GREAT NEWS! The Coda Technology new #16 amplifier will arrive this week

@tomlhuffman yeah I bet the Ulfberhts rock driven by the JC1s! My B&W 804 D3s dip down under 3 ohms at certain points too, can actually see that happening on the meters. Personally I find the JC1s (1st generation at least) to be a bit hard-edged and lacking refinement. I guess it depends on what you are looking for, the genres of music you listen to etc., I listen mainly to ambient, and a lot of vocals and acoustic, some classical music too, and when I am feeling nostalgic I will dig into classic rock (60s and 70s era). Also my room is smallish, and even though the walls are concrete I have neighbors in my condo complex that don't appreciate it when I play my Led Zeppelin (particularly Physical Graffiti these days for some reason) LOUD.

@smodtactical I bought my No. 8 from Al, good guy, shoot me a PM if you want more detailed impressions. FYI my setup:

PS Audio Dectet Power Conditioner
Custom mains 1 meter cables for ALL components (each worth $200)
Audioquest Yukon XLR 1 meter interconnects
PS Audio Directstream Junior DAC/Streamer
Schiit Freya+ & Denafrips Athena preamps (I swap these preamps in/out from time to time)
CODA No. 8 amplifier
Transparent Wave 2 meter speaker cables
B&W 804 D3 floorstanders

I am trying to decide between the Coda #8 v2 and v3. What factors would determine the best choice between the two versions?

My speaker is the Thiel CS3.7 which goes below 4 Ohms, supposedly a lot of the time. I listen at moderate volume levels. Would the v3 have any benefit in that scenario?

@ kairosman You know, this is really interesting. I had the Coda Continuum #8 in house for a few months. I could totally see why someone would love it. It is extremely refined and transparent. I also had a Pass Labs XA25 for a while and these two amps sounded very similar. But ultimately I just preferred the JC1 monoblocks. What I liked was their low-end grunt and dynamic drive. That’s why I am a little impatient over discussions of the "best" amp. I really believe that there is no such thing. It all depends on what speakers you are driving and your personal tastes.

I have found that Teajay’s tastes and mine are generally quite similar. I bought the Tekton Ulfberhts based on his review and they are the best speakers I have ever heard. I also bought the LTA Microzotl preamp based on his recommendation, and in this case I thought it significantly outperformed the Parasound JC 2 flagship preamp. But we just have different tastes with respect to amps.

However, right now I am cursing his name because he has got me interested in the Coda FET 07x preamp.

@tomlhuffman

I own both preamps now and I feel that the LTA MicroZOTL preamp with the most recent "plus" mods is superior to the Coda FET 07x preamp by a pretty good margin. The one advantage is the Coda has balanced in and out. Not to take away from how good the 07x is but my setup and my opinion.

A local dealer has thrown another wrench into the works by loaning me a Backert Labs Rhythm 1.3 to try out. Shootout time.

There is a CODA 07x up for sale on USAudiomart and A’gon.

I like my Benchmark LA4 preamp better with the CODA #8. That total silence of the LA4 is what I like the most. The CODA 07x preamp did seem to sound a little better with the KRELL Duo 175XD, though it was a short test.

If the Benchmark LA4 had dual XLR outputs I would not keep the 07x. I need the dual XLR outputs to connect the CODA #8 for my RAAL SR1a headphones and the KRELL 175XD to my Thiel CS3.7 speakers.

I was all set on upgrading the CODA #8 to the #16. However, this KRELL 175XD sounds a lot like the CODA #16 I demoed, and I do not think I will upgrade the #8. The RAAL SR1a headphones actually draw more power out of the #8 compared to my Thiel CS3.7 speakers. Which is very surprising.