[Gopher]

I know they've discontinued sales in the US and buying their products comes with a risk of no support, but this has also caused their pricing to plummet.

I've got a pair of Zu Soul Superfly speakers which are rated at 101db efficency into 16ohm and I'm particularly interested in the Jupiter or Galaxy Reference amplifiers as there are potential deals lined up for both.

I don't like cold, analytical, overly detailed, hifi sound.  I favor harmonic development, tonal accuracy, communication of emotion content, dynamic excitement and generally "soul" over audiophile adjectives...   Is this what Kora was about?

Is anyone in a position to contrast the Jupiter and Galaxy/Galaxy Ref?

Any info is appreciated as its quite scare on the web.

[Noseyears]

These guys are from france, but i've never had the chance to try one of their products....yet.

Here's a link to a review, hope it helps.
http://stereophile.com/tubepoweramps/1201kora/

[ratso]

i'm guessing you saw that agon amplifier because in the last half hour, i also was googling for info on these guys. very reasonable prices and they look pretty cool too.

[Gopher]

Thanks, that Cosmo ref and one review of the Galaxy ref are the only ones I could find.  Seems like the people that owned them love them for the most part with the biggest gripes being biasing them and very inconvenient to service as Kora no longer distributes in the US.

I did see the Galaxy that came up today, but what had piqued my interest was a Galaxy Ref ad that is almost expired and a very flexible seller.  In trying to find out anything from anyone with a Kora history I came across a semi-local gentleman with an upgraded Jupiter outfitted with NOS tubes he's willing to let go of at a good price.  It also just came back from servicing and re-biasing which is comforting.

As little as I could find on the Galaxy there is almost NOTHING on the Jupiter out there.  I suspect it would be a very good amplifier, but if it didn't fit my tastes precisely I would have a very difficult time re-selling.

I really want an Atmosphere S-30 (price prohibitive) but I'm very concerned about the exposed tubes and my 4 month old son being in the same room as my rig.  This is also giving me pause on looking into 845 SETs and why I'm shying away from the Galaxy and looking towards the Jupiter....

[zybar]

I owned a Kora Galaxy Reference and its big brother the Kora Cosmos Reference amps back in the day and I have good news and bad news for you.

Good news first - Kora produces some sweet sound and will be a really good match for what you are searching for.  The Galaxy reference will have warmish mids, with really nice texture and dimensionality.  High's will float and and be well defined.  The bass will be solid, but not quite as magical as the mids and highs.

Bad news - one word..."reliability".  I had problems with the Kora amps (as did others I know).  Given their very small US presence, it made getting the amps fixed very challenging and very expensive.

Personally, I would save your money and get the Atma-Sphere amp.  It will sound better, be more reliable, and be backed by excellent customer service from a company that has been around forever.

George