New Mola Mola Perca Amplifiers at Capital Audiofest

[DDgtt]

A must-see exhibit at Capital Audiofest will be the GTT Audio room 715 (Nov. 10-12).

GTT Audio will exhibit a compact but musically grand system! The system will highlight a pair of the new Mola Mola Perca stereo amplifiers in a vertical bi-amp configuration. The rest of the system will consist of: Vivid Audio Giya G4s2 speakers; Mola Mola Makua preamp with built-in Tambaqui DAC circuit; Grimm MU1 Digital Music Source/streamer; DeJitter It Switch X & WiFi X, Kubala-Sosna Sensation cables and XPander power distribution center.

 

[bailyhill14]

I missed this show, but I got to audition the Mola Mola Perca amplifier at GTT audio. I was looking to replace my 40 year old Krell KSA-80B Class A amplifier which was driving my Apogee Scintillas. These are connected in one ohm fashion. The Preca drives them just fine, and the inprovement in the sound stage is quite impressive. I am hearing the secondary and backup singers when I play vocalists. Never heard this before with previous amplifier. Also upgraded to a Grimm Audio MU2. The combination is marvelous. Did the upgrade with the MU2 first and then a week later, the Perca so I could make sure each was carrying the weight. Not many amplifiers will drive the one ohm, but the Perca does just fine. Going from Class A to Class D was a sonic improvement and also lowered the A/C load on my music room.

 

[Audiohertz2]

This is good news , never heard a Class D with good timbre especially @1ohm..

Was your 80B ever recapped or brought up to date thru service ..?

Mola Mola Perca Amplifier

Waters on the Hardware: Mola Mola's Perca Stereo Amplifier, with the Tambaqui DAC to come

positive-feedback.com

For 10K could they not at least put this thing into a reasonable chassis , its barely big enough for the connectors..

Sad ...

 

[bailyhill14]

This is good news , never heard a Class D with good timbre especially @1ohm..

Was your 80B ever recapped or brought up to date thru service ..?

Mola Mola Perca Amplifier

Waters on the Hardware: Mola Mola's Perca Stereo Amplifier, with the Tambaqui DAC to come

positive-feedback.com

For 10K could they not at least put this thing into a reasonable chassis , its barely big enough for the connectors..

Sad ...

Yes I had it recapped about two years ago and gone thru for a tune up at the Krell Factory. It was done by the tech who always worked on these amps back in the day. It was very nice and sounded tremendous, particularly with the upgrade to the MU2. I agree the connectors are close, but it was not a problem for me.

 

[BillK]

Thanks for the review; I've yet to hear a class D amp I thought was worth auditioning, but Mola Mola's have always come closest.

 

[godofwealth]

I have the dual mono Mola Mola Kalugas. These look like a single stereo version of the Kalugas.

 

[bailyhill14]

Dual Mono Kalugas was my other choice if the Perca did not work out.

 

[Urbinator]

I've had the Kalugas for a couple of years now, feeding some TAD CE1's they are fast with plenty in reserve. Always impressed me although I'd be curious about adding a couple more to the system.

 

[bailyhill14]

I assume you are happy with the Kalugas. Do you have good IC, PC and Speaker Cables. I am in the process of upgrading my PC's from Mfg to K-S. Did the main PC from the wall to the Inakustics P3500 and it made a big difference. Sound was more immediate as if it were in the room. I still have 2 more PC's to go. If you are happy with the Kalugas, more of them might not be the biggest improvement? If the Perca's new architecture is an improvement over the Kalugas, then you might get better resolution, sound stage, etc with Percas. Might it be worth a try/audition?

 

[Urbinator]

I am. The Mola Mola Power and Preamp have replaced my Luxman 509 integrated. Before deciding, I had on loan the Gryphon Diablo 300 integrated and the TAD M2500 running off the Makua preamp. The Kaluga's suit is my setup, and they consistently impress me with speed and punch. However, they need quality power cables and a quality mains source to get the best out of them, and the Inakustics P3500 would help with this.
I am toying with the idea of Bi-Amping, but for now, the budget is for replacing my Ortofon Jubilee with something new. SoundSmith Sussurro is looking promising. I'm fortunate in that I can audition locally for the Perca vs the Kalugas. It has been talked about, but I do not want to do that in case I like the result. The focus has been on my vinyl front end.
For the Loom, I have gone with Jorma Design -Unity cables throughout, which have done me well; I have no plans to change, but the Kubala Sosna would be a good move. I believe these are the cables used internally by Mola-Mola
The preamp I am using is a fully loaded Mola Mola Makua with a Phono board and DAC. Initially, I used a Tambaqui as a DAC and pre-amp, but this did not work, and I soon changed it to the Makua with an integrated Tambaqui DAC.

