Well known for its Square Tube technology, French manufacturer Kora adds two stereo power amplifiers and two mono blocks to its catalog.
Since its creation in 2017 and the launch of its TB140 (VU#27 test), TB200 and TBB400 integrated amplifiers, Kora has subsequently released two TA240 and TA480 (VU#38 test) stereo blocks based on the power section of the two larger integrated units alone. Rated at 120W and 240W per channel at 8 ohms respectively, these amplifiers all operate in Class AB, leaving room for the latest toys from brand creator Bruno Vander Elst.
In pure Class A this time, the new blocks still benefit from the know-how of the designer, but also of his younger engineers, to combine a very powerful linear power supply with a very large number of filter capacitors. As proof, while the largest Class AB amp (TB 400) boasts a filtering capacity of 100 000 μF, the smallest Class A block (CSA 270) boasts four times as much, and the largest up to 560 000 μF.
With a relatively conventional depth of 440 mm for the first two, and a weight of 32 kg, the new amplifiers extend to 660 mm for the two largest, weighing 45 kg. In each unit, the four tubes of the Square Tube patent (2 ECC 82 and 2 ECC83) are combined to create a complete operational amplifier, with power delivered in pure Class A at 8 ohms, with current management allowing the amplifier to be placed in low current if the loudspeakers don’t need more, with the aim of saving energy.
Identified by their numbers, these CSA amplifiers are followed by 1 or 2 to specify whether they are mono or stereo units, and thus the number of channels to which they can send the signal. Then follows the power at 8 ohms, resulting in a stereo block of 2 x 70 W / 8 Ω (CSA 270) available in mono at 1 x 150 W / 8 Ω (CSA 1150), and the more imposing 2 x 120 W / 8 Ω (CSA 2120), bridged in mono at 1 x 200 W / 8 Ω (CSA 1200). The respective prices of these amplifiers are 19 800 € (CSA 270) and 28 200 € (CSA 2120), and double that if you wish to purchase two for a double-mono installation.
CH Precision, the benchmark brand in Swiss high-fidelity, is always seeking to go one step further in sound definition quality. Faithful to CD and SACD playback, the company had already released the D1.5 transport in its Series 1 (test VU#43&45), which is now completed with the ultimate D10.
In two chassis like all 10 series elements (to which we can still add a T10 external clock chassis), the D10 is a resolutely ultimate product set apart not only by its separate power supply, but also and above all by its new mechanics.
As explained by the chief engineer in Munich during the show, the D1.5 initially used the best OEM playback mechanism on the market, the Esoteric VRDS, subsequently withdrawn by the Japanese manufacturer to make it exclusive to its players. So, the Swiss engineers had to find an alternative solution with one of the only other mechanics available: the Denon. But when they received this one, they immediately identified that it could not meet the expected performance criteria, particularly in terms of vibration interference.
So the engineers went back to this mechanism to recreate a more massive one and a new drawer, moving from an element weighing just a few hundred grams to an in-house version weighing close to 2 kilos. But with the D10, they went even further, this time creating a huge block, developed for a proprietary aluminium composite version named MORSE, weighing a total of 13 kg and totally controlled in its vibrations (particularly in the subwoofer range) by the fact that it is suspended on alpha-gels in the chassis and the disc is loaded from the top, to avoid a drawer.
In the power supply unit, four totally galvanically isolated sections separate the current for the transport motor, control, DSP and clock, resulting in a total absence of feedback and therefore perfect fluidity of all components. Identifiable by its magnificent top-rotating closure system, the D10 can read CDs and SACDs, and boasts all the digital outputs you could expect from a device of this level, from classic TOSLINK optical and S/PDIF coaxial to AES/EBU and above all CH LINK HD, more ideal than USB for linking the transport to the DACs, and why not to the C10 presented last year and adapted this year in an even superior version.
Weighing between 64 and 66 kg (including the power supply chassis), the D10 is priced at 95 000 € (without the option of connecting it to the T10 clock).
For the last time, hi-fi’s most important trade show was held at Munich’s Event Center Messe (MOC), before being relocated by the High End Society to the larger (26 000m2) Austrian Center Vienna (AVC), in the center of the Austrian Capital from 2026.
For this latest edition, over 10 000 trade visitors and 11 000 individual visitors made the trip to enjoy the systems of over 500 exhibitors, divided over 4 halls and 3 floors, as well as in some rooms of the Motorworld located just opposite.
