Alpha Audio Update – a new reference amplifier

The Kora TB200 is my new reference amplifier for reviews.

It feels a bit like shedding my beliefs: I, adept of English hi-fi sound, now have a French amplifier in the house. But what you may not know is that I had a Danish amplifier for a long time.

Densen: the musical lines

A bit of personal HiFi history: in the year 2000, I bought a set of Audio Physic Spark speakers, which I still have and which possess a particular quality that makes you forgive them their limitations (more about this later). With those speakers, I bought a Densen amplifier and a Densen CD player. A set that Dutch distributor More Music had put up at a number of dealers to test the waters. It was certainly not everyone’s cup of tea, but for me it completely hit the mark.

The Densen CD player was a special case, especially the far-reaching mechanical unreliability was an annoying feature. Still, you took the many repairs for granted. As a listener, the player gave you a direct, almost tactile contact with the music. That was not just the CD player, the amplifier also played a role in it. Densen was known for their design without feedback in the amplifier circuit. The result was a very lively amplifier where every note was logically connected to the next note. To quote the cliché of all audio clichés: that thing made music. And how!

In the end, the CD player could not be repaired anymore because certain parts were no longer made and not in stock. I was able to buy the successor for a small extra cost, but it did not have the same magic. Digital music slowly came into fashion and eventually the Densen set was replaced by a Naim streamer and amplifier.

Naim: the presence of music

Naim was the brand that, of everything listened to leading up to the purchase, came closest to Densen’s musical drive. Once at home on trial with the Audio Physic speakers, the combination proved gold.

English hi-fi brands are renowned for their emphasis on PRaT: Pacing, Rhythm and Timing, something I am sensitive to. When listening to other English brands, for example Rega that shares the same genetics, I still preferred the Naim signature. Even though the Naim combination was a class above the Densen combination, I traded the note-to-note connection in the sound of the Densen for the rhythmic presence of Naim.

Audio Physic: inside the music

I have had the opportunity to review many fine pieces of equipment for Alpha Audio and it develops your insight into the choices equipment designers have to make. While I was reviewing, the Audio Physic Spark speakers proved to be a key ingredient. They are certainly not the best speakers in the world; I have had much better speakers alongside them. And yet, when I put the Sparks back in their place there is a sense of ‘yes, this is it’.

They have one quality that I have rarely heard elsewhere: the huge soundstage they produce in which you are drawn into the music. Like Alice entering a parallel world falling down the rabbit hole.

Kora: the music first

The review of the Kora TB200 did not come out of the blue. I was always curious about how this amplifier would sound. I had the TB140 in my house for a few weeks and what I heard made me curious. Eventually, the TB200 came up for review.

I rarely want what I review to be in my system right away, the exception being the amazing Art Speak coaxial SPDIF cable. You just have to read the review of the Kora TB200, but the more I listened, the more two points became obvious:

• My physical reaction to the TB200 is unmistakable, I feel myself relaxing.
• The fond memories of the Densen CD player came back: the instant connection you feel with the music.

So is the TB200 the amplifier without sonic choices? It is not. Like Densen, it has opted for note-to-note connection. The strong rhythmic character of the English brands is not so tangible, but listening to them side by side reveals that the Kora is not inferior to the Naim in that area. The timing is correct, but the emphasis, and hence the experience, is different. The Kora creates space for music to claim attention and steps back into the shadows itself. And that, ultimately, is what matters. Especially when used as a reference amplifier.