The new Coda S5.5 amplifier: It's a "Petite Beast"!

Hey tuckia08,

Remember, for certain people not having meters would be a deal breaker! That's why the meters are an option. I ordered my #16 without meters, because I too I'm not attracted to them. The S5.5 does not have the meters, just a half inch attractive engraved faceplate.

I do not experience that the S5.5 sounds like its big brother #16. It has the virtues of the other Coda amplifiers and then adds on a sense of overall aliveness/transient speed and the best top end of any solid state amplifier I have heard in my system. It sounds different then either the #8 or #16, which are both great in their own right, and is turning out to possibly be my favorite of all the Coda amplifiers.

Of the list of amplifiers you mention in your post, which are the "cream of the crop" in solid state Class A amplifiers, I have heard them and still would argue that the S5.5 competes with them easily for far less money.

Teajay
 

Terry, that’s great feedback. Thank you!

@tucki08 If you want to hear a very smooth, relaxing, and yet detailed Class A amp check out the Krell Duo XD lineup. I liked the KRELL Duo 175XD over my CODA #8 (sold). I like the CODA #16 more than the 175XD (sold). I had the CODA 07x preamp when I had the 175XD and the #8. I use the Holo Serene preamp now.

Next week if I manage to get a job, I am seriously considering trading in my CODA #16 for the KRELL KSA i400. That is 400 watts in Class A and doubling to 1600 at 2 Ohm. I think the Class A stays at 400 as it doubles.

The KRELL XD lineup can be had for similar price as the CODA lineup. Both are great, I think the KRELL is a little smoother sounding. Normally this smoothness is not my preference, but I had the KRELL XD’s I owned sounding great with my other gear.

@tucki08 I have a Krell 300xd amp, I’ve had Coda’s CSiB integrated.  I would agree with yyz’s assessment.  If you are looking for a smooth, tube like SS amp that also has the power, command of SA Krell is tough to beat.  Coda wasn’t better or worse in my opinion, it had a different sound signature.  I agree with Terry, I’d put Coda’s gear up against anyone’s, price aside.  They use extremely high quality parts and really know how to design, get the most out of those parts. 

Yes I had a #8 and a CSIB and ended up with the S5.5 and agree with Terry it's the best of the lot, and by a considerable margin, at least in my system. Yet it is the cheapest amp CODA makes. I have it paired with an Audio Hungary Qualiton C200 tube preamp, and there is no musical genre the stack doesn't render faithfully, at least to my ears. 

Just now I finished listening to two tracks (via Tidal) that had me spellbound:

-Art Pepper's "Nature Boy" 

-Leonard Cohen's "The Night of Santiago"

The tonal verisimilitude of the acoustic instruments was breathtaking. Cohen's voice was so eerily "present" in the room, when I turned the lights back on I had to chuckle at my goosebumps.

The system is as follows:

Puritan PSM156 conditioner -> Melco S100 ethernet switch (fiber optic output) -> Lumin U1-> Gustard R26 w/external masterclock -> Qualiton C200 -> S5.5 -> Mofi Sourcepoint 10s (cabling is all by Transparent)

I sometimes prefer this setup to my main setup in the living room, where the amp is a Gryphon Diablo 300 running B&W 804 D4s, especially for small scale acoustical music.

Regardless, the point is IMO someone could build a killer system with the S5.5 at its heart for under $20K.