The result is a long way from the sonic holography of the sort so fashionable in high-end audio a few decades ago. But what it is, is genuinely affecting. While the CSA-1200s can be stunningly convincing on smaller, intimate recordings, like the Ella or Janis Ian’s Between The Lines (Columbia/Boxstar 88697691871) the grandeur and emotional sweep of larger scale pieces (Vivaldi’s Gloria – on L’Oiseau-Lyre DSLO 554) or denser pop/rock recordings (the guilty pleasures of Genesis – Selling England By The Pound – from the 1970-1975 SACD box) can be intoxicating. The meandering piano opening of ‘Firth Of Fifth’ brings with it an undeniable sense of inevitability, leading inexorably to those crashing, opening chords. The shift in density is impressive – in both directions. The quiet central passages on flute or piano offer dramatic musical contrasts with the building cascade of drums and power chords, bringing stature and majesty to the track. This is definitely hi-fi as musical experience rather than intellectual exercise.
In one sense, the Koras’ biggest challenge is that they don’t sound the way most people will expect them to: ‘sweet’ can mean ‘soft’, ‘unforced’ can mean ‘sluggish’. That’s where the supports and grounding components come in, instilling attributes that are both hi-fi and musical in nature, adding hi-fi qualities without undermining – in fact, building on – the amps’ underlying musical integrity. You take that natural tonality and harmonic development and combine it with its over-arching sense of musical rhythm and pace and you have the basis of an involving and compelling performance. There are few givens in audio, but work with the Kora amps, in terms of system and ancillaries and those core musical values quickly emerge.
Playing the Kertesz ‘New World’ (with the VPO on Decca SXL 2289) on the Koras, the inherent sense of space captured in the recording brings acoustic volume to the reproduction, even if that space is not as transparent or precisely defined as either the VTL or CH amps deliver. But the colour and texture of the instruments is incredibly natural, the pacing spot on. There’s plenty of tension when required – as in the opening – but the mood shifts as effortlessly as the tone and textures, underscoring dramatic and emotional contrasts with an emphatic confidence. The result is a reading that draws the listener in, caressing and impressing by turns, offering a distinctive, characterful and new perspective on this familiar recording of familiar music. The scope of that musical access is one point. The other is its basis: exactly the same qualities that make the upright bass on ‘Good Morning Heartache’ so present, motive and tactile. Simpler recordings offer far less of a spatial challenge and a greater natural clarity and separation. The more congested the soundstage, the harder it is to sort out. The Koras won’t heighten space or transparency in a recording – but they will work with what’s there – and for many listeners that is enough.
