CODA 8 V1

The CSiB is the 07x line stage and No. 8 in one chassis. Great value.

I've heard the CSiB, 07x, No. 8 and S5.5 in various configurations in my home. Never heard sound quality that I would even remotely describe as dry.

I have read that Coda gear sounds “dry”. I’ve not heard any but I would like to somehow. Of everything I have read it all sounds like the sound I am looking for  except for the “dry” part.

My No.11 is definitely drier sounding than the No.8, though not in a negative way. The No.8 had a lusher midrange—more “bloom.” The 11 has a smoother, what I would say is a more “accurate” sound. The bass of the 11 is also a bit tighter, thereby lending it a drier sound. The 11 is about as neutral as amps get, whereas the No.8 has a slight warmth.

Both amps are “dry” relative to most tube amps or something like the Pass XA25 or the (pleasant?) distortions of an Ayre. However, they are more detailed and have blacker backgrounds than the Pass. 

The funny thing about Coda is that their amps have a far lower noise floor than their preamps, which is the opposite you’ll find of nearly any other brand. That noise floor of their preamps is perhaps the reason why they result in a wetter/lusher sound relative to squeaky clean pres like the Benchmark LA4. 

Currently I am using a Topping A70 Pro as preamp with my Coda 11. It is probably not an ideal synergy because the sound is sometimes a bit lean and threadbare. I think a tube pre such as an Allnic would make for great synergy with this amp. 
 

@robshaw I can verify the good synergy between a Coda amp (the S12.5 in my case) and a tube preamp (Herron Audio VTSP - 3A).

I knew that I had a good amp; but, I didn't realize just how good it was until I swapped in a different power cable (Zavfino Silver Dart). So, don't be afraid to experiment with some different power cables with that amp.

How does the Electrocompaniet AW250R amplifier compare with the Coda 8? This is also biased very high into Class A and supposed to produce 2 x 1100 at 1 ohms.

Well, i can actually shed some light on the meter dilemma with the no.8.  Ok, so the upper portion of the meter which starts at -20 and goes to 3 is actually a db scale. Zero being where, in my experience is where you should start to back off the volume and when the unit starts to get seriously hot and I mean burn you got. Also anytime you are past 0db you are in the red zone on the meter. The lower portion of the meter is the  power percentage and it ranges 0 to 100. You will rarely exceed even 60-70% even when other setting will have you on the red zone. So none actually describe the watts being used. Some early models had different displays so all may not fall into this explanation. This is from my email exchange with Coda