The Kula Integrated Amplifier
Beautiful, lush curves, with a clean and enchanting sound— what more could you ask for? Kula is an a la carte modular design creating a fusion of highly technical features, including an incredibly transparent line stage, a staggering amount of EQ settings, and a highly acclaimed discrete DAC with incredible specs. Six separate inputs combined with highly advanced software gives you unprecedented control over your listening experience; be it vinyl, digital, or both!
Kula Additions
Optional additions to the Kula include the Mola Mola Phono stage, and the Mola Mola DAC. The Mola Mola phono stage is incredibly quiet— unlike the more common arrangement of an MC head amp feeding into the MM stage, the two stages are fully independent, realizing an equally short signal path for both. Input resistance and capacitance are individually switchable. Available EQ settings cover practically all known cutting curves used, including most 78RPM. All settings are software controllable, either on the fly using a smart-phone and tablet via the Mola Mola Remote app or directly stored under the preset buttons. The preamp can be configured to route any input through the phono stage, allowing you to have multiple turntables and cartridges connected.
The Mola Mola DAC was designed from the ground up to be 10 years ahead of the performance curve. To accomplish this, Mola Mola’s DAC is designed using circuits and digital algorithms that were entirely developed in house. On the first board, all incoming digital audio is upsampled to 3.125MHz/32 bits and converted to noise shaped PWM. On the other board are two mono DACs, in which a discrete 32- stage FIR DAC and a single-stage 4th order filtering I/V converter, convert the PWM into analogue with a breathtaking 130dB SNR. This is near the theoretical limit for 24-bit files and far beyond that of even quad-speed DSD. Uniquely, distortion remains below the noise floor even for full scale signals. A quick look at current and historic trends of high-end IC’s indicates that for the foreseeable future this kind of performance will remain unavailable to manufacturers forced to rely on the same “chip du jour” that also powers their competitors’ products. Even by today’s exacting standards, extraordinary care has been taken to deal with jitter. Mola Mola’s DAC uses a home-grown asynchronous upsampling algorithm whose input frequency measurement slows down rapidly until after a few seconds of lock, the frequency ratio measurement is frozen. Frequency stability is then wholly determined by the internal clock, a laboratory grade 100MHz SC-cut oscillator. This is effectively an atomic clock sans the physics package.
Reviews-
Specifications-
I/O
3 balanced and 3 unbalanced inputs, selectable by switch and software
2 Pairs of Furutech binding posts. Directly connected to the amplifier PCB using Kubala·Sosna cable.
All inputs routable through optional processor boards like the phono stage
Processing balance and input gain offset
Phase invert and mono sum
Full software control of routing and processing
Mastering mode
PERFORMANCE
Maximum input level: 20dBu (7.75Vrms)
Input impedance: 100kohm
Unweighted Signal/Noise Ratio: 113dB
2x 150W/8R @1% 1kHz, 2x 300W/4R @1% 1kHz
2x 100W/8R @0.0005%, 2x 200W/4R @0.00075%, 1kHz
Output Impedance: 2mΩ – 7mΩ (20-20kHz) (measured directly on binding posts)
Bandwidth 50kHz @ -3dB
Gain resolution: <1dB, better than 0.2dB over normal listening range
CONTROL
6 programmable presets
(premium) Remote control
Mola Mola Remote app
Roon Ready (if DAC option fitted)
ADD-ON
Mola Mola Phono stage
Mola Mola DAC
DIMENSIONS AND WEIGHT
420mm (W) x 110mm (H) x 370mm (D). Depth includes volume knob and connectors. 11kg