New integrated amp


Hello and good day. I’m trying to decide on one of 3 integrated amps.
1- CODA CSiB V2
2- Plinius Hiato
3- Belles Virtuoso (this one seems to be a long shot, as I’ve been waiting, and watching for its release for 2 1/2 years).
My question is this, why one over the other, what are the strengths and weaknesses of each brand?
I appreciate any feedback.
Jeff
128x128jtweed
BTW, my sources are Tidal, disc player is a Oppo UDP 205, and I have a small selection of speakers including some old Kefs, a pair of Funk audio stand mounts, and a few others...
I last heard the Coda pre and amps ages ago, and though I did I found them quiet and dead cold sounding, unlike Ayre which is dead quiet and quite melodic, but not as affordable.
In the end, I liked the amps much more than the pre's and yet still there are many other brands I've liked more.

In the same price range, listen to the Luxman integrateds and let me know what you think.

Best,
E

Call Johnny Rutan at Audio Connection in New Jersey.

All indications are that the Virtuoso really is available now.

David Belles has been building up to this over a long and distinguished career of products.

Jeff,  I have owned a few Coda products over the years and have sat in front of many more.  The CSIB is a very fine product.  I now own a Belles Aria and it is an Excellent product and maybe the best at its price point,  but it is still not quite as good as a Current Coda CSIB....  The Coda is a hint faster, more grunt and is even the slightest bit more refined.  I say current, Doug constantly updates his products and I would take the Belles Aria over a 10+ year old CSI go instance.  I do not have any Plinius experience, so I would just be blowing smoke to comment. I do know that Johnny Rutan will give you a fair shake on opinions,  he is a salesman and will want to sell his product, but he won't lie to you to make a sale. 

@erik_squires.... erik, you are knowledgeable,  you typically give trustworthy advice,  but you do yourself a disservice when you make statements that could lead people to believe that the current Coda sounds like the stuff that you listened to 30 years ago.  I hope that you get a chance to sit in front of some of their new gear, both pre's are great as well as the rest of the lineup.  
Jeff,  I hope this helps,  Tim 
I agree with aewarrens.  You have to listen to them if you can with your system and your audioroom. All my current systems were chosen after a week or two listening to various amps in my home courtesy of my audio dealer.

imThorek
Unfortunately, none of the aforementioned integrated amps are available to me for auditions. I live in a small, but beautiful city in British Columbia, Canada.
to add to the list, has anyone ever owed, or heard a ModWright KWI 200.
thankyou,
Jeff
Auditions will likely reveal very little unless you do so in your home
Check out Underwood HiFi they have a super sale on Wyred 4 Sound Integrated
I’m heavily leaning toward either the CODA, the ModWright, or MAYBE the Belles...
the CODA has a 10 YEAR warranty, not sure if the ModWright, or the Belles can compete in that arena...
David Belles is supposed to be creating his ‘swan song’ amp with the Virtuoso. Interesting to say the least.
The ModWright is a consideration, simply because Dan Wright is known for his upgrades to other gear, notably the OPPO UDP 205, of which is one of my sources....
But, I’ve always been interested in the house sound of PASS, and CODA is a very obvious choice because the guys that Started CODA were part of Threshold with Nelson back in the 80’s....
Choices.....
@the_rang , can you expand on your experience with the ModWright? What do you have for a source? Speakers?
Do you like the KWI 200?
What made you choose the amp?
Sorry, haven’t been here for a week.
Main source is a Bryston BDA-3 DAC driven by a Cambridge CXU. My old turntable and new Moon phono stage are rarely used. Speakers are Amphion Argon 3LS. Started when I felt I needed more power for my old KEF 104.2 speakers so I started looking at new integrateds.
Tried, at home, the Krell Vanguard, Magnum Dynalab MD-309, Hegel H300 and the Modwright. The attraction to the MW

the end of my post was clipped off when the site jammed up on me , will complete later when it cooperates 
I had a KWI-200, Dan's products are first rate, very well made and exceptional  customer support....If needed.

At the time it easily beat my Bryston B-100, a fine IA in its own, the MW has greater grip, headroom and of course power. 
To continue where I left off, the initial attraction to the MW (before I heard it) was power, looks, simplicity, boutique brand made in the USA. And pricing. I just beat a 10% increase and with the CDN dollar being close to par at the time (I bought it in Seattle) it didn’t break the bank.
In retrospect I think I could have been happy with the MD and possibly the Hegel too, but don’t regret keeping the MW.
MD had the misfortune of being the first amp I tried and therefore had the itch to keep going. The Krell was too analytical, a no go. The Hegel was very good and I had the option of trading the MW back for the H300. The Hegel seemed slightly more open....maybe.
But after switching back to the MW I realized the detail was all there, perhaps made more subtle by a touch of warmth.
The Hegel sounded a bit lean in comparison. I noticed it most on jazz. The MW solved that problem, for me. More balanced overall.
The addition of the DAC added a whole new level of resolution and I ended up changing my speakers along the way too.

I pulled the trigger on a CODA CSiB v1..... it’ll be here on Monday. I’m going to run it balanced from my OPPO UDP 205. I can’t wait to see what this thing sounds like...
150 W/ and the first 18 in class A.
@jtweed

I have had a CODA CSiB running 400 watts at 8ohms for 2 years now.

The rest of my system is an OPPO 205, Revel F52 speakers, Vpi Aries Scout TT with an Ortofon 2m Bronze cart, Herron VTPH -1 phone stage, SVS SB Ultra-13 sub, Morrow cables from the VPI to the Herron. Teo Audio Game Changers between the Herron and the Coda and the Oppo-205 and the Coda.

Originally I wanted to get a Pass Labs 250.5 or 250.8 or 350.5 or 350.8. But they were out of my price range even used.. Doing some research I found the Threshold, Pass Labs, Coda connections and that lead me to the Coda product line. I was lucky to find one used for sale at a great price. Called Coda and got the history on the CSiB. I had a nice chat with the owner that convinced me to purchase it.

I'm very happy that I have it. I'm pretty sure you will be too. If you can get speakers that mate well with them. The Revel and Legacy lines are great matches. Currently I am looking to upgrade my speakers and are researching to see what other speaker lines are great matches with the Coda.

Happy listening.  


Have you considered just outputting your Oppo 205 into a better power amp with appropriate input sensitivity and input impedance sans the perhaps superfluous extra expense pre section of an intergrated and extra interconnects?