Amps that don’t impersonate space heaters.

@helomech Coda CSib appeared to have less bass than my Pass monoblocks initially in my system. As I spent more time with it, I realized the bass Coda produces is accurate, fast and tuneful. There’s plenty of it too. It will not shake walls which usually comes at the expense of quality of the bass and you end up with a one note huge bass output that lacks definition, texture and speed. Highly dependent on speakers, associated equipment and personal preferences though…

@audphile1

I know the sort of thing you’re referencing regarding bass quality vs quantity, but that’s not what was going on with the No.8 vs the Yamaha. With the Yamaha, the bass sounded as though it dug a whole half octave deeper. I asked Doug at Coda if having the V1 boosted to V2 or V3 level would bridge that gap but he didn’t think it would.

One recurring theme I encountered in researching this phenomenon is that bass roll-off is a common trait among amps employing zero global feedback. I can’t say for sure what the culprit is but I owned about 5 different pair of speakers at the time and the same difference was audible with all of them. With my Magnepans specifically, I was not impressed with the Coda despite its alleged current output. Putting the A21 to the Magnepans following the Coda was a revelation.

I do still like the Coda amp on the whole. It was very quiet at least, much quieter than most amps.

One recurring theme I encountered in researching this phenomenon is that bass roll-off is a common trait among amps employing zero global feedback.

@helomech I've seen zero feedback amps that go full power to 1Hz and don't seem to lack any bass at all. IOW its not a common trait.

@helomech just out of curiosity what preamp did you use with coda

@audphile1 

I tried a variety of preamps. The Benchmark LA4, Topping A90D, Mac C49, and the preamp section of the Yamaha integrated.