56,400 Euros, dollars or pounds is hardly chicken feed. But, whilst it sits well beyond most people’s means, it’s also considerably less than a single CH Precision M10, a pair of VTL Siegfrieds or Lohengrins, or any of the other high-zoot, high-end flagships out there. The CSA-1200s might not compete with the sheer quality of the flagship CH or VTL amps – but then nor do a lot of the high-priced competition. What the Kora mono-blocs do is stand on the next rung down, along with amps like the M1.1, while offering their own (and to my mind, unique) balance of virtues. A musical match for the amps to which I compared them, qualitatively they are close enough to make individual listening bias/preferences the deciding factor in each individual case. Like the M1.1 and S-400 II, they’ll happily embarrass many a more expensive offering, which is reason enough to give them an enthusiastic welcome. But the Koras real Ace-in-the-hole, the thing that makes them even more interesting to even more listeners, is the existence of their more affordable brethren. The smaller CSA-270 (you guessed it, a stereo chassis offering 70Watts/channel from essentially the same circuit as the CSA-1200) or CSA-1150 mono start at a far more affordable €19.8K each, the CSA-2120 at €28.2K! Bi-amping, anybody? Surely, the stereo amps are just crying out for the practicality and cost-effectiveness of the step-by-step upgrade path, while I suspect that a vertical bi-amped configuration would also improve the Koras spatial performance, focus and transparency.
The Kora CSA-1200 mono-blocs capture the natural tonality in recordings and deliver it with easy, affective, communicative intimacy. Their qualities are those more often associated with small amps, yet they combine them with serious power and capability when it comes to driving speakers. They do speak to your head, but much more convincingly to your heart. It’s a performance that is versatile when it comes to system matching, beguiling and extremely listenable. Some lucky listeners are about to discover the pot of amplifier gold at the end of their personal rainbows.
Price and availability:
Kora CSA-1200 mono-bloc amplifiers – €28,200/ea.
Manufacturer
Kora High Fidelity S.A.S.U.
Toulouse, France
+33 (0)5 34 51 53 18
www.kora.fr
contact@kora.fr
