The new Coda S5.5 amplifier: It's a "Petite Beast"!
I have in-house the New Coda Technologies S5.5 amplifier for review for Stereo Times website. It will be awhile before I write the review. However, I'm so impressed by the performance of this petite amplifier, it only weights 45 pounds, that I wanted to give a heads up to you GON members if you are in the market for a balanced pure class A amplifier, delivers 50 watts @ 8 Ohms, and can drop 100 Amperes of current on a peak!
The world class build quality of Coda amplifiers is on display with the S5.5, along with the most beautiful purity of tonality, precise sound-staging, complete liquidity offered by pure class A design, and what might be the best top end regarding details, decays, and a natural shimmering without brightness or any edge at all.
The S5.5 uses extremely wide bandwidth output transistors instead of the usual TO3 devices used in most transistor designs. I own the Coda #16, which is great, but the midrange/high end is taken to another level of musical enjoyment with the S5.5. The S5.5 has a sense of speed/aliveness that is exciting to listen to that you experience in live music. The amp is dynamic as hell, has driven with ease any speaker I have tried it with, hence my nickname of the "Petite Beast". Remember, 50 watts pure class A, can drop 100 amperes of current and only weights 45 pounds.
Teajay (Terry London)
My speakers are Magico S5’s. I’m not sure if I would really need the extra power but was curious about the mono block configuration. I currently have a Luxman m900u driving the speakers which I think works very well but, am curious if more power would sound even better. The Luxman has 150 watts into 8 Ohms with the first 12 being class A and 300 watts into 4 Ohms. Thanks for your response.
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Hey hanki, I don't know what your front end gear is, analog or digital, but you would get a very different perspective overall on the music if you went from the Luxman amp to the S5.5. You would unlash the potential of your S5's dynamics/aliveness, along with getting the most out of its great tweeter. The details, shimmer, sparkle would be beautiful with no edge or brightness. Also, the current loading of the S5.5 is vastly more powerful then the Luxman so the bottom end would have more control. Teajay |
@johnah5 Teajay, If you have ever listened enough to have a sense of them, the tonality of AGD amps compared to this Coda? TIA Mark |
Hey, To be quite honest I believe the AGD amps are good , but very over rated. A dear friend of mine with very good ears bought the hype about the AGD amps and sold off his Coda #8 to buy one. Very quickly he had great regret. As he said it to me my new AGD amp does everything right, but he never connected on an emotional level with the music and relax into it as he did with the Coda #8 amp. When I listened to the AGD amplifiers I don't find them unpleasant, but theirs still something missing compared to a great Class A amp with a big power supply, like the S5.5 and the other Coda amplifiers. Teajay |
