New Stereo Times review on CODA CSiB Integrated Amplifier

The reason I went with the CODA CSiB in the first place was because of the discussions that started after Terry's reviews. I did not think my audio preferences align with what Terry likes but I wanted to check it out. Glad I did because it gave me options that I did not consider before. Though I always was aware of CODA.

Last night after 3 hours of very late night RAAL SR1a listening with music that can be fatiguing (on purpose) I came to the conclusion that the KRELL K-300i has to stick around. The KRELL K-300i + Audio Mirror Tubadour III SE + RAAL SR1a is a phenomenal combo. The buttery smoothness of the KRELL and the bass power are exactly what I need on the SR1a. Unfortunately, in the short term, I now will not have funds to buy the CODA #8.

In 2 months when California opens up fully I will head down to my local CODA dealer and listen to the #8 and #16 with the 07x. 

The Gustard X26 Pro DAC that I have been recently raving about will go with the CODA 07x and the Thiel CS3.7 floor standers. A great DAC and it cost $1500 ($1300 on sale).

BTW - Rumor has it that the 07x will get an external power supply in the LONG TERM. If that happens I will get a free upgrade (not sure what  that means) of the 07x to the external power supply. I do not know the details of any of this just pushing the rumor.

I should add that the D-Sonic amp I am now using today on the Thiel CS3.7 sounds good driven DAC direct to amp. I did not like it with the SR1a. It will be better with the CODA 07x but it will be a nice amp to keep around as a backup or hot weather amp.

@amorstereo -- sorry, I didn't realize it's you Teajay :(

In general, I think we have all grown weary of the so-called professional reviewers, so I hope you can understand my initial skepticism. Of course, you are one of the few reviewers whose opinion and expertise is greatly valued and appreciated on this site, and that includes me as well. 

Now that we have it out of the way (phew!), have you had a chance to compare it to Pass Labs integrated amps including INT-25 or 60? 

Hey arafiq,

I still think the Pass Labs XA-25 amplifier, for my taste, is the best sounding of the XA-.8 series, if you don’t need more watts/current to match your speakers. However, I’m not a great fan of Pass Labs preamplifiers. They offer excellent transparency/details, but I found them somewhat thin sounding and not subjectively as musical as my tube based line-stages. What was a shock for me, to be honest, was when I reviewed the Coda 07x because it presented like a tube (color and image density) yet had the speed and dynamics of solid state and of course is quiet compared to tubes.

Therefore, because the Coda CSib has the #8 amp section with the smaller sibling 07X linestage, it’s still more to my taste than the Pass Labs INT pieces. Now, if you team up the Pass Labs XA-25 with the Coda 07x linestage, now your "cooking" a great sonic stew.

yy,
it’s cool to read about the testing and results you’ve found, and you do a good job of explaining (not just this thread but whenever you talk about your journey). Thx and keep it up as long as you keep experimenting <thumbs up>