 

[Urbinator]

This is good news , never heard a Class D with good timbre especially @1ohm..

Was your 80B ever recapped or brought up to date thru service ..?

Mola Mola Perca Amplifier

Waters on the Hardware: Mola Mola's Perca Stereo Amplifier, with the Tambaqui DAC to come

positive-feedback.com

For 10K could they not at least put this thing into a reasonable chassis , its barely big enough for the connectors..

Sad ...

Something that makes me uncomfortable with this review is Dean Waters' use of the Tambaqui DAC as the pre-amp. In my experience, this is not a good idea as it does not attenuate well, causing the music to lose some of its magic. This is the problem I initially had when I had the Kalugas linked directly to the Tambaqui DAC; it needs to be used as a source only with a separate preamp. We spent some time at the dealership resolving this, including the use of different cables, and all agreed that the Tambaqui was the problem. This was fed back to the distributor but never seems to have been resolved. The Tambaqui is a fantastic DAC, but you will kill it if you use it as a preamp.

 

[PYP]

Something that makes me uncomfortable with this review is Dean Waters' use of the Tambaqui DAC as the pre-amp. In my experience, this is not a good idea as it does not attenuate well, causing the music to lose some of its magic. This is the problem I initially had when I had the Kalugas linked directly to the Tambaqui DAC; it needs to be used as a source only with a separate preamp. We spent some time at the dealership resolving this, including the use of different cables, and all agreed that the Tambaqui was the problem. This was fed back to the distributor but never seems to have been resolved. The Tambaqui is a fantastic DAC, but you will kill it if you use it as a preamp.

When I first got the Tambaqui many years ago, I began by using it as a streamer and using its volume control. Eventually, after trying a series of ethernet cleaners (optical converter + two switches + external clock + LPSs) and achieving good sound, the Grimm MU1 became available. After careful listening, I purchased the MU1 and sold the cleaners. I continued to use the Tambaqui's volume control for connection directly to the Kalugas. Since I hadn't used a preamp for a long time, and like simple setups, this was my preference. Music was very enjoyable.

When the MU2 became available, an in-home demo of the MU2 and the Makua preamp changed my mind. First I connected the Makua to determine how that sounded with the Tambaqui. After about 30 minutes, while playing a familiar album, my wife told me that it sounded nice (fortunately, I was thinking the same thing at that moment). That was a first (she doesn't care about gear)! Decision made. The MU2 made an impression too and the best combination for us was the MU2 + Makua. Just personal preferences...

 

[KrellFan1]

I missed this show, but I got to audition the Mola Mola Perca amplifier at GTT audio. I was looking to replace my 40 year old Krell KSA-80B Class A amplifier which was driving my Apogee Scintillas. These are connected in one ohm fashion. The Preca drives them just fine, and the inprovement in the sound stage is quite impressive. I am hearing the secondary and backup singers when I play vocalists. Never heard this before with previous amplifier. Also upgraded to a Grimm Audio MU2. The combination is marvelous. Did the upgrade with the MU2 first and then a week later, the Perca so I could make sure each was carrying the weight. Not many amplifiers will drive the one ohm, but the Perca does just fine. Going from Class A to Class D was a sonic improvement and also lowered the A/C load on my music room.

I’ve heard some fabulous reports on this amplifier so you are not alone. I’m giving it a hard look, even though I’ve not heard it. But I have a friend who has a pair bi-amped. Loves it. I have a Krell DUO300 XD. You figure I’d get a SQ bump? I have the Tambaqui DAC, Makua preamp. So I am thinking synergy. Thx.

 

[PYP]

I’ve heard some fabulous reports on this amplifier so you are not alone. I’m giving it a hard look, even though I’ve not heard it. But I have a friend who has a pair bi-amped. Loves it. I have a Krell DUO300 XD. You figure I’d get a SQ bump? I have the Tambaqui DAC, Makua preamp. So I am thinking synergy. Thx.

there is definitely synergy across Mola Mola gear. The question might be: is their synergy with your speakers? An in-home demo would answer that.

@bailyhill14 , did you find that the Perca takes a long time to break in fully? The MU2 has surprised me over time. It was always enjoyable, but as I've reduced noise upstream I am starting to appreciate that the MU2 is a considerable achievement and now think of it as the center of my setup.