CD/SACD-проигрыватели и транспорты — Kora CD140

The CD140 is the only disc player from Kora, the Toulouse company whose electronics are designed and assembled in the Occitania region of France, and it belongs to the 140 series next to the PR140 preamplifier and the DAC140 converter. It reads Red Book discs only - there is no SACD layer support, no digital input for outside sources and no digital output. At launch the French price was EUR 6,960, and Kora describes it as the first CD player to use its Square Tube output circuit.

Key specs that matter

Two AKM chips handle the front end, a ROHM converter does the conversion at 32 bit and 768 kHz, and a pair of RCA jacks carries the analogue signal. Kora quotes 2.28 V at 0 dB, an internal impedance under 50 ohm and a bandwidth of 20 Hz to 20 kHz. The chassis measures 100 x 420 x 340 mm, or 118 x 420 x 355 mm overall with feet and sockets, and the player weighs 7 kg. Consumption stays under 40 W in use and under 0.5 W on standby, the supply accepts 100 to 240 VAC at 50 or 60 Hz, and the case is aluminium and steel in mineral grey. The maker covers it for five years, parts and labour.

Engineering and use context

The first AKM circuit turns the disc data into I2S, and the second oversamples it, multiplying the number of converted samples by 16 so that filtering can happen far above the audible band. A Kora-designed clock circuit keeps every digital stage locked to the original CD timing. After conversion, four double triodes - two ECC82 and two ECC83 - form the Square Tube stage, which in this player also performs the analogue output filtering, fed by stabilised supplies of plus and minus 240 V. A microcontroller heats the valves first, waits for the high voltages to settle, and keeps checking them during play - if a valve fails, the screen names the fault and the unit shuts down to protect the rest of the system. Everything is run from one knob that opens the tray, picks tracks by rotation and reaches a settings menu for repeat, screen brightness and encoder click volume. An RC5 infrared remote adds direct track numbers, fast forward and reverse, and eject. Because the valves heat the case, Kora asks for free air above, below and at the sides.

Pairing

The fixed output level suits any line input, and with only unbalanced sockets on the back, an RCA interconnect is the natural link. Inside the 140 series, the PR140 shares the same 420 mm front and height, so the pair can sit one above the other, and Kora sells a backlit universal remote that covers all its devices.

Alternatives

Kora lists no other CD player, so the CD140 has no same-brand counterpart in this category.