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Mola Mola
Website:https://www.mola-mola.nl/
Est. year: 2012
Location: Netherlands
Mola Mola is a high-end electronics company from in Groningen in the north of the Netherlands, producing audio gear since 2011. It was founded by Jan-Peter van Amerongen, who started the class D module specialist Hypex in 1996, together with Belgian engineer Bruno Putzeys. The company offers a short list of products - preamp, mono and stereo power amps, one integrated and a DAC with in-house digital conversion.
Range & what it's known for
The range is small and built as a system. The Makua is a multi-input preamplifier that accepts an optional phono stage and an optional DAC board, listed in the US at USD 12,200 for the base unit. Power comes from the Kaluga monoblocks at USD 17,200 per pair, which use Ncore amplifier technology developed at Hypex, and from the newer Perca stereo amplifier. The Kula integrated amplifier, at USD 13,800, puts preamplifier and power stages in one case. The Tambaqui DAC, at USD 13,400, avoids off-the-shelf converter chipsets and uses a two-board FPGA design with separate PCM and DSD paths, upsampling everything to 32-bit and 3.125 MHz before conversion. It accepts USB, S/PDIF, optical, AES/EBU, HDMI and Ethernet. Further models listed on the official site are the Lupe and Ossetra.
Who owns it and where it's made
Mola Mola grew out of the Hypex circle in Groningen. Putzeys, born in Brussels in 1973, spent ten years at the Philips Applied Technologies lab in Leuven, where he invented the UcD class D circuit, before moving to Hypex in 2005, where he later designed the Ncore modules. He also co-founded Kii Audio and Purifi Audio in 2014. Design work is done in the Netherlands, and the aluminium casework of the Tambaqui is made in Germany.
The lineup in this catalog
Amplifiers and DACs, none of them below roughly 10,000 dollars, with the most expensive over 20,000 dollars.
Who it's for
Mola Mola pairs class D amplification with a custom-built DAC from the same engineering team. The Kula is the single-box option for a compact system, while the Makua with Kaluga monoblocks forms the separates route. Owners can start with the Makua alone and later add the internal phono and DAC boards, or keep conversion external with the Tambaqui, which works as a standalone converter in front of any amplifier.
Range & what it's known for
The range is small and built as a system. The Makua is a multi-input preamplifier that accepts an optional phono stage and an optional DAC board, listed in the US at USD 12,200 for the base unit. Power comes from the Kaluga monoblocks at USD 17,200 per pair, which use Ncore amplifier technology developed at Hypex, and from the newer Perca stereo amplifier. The Kula integrated amplifier, at USD 13,800, puts preamplifier and power stages in one case. The Tambaqui DAC, at USD 13,400, avoids off-the-shelf converter chipsets and uses a two-board FPGA design with separate PCM and DSD paths, upsampling everything to 32-bit and 3.125 MHz before conversion. It accepts USB, S/PDIF, optical, AES/EBU, HDMI and Ethernet. Further models listed on the official site are the Lupe and Ossetra.
Who owns it and where it's made
Mola Mola grew out of the Hypex circle in Groningen. Putzeys, born in Brussels in 1973, spent ten years at the Philips Applied Technologies lab in Leuven, where he invented the UcD class D circuit, before moving to Hypex in 2005, where he later designed the Ncore modules. He also co-founded Kii Audio and Purifi Audio in 2014. Design work is done in the Netherlands, and the aluminium casework of the Tambaqui is made in Germany.
The lineup in this catalog
Amplifiers and DACs, none of them below roughly 10,000 dollars, with the most expensive over 20,000 dollars.
Who it's for
Mola Mola pairs class D amplification with a custom-built DAC from the same engineering team. The Kula is the single-box option for a compact system, while the Makua with Kaluga monoblocks forms the separates route. Owners can start with the Makua alone and later add the internal phono and DAC boards, or keep conversion external with the Tambaqui, which works as a standalone converter in front of any amplifier.
