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New Stereo Times review on CODA CSiB Integrated Amplifier

My fellow Stereo Times staff reviewer, Richard Willie, has written a superlative review on the Coda CSiB Integrated that has just been posted on the website. Richard does a great job of describing the new "house" sound of this generation of Coda gear, an excellent analysis of the world class build quality of Coda gear, and a very interesting comparison of the Coda CSib to the Pass Labs XA-30.8. A fun read!


amorstereo
twoleftears's avatar
twoleftears
5,318 posts
 
Listen Up is an on-line Hegel stockist and offers a 60 day return policy (you just pay for shipping).
arc999
4 posts
 
Vanity. Gen one and listen. Thinking…. Get another and listen. Thinking…
the only good way is A/B during 1-2 hrs. But I can’t do it
arc999
4 posts
 
I can ask general question. I know Hegel 590 - transparent, very detailed. Mark Levinson