[Sonny]

Hi all, I am interested or have an opportunity for a pair of French made Kora Reference Mono Blocks.  I don't have any experience with these or heard of them.  I was hoping for some feedback on these.

Anyone with experience on these babies, please, I would love to hear your comments.  I am or will be driving a pair of Meadowlark Herons.

Thanks!
S

PS, here's the link to their site:  http://www.kora.net/

[zybar]

As long as you don't ask them to deliver lots of current below 4 ohms, don't require SOTA bass, are ok with using a volt meter to match tubes, and don't mind some heat from the 32 tubes in the pair of amps, they are great!

George

[toobluvr]

Hi all, I am interested or have an opportunity for a pair of French made Kora Reference Mono Blocks.  I don't have any experience with these or heard of them.  I was hoping for some feedback on these.

Anyone with experience on these babies, please, I would love to hear your comments.  I am or will be driving a pair of Meadowlark Herons.

Thanks!
S

PS, here's the link to their site:  http://www.kora.net/

I assume you mean the Kora Cosmos monos?
Kora makes regular Cosmos, and Cosmos Reference.

I owned the stereo version...the Kora Galaxy Reference.
I owned it for several years, and teamed it with many speakers, including my Meadowlark Heron "i".

I found it to be very clean, but a bit lean, dry and lacking in real musicality.   Impressive was the clarity, especially in the mids,  and the low noise floor and black backgrounds, but I would never got drawn in or emotionally connected to the music.  I would get annoyed by the threadbare, cool and clinical nature of the sound, and ultimately would get bored and just kindof walk away from it.  It never rivetted me to my seat.

Aditionally, regardless of the speaker I used, I found the bass to be lean and lightweight.  I am certainly no bass freak, but I would find myself straining to hear bass lines, and percussion in general.  It always sounded like it was distant or barely there.....or turned down below rest of music.

Others may have a different opinion, but these qualities existed not only through the Herons, but with all the other speakers I used it on.  Namely: Silverline Sonatinas, Silverline Sonata, Coincident Super Eclipse, and Ref 3A MM deCapo 'i".

Again....these comments relate only to my experience with the Galaxy Reference stereoblock.  I don't know if they apply to the Cosmos or Cosmos Reference monos.  And it is conceivable that others would be happy with it.  After all, it is highly reviewed.  But my taste leans to the SET side of things, and the Galaxy just didn't provide enough of that flavor.  Even though much less powerful, I ALWAYS preferred my ASL 845 monos to the Galaxy Ref.  More fluid, textured, robust sounding, harmonically complete, and most importantly....musical.

As a caveat, I should probably add that the fella I sold it to is very technical and quite knowledgable about circuits.  Matter of fact, he builds preamps and amps.  Upon listening, he thought there was a serious problem with it.  Said it sounded gutless and anemic.  He tested it and found it only putting out 12 wpc....way below spec.   He tested the output tubes and they just measured at acceptable levels.  But he didn't think that was the problem.   He guessed it was something more serious....like a bad power (or output) transformer.  But I never heard back about any final diagnosis or resolution.  

So whether this amp problem existed when I had it and caused what I was hearing, or maybe it just got damaged in the cross-country shipping, I dunno.  Just wanted to give the complete picture.

FWIW....I've noticed over time that Kora products are a bit of a tough sell.  In one sense this is good in that you can buy at a low price.  But it may also suggest a lack of demand and desirability in the   marketplace....possibly making resale difficult when you are on the other side of the equation.

One other thing that bears mentioning is that I owned 2 Kora amps and they both required repair work over rather brief ownership periods.  I have heard similar reports from other Kora owners.  Just something to keep in mind, especially since they are overseas, and have very little representation in this country.  

In my case, I could not even find an authorized repair center in the US.  And while the Kora folks were ultimately helpful,  responses to emails were late, often sporadic, and sometimes impaired by language difficulties.
On both ocassions, what with all the delays, and back and forth with France, language problems, shipment of parts, return of wrong parts, etc.....both repairs entailed extensive time in the shop.   Overall, my experience was that it was a big hassle dealing with repair issues on this gear.

