Pass Labs xa-25 or Coda Continum #8

@earthbound I had an earlier Coda amp for years.  I called Coda and spoke to Doug Dale about it. Real nice guy. I was concerned about the age of my amp, so he had me send pics of the capacitors.  They were starting to dome (the amp was around 25 years old).  He didn't know how long it would run that way.  He offered to recap it for a reasonable price or take it on trade. It was one of their entry level amps, so I opted to upgrade.  I'm glad that I did.

Before I bought it, I had found a few reviews.  I don't remember where. One of the reviews mentioned that it was very neutral and revealing.  If your upfront components weren't up to snuff, you'd hear it. 

@sls883 Thank you. As I’m moving into a different class of gear, I’m noticing a lot of sounds creep in or are more audible. It’s one of the frustrating aspects. With Volti speakers now, I want to be sure that future gear purchases are on the bright side or very neutral for that matter. I think I may try something with a softer, more colored approach. Also, more power in case I change speakers down the road, which Coda does have. The Sit-5 seems like it might be a good fit. More power and not neutral but not too colored based on the 3 reviewers. If I go that route, I want to change the pre to something that will complement the speakers being horns and my ears! 

I think that the noise comments stem from their preamps, which can be perceived as noisy. I had an older one with my #8, and I felt that was the case.

@earthbound I like the combination of tube preamp and solid state amplifier. I get some of the tube warmth, but not too much.

I'm using a Linear Tube Audio MicroZOTL preamp level 2 and I'm quite happy. It's not a real warm tubey sound.  I had a conrad-johnson preamp before it and I'm much happier with the LTA.  The conrad-johnson made some recordings sound awesome and others not so much.  The LTA doesn't have that issue. 

Some people mentioned that the Coda S5.5, because it operates in pure class A, produces a sound that is somewhat tube-like – a bit on the warm side, yet at the same time it preserves the clarity and detail of a solid-state design. However, in this thread I've read that this amp is mostly transparent.