During this 2025 edition, the show showed more reason than in the previous two years, with products that were often geared towards the high-end, but also towards the search for ever greater improvements in listening conditions and precision. This dynamic was felt not only in the ultimate systems from certain brands (CH Precision 10 Series, Wilson Audio WAMM, YG Ultimate Gemini, Esprit Lisa & L’Esprit, Aurender N50, Stenheim Reference), but also in the new products presented by the majority of companies, starting with our French « belles » Atoll, Absolue Créations, Davis, Diptyque, Esprit, Jadis, Kora, Metronome/Audirvana, Solen, Totaldac and Qobuz and its new Qobuz Connect application, present throughout the show.
An opportunity to celebrate some major anniversaries (65 years of Audio Technica, 100 years of Luxman), this edition also saw the reappearance, thanks to historic distributors, of Koetsu cells (interview VU#60) and the Platine Verdier. In just over 230 pages, we invite you to take part in this journey, where dreams go hand in hand with the very finest engineering, with the same goal in mind: to enjoy the greatest music recordings in the best possible conditions.
Following on from the IN400 (VU#56; Remarkable) and CD400, French manufacturer Atoll continues to transform its highest series by upgrading the Signature models to Evolution versions.
Like the integrated amplifier and CD player, the AM400evo power amp and PR400evo preamplifier have been softened in their curves, bringing them closer to the design of the 300 series, although the preamplifier retains the specific aluminum rotary knobs of the previous version (and of the IN400evo), and the solid aluminum plate is 10 mm thick.
The rear panels are virtually unchanged: the AM400evo retains two pairs of speaker outputs, a pair of RCA and XLR inputs and a pair of RCA outputs. The PR400evo retains its multiple RCA inputs (with optional phono), five digital inputs (2 optical, 2 coaxial, 1 USB Audio), Tape Out, two pairs of RCA outputs and two pairs of XLR inputs and outputs, for signal transfer to two or even four bridged AM400evo (or in bi-amp mode).
Weighing in at 15 kg, the PR400evo’s power supply has been upgraded to make it even quieter; it is still filtered by capacitors with a total capacitance of 112 000 µF. For its part, the AM400evo still weighs 19 kg and has also had some components reworked, in addition to new shielding for the moving capacitors. It gains 10 watts at 8 ohms and 20 watts at 4 ohms, to reach 170W and 320W peak power respectively at these impedances. Total capacitance is in the same order of magnitude as its acolyte, at 111 300 µF.
The release date is announced for the end of June, with a slight increase of 300 € over the Signature versions, for a PR400evo now priced at 4 900 € and the AM400evo at 5 200 €.
After creating a surprise in 2024 with the presentation of two loudspeakers, the French cable manufacturer Esprit continues to expand its range with an even more imposing version.
At Munich’s High End 2025, the wooden stand has been further enhanced, and is visible from afar thanks to a handsome orange cube with the brand’s name and logo, placed just above it. But if in the middle of the stand you will find modulation cables that have obviously been redesigned in terms of connector quality compared to the G9 that we know, this year’s highlight is once again a loudspeaker.
Presented for listening in the manufacturer’s showroom, the Lisa becomes a three-way designed to surpass the Amelia floorstanding, from which it takes the drivers and tweeter technologies. But whereas the Amelia has a single mid-woofer, with a 20 cm-diameter NEXTEL-treated paper cone and an ALNICO motor, the Lisa uses two in a perfectly symmetrical structure, with the top one devoted to midrange and the bottom one cut to handle bass, up to 28 Hz. The AMT ribbon in the center measures 160 cm and is designed to deliver high frequencies up to 30 kHz.
As meticulous as ever, the cabinet’s thickness has been increased from 30 to 40 mm, in an MDF-bitumen-MDF sandwich structure designed to combine rigidity and flexibility. The filter circuits have been redesigned to differentiate the three channels, and are still made from the finest materials on the market, incorporating copper/tin Duelund capacitors and pure copper Mundorf coils, while the internal cabling is, of course, Esprit.
Placed on a decoupled feet structure to keep vibrations to a minimum, the Lisa also adds the option of integrating a plate at the rear to control frequency response in complex environments. Its two speaker terminals do not currently allow bi-amplification. Available in Satin Black, High Gloss White and Walnut, the Esprit Lisa is positioned at the very top of the range, priced at 38 000 € per pair. We will let you know more as soon as we see her!