My intent is not to hurt Kora, for I think they have some nice products.  I just wanted to honestly relay my firsthand experiences.

[toobluvr]

forget to mention.....

Friggin' pain in the ass to bias!!

 

[meilankev]

Sonny,

I have owned a pair of KORA Cosmos monoblocks for four years now. My monoblocks are not the Reference version, only the stock amps. I also use their 2-channel preamp - the Eclipse, which I received a few months after. I use the Cosmos pair to drive VMPS RM40 speakers full-range. Note the RM40s have a reputation for guzzling current, and are not an easy load.  I've also owned these speakers for four years.

Here are some of my impressions:

> When connected via the balanced inputs, the sound is noticeably superior than via the unbalanced inputs.  Hence, if you do not own a balanced preamp, you will not be hearing them at their best.

> I leave my monoblocks (and preamp) on 24 hours a day; 7 days a week.  I have not had one problem with either of the monoblocks - reliability has not been an issue at all. I simply walk into my listening room, and my system is raring to go. Also note the Russion-made 6AS7G tubes are ultra-durable and long-lasting.

> That said, it is indeed a hassle to bias the tubes (as George mentioned). I do this bi-monthly, but I still have not gotten used to it - it is a pain.  If you decide to purchase the amps, I will be glad to assist you with this process.

> George is also correct when he states their ability to heat up a room.  My listening room is pretty small (16' x 15' x 8'), and is completely enclosed, and the temperature in there is easily 5 degrees hotter than the loft area just outside the door.  Fortunately for me, these two rooms share a single A/C unit, so I can control the temperature in there without affecting the entire home.

> My experiences with the folks from KORA (in France) has been nothing short of wonderful. When building my preamp, they actually sent me an e-mail asking which phono cartridge I would be using so they could tweak the phono stage to mate perfectly with it!!!  They've always responded to my questions immediately, and I never had a problem understanding the content.

> Well, how do they sound, right???? The strong suit of my system is its dynamics - both microdynamics (leading edge transients) and macrodynamics (dynamic range). The impact of drums and percussion (to include instuments like acoustic piano) is noteworthy.  They mate very well with the ultra-quick ribbons (mids and tweets) of the RM40s.  Of course, synergy is always an issue when matching tube amps with other components.

> Would any reasonable person be hesitant to purchase these amps?  Sure, I completely understand this.  After all, who knows how much longer they will even have a US presence? And what do you do if they disappear (and stop responding to American customers)?  Particularly when it seems too many owners are having reliability issues (per the poster above).  After all, Conrad-Johnson and Cary aren't going anywhere, and they make a quality product, as well.

> But despite all this, I bought the KORAs (and I bought them new).  My budget was such that I had many, many choices when it came to which amp I would choose to drive my speakers.  Plus, keep in mind that I do not swap out audio gear just for the fun of it. I fully expect to keep my system for another 10-12 years.  And therefore, any "mistake" would have far-reaching consequences.  But I have not once regretted the decison to buy the KORAs (or any other component in my chain). I researched audio gear for over a year prior to getting my rig, and I feel that this time was well spent. I am as satisfied as someone could possibly be.

Good luck to you in your decision!!
Kevin

[Sonny]

Thank you Kevin, George and Tooblur for your feedback...
I did read some good things on the Kora Cosmos, especially the mids and highs, however, the lack of bass persence, mentioned by Tooblur and the reviews i've read is a little discerning, as I love the bass, instrument that is, and if i missed the snap and crackle of the strings, well then, don't know if I'd be playing any Ray Brown, Ron Carter or even Janos Starker (cellist) on the Koras...

I will keep reading and again, more feedback is welcomed, and of course, thank you for the detailed feedback from everyone who posted!

