Hello,

I did not know that Tony was the administrator of this site.

I think I Mentioned earlier that I registered for this site many years ago since it had some excellent information on the Xerxes.
I have found this site to be one of the best out there.

Yes,
I totally understand and support your opinions regarding Roksan.
I was just trying to share my own experience with them.
The only real issues I ever had and still have is pricing.

Every time I needed help they took very good care of me.
I do not think things will stay the same after Tufan left.
Their current turntables seem to be quite different than their older models.

I feel quite lucky that my Xerxes is still running.
They are so temperamental.
I never suggested getting one currently.
But mine is able to make great sounds especially for a deck of its age.

Most of the other decks at the time really do not even compare to the Xerxes other than possibly the Linn.
Alphason,Michell,PT,Rega,Source and Voyd are totally different designs.

I think most of these would not be anywhere as temperamental as the Xerxes.

Like I said earlier,
Rega is a great piece of Kit.
Just not the direction I wanted to go.

If I had to do this all over again,
I would have looked at something completely different due to my arm.
Avid,Michhell or SME.

Found it interesting to read that someone else has VDH cartridge on theirs.
I have A MC2 that has been re tipped and modified by AJ.

I would rather not get into rats nest regarding cables but I recently upgraded my cables in my AV system.
Every time I turn on that system,
I am
just plain shocked and amazed by the increase in SQ.
Its not Snake Oil.

Again,
Thank you for keeping this wonderful site up and running.

Most appreciated
 
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