Kula, the integrated Mola Mola

Mola Mola is a young company from the Netherlands with few products in its catalogue but very well calibrated. The original characterization of the brand does not only concern the design philosophy but also the name. Mola Mola, in fact, is a large fish better known as the moonfish, whose representation, with the typical fins, is present in the logo of the brand. Even the soft and original design of the electronics, such as the remote control, are inspired by it, imitating its surfaces.

Behind Mola Mola is the brilliant Bruno Putzeys, who founded it just over 10 years ago, and who is its current CEO. He has always made digital amplification his flagship, being, among other things, one of the developers of the UcD (Universal class-D), a compact and versatile amplifier module, then sold in various versions that equip almost all digital amplifiers. In short, Mola Mola is one of the very few cases, perhaps the only one, in which the class-D amplifier module is not simply implemented, but is actually custom-designed and exclusively designed.

Kula is the new product, and it is an integrated amplifier that joins the Makua preamp, the Tambaqui DAC and the Kaluga monoblocks. The names recall fish or splendid tropical beaches. Kula is instead a gift-exchange ceremony, carried out in the Trobriand Islands, a central event in the life of those populations, as "central" is the role of an amplifier in listening to music.

Kula is a stereo integrated amplifier with a power of 2x150W on 8ohm and 2x300W on 4ohm obviously in class D with fully balanced circuitry and discrete stages in "single ended driven differential" configuration. As in the Makua, the input programming is matrix and the function of the 6 front preset buttons is freely assignable. 3 balanced XLR analog inputs and 3 unbalanced RCA with 2 pairs of Furutech speaker terminals. The volume is relay, with simultaneous control of both the internal gain and the output volume.

Kula is fully manageable via Mola Mola Remote App (iOs and Android) via Bluetooth low energy, and the DAC and Phono modules can be added to the machine, both shared with the Makua preamplifier. DAC derived from the Tambaqui, adds to Kula the digital inputs Bluetooth, AES/EBU, optical, USB type B and Ethernet (Roon Ready). For the latter two the capacity is DSD and DoP 384KHz/32bit while 192KHz/24bit on optical and AES/EBU.

The preamplifier can be ordered with the DAC already mounted or in the case of a subsequent upgrade it is necessary to ship the integrated circuit to the factory. The Phono module has two separate stages, MM and MC, with input gain selectable up to 40dB, in 5dB steps, and resistance and capacitance selectable independently. All major RIIAA equalization curves can be set, including those at 78rpm and it is possible to design custom curves with 3 configurable parameters (t1, t2 and bass shelf), and in this case the card can be installed by the customer.

Technical features
Maximum input level: 20 dBu (7.74Vrms)
Input impedance: 100 kohm
Unweighted signal-to-noise ratio: 113 dB
Power: 2X150/300W on 4/8 Ω
Output impedance: 2mΩ/7mΩ (20Hz-20kHz)
Bandwidth: 50kHz @ -3dB
Dimensions: 420x110x370mm
Weight: 11Kg.

Phono module
MM/MC Noise: 0.9V/0.35nV
Sensitivity: 30uV to 5mV
THD Distortion: Not Measurable
RIAA compliance: +/- 0.1dB
Time constants for customizable RIAA curve:
t1: 200, 250, 318, 400, 450us
t2: 50, 64, 75, 100 us
Bass Shelf: 14, 18, 20dB

DAC Module
Supported formats: PCM up to 384kHz/32 bits (>192kHz and >24 bits via USB and Roon only)
DoP and Native DSD up to quad speed (USB and Roon only)
Output level: 20dBu
Signal to noise ratio: 130dB
THD Distortion: Not Measurable (Estimated -140dB)
Bandwidth: up to 80 kHz
Internal Jitter: <1ps at 10Hz, <300fs from 1kHz onwards
Jitter Rejection: >80dB at 1Hz