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)

johnah5
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Hey Everybody,

This last night received another Email from a Gon member who had purchased the S5.5 after reading about it on this thread. He is totally enthralled with its performance. He had been using a P/P EL34 based amplifier and took a risk trying this solid state amplifier. As he said, "I got everything that I had with the tubes plus much better extension on the top and bottom, a lot more details and clarity, and, this surprised him the most, beautiful colors and a overall smooth/silky tonality. 

I hope other members, including this one, will post their experiences with the S5.5 in their systems.

Teajay

Happy to hear positive reviews!  I believe my amp will ship tomorrow so I should have it mid-next week!  I will definitely post my thoughts on how it sounds compared to my Accuphase E-380 integrated.  Will also have a friend bring over a Holo Audio Serene preamp so we will be able to hear the amp through two different preamps, will be using the preamp section of my E-380.  Getting very excited!