S

[meilankev]

Sonny,

My system handles Ray Brown without any problem.  I have audiophile vinyl recordings of his "Soular Energy", of him with the Gene Harris Trio, as well as with LA4.  The RM40s play pretty deep in my room, and there is no flab or muddiness at all when driven by the KORAs.  When Mr Brown attacks the strings, that percussive attack comes through loud and clear.  

That is not to say that my system does not have problems with certain bass-heavy music.  But I'm certain the problem lies more with the interaction between the RM40s and my smallish room than it does with the KORAs ability to control the woofers of my speakers.  I fully admit that bass-heavy CDs such as Elvis Costello's "When I was Cruel" and Boz Scaggs' "Dig" can bring my system/room to their knees.

But the $40.00 question is "would a 400W mega-buck Solid State amp improve this in any way"?  Who's to say, but I wouldn't count on it.  I'm pretty sure that only some type of bass equalization component would bring about any real improvements - by targeting problem frequencies (peaks/voids) in my room.

But I'm not naive - I'm certain that if my system was in a larger room, my KORAs would almost certainly not be up to the task at driving these large speakers to even medium-loud volumes.  I know I would need to augment them by employing a biamp configuration.  But since my listening room doesn't have a lot of "air" to fill with sound, the KORAs are just fine.

Kevin

[Sonny]

Kevin,
thanks for the detailed feedback.  Well, actually, my monos (SS) are giving my room more than it can handle with the Meadowlark Herons...  I have built four four feet tall by 18" wide Jon Rische style tube bass traps and they do wonders, but at times, even still, the bass is too much.  My room is about 16x19 and the ceilings are about 14 ft high.  The ceilings though, are not even.  So, needless to say, the room has bass issues around 90-120 khz, but with with the traps, they its great, but still and issue with some music.

Anyways, I am still looking into the Koras, but if the biasing and well, the  troublesomeness of them are a pain, perhaps not...

Again, thanks for your feedback!

btw, where are you located?

[meilankev]

Sonny,

Well, I'm not about to try to minimize the chore of biasing these monoblocks.  It takes a good 30 minutes to bias the pair, and I never fail to grumble about it. Many other tube amps have the adjustments easily accessible, and of course, many other tube amps are auto-bias.  I feel the KORA engineers put so much thought into the sonic capabilities of these monoblocks, but why not spend a little more time thinking of how to make them a little more user-friendly (or a lot more ).

And I also admit that the fact that my KORA equipment has been trouble-free will do very little to offset the other post that claims he/she is aware of a number of KORA owners who have had problems with their equipment (not to mention slow response times at getting resolution).  Reliability and durability are very important, and I would certainly understand if this causes you to go in a different direction.  I know I would be singing a very different tune if I would be running into those kinds of problems.

Kevin

P.S. - I live in the northern Tampa Bay area.  If you are ever in the Tampa/Orlando area, give me a holler - you have a standing invitation to drop by.

[zybar]

Sonny,

Kevin and I had the same amps driving the same speakers in different sized rooms with different results.

I always felt like the Kora amps could never really deliver in the bass area.   My room was 25x18x7 and I had tons of acoustic treatments.

My results pretty much reinforce what Kevin has already stated.

Personally, given the product reliability issues (mine had problems as well), lack of presence in the States, and some of the usability issues (tube biasing, heat concerns, etc...) I would really stay away from them.

If you want an amp that can do it all and not totally break the bank, get a used McCormack DNA-500.  This amp doesn't sound like your typical SS amp in any way.  You can read lots of glowing reviews (from the press and individuals) here on AC as well as all the audio formus + McCormack's webpage.

Just my usual two cents...

George

[toobluvr]

.............And I also admit that the fact that my KORA equipment has been trouble-free will do very little to offset the other post that claims he/she is aware of a number of KORA owners who have had problems with their equipment (not to mention slow response times at getting resolution).............

Last time I checked.....
I am a he.

[meilankev]

Sorry about that.  Perhaps you should sign your name at the end of your posts - it adds a real personal touch.

Kevin