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.
28/05/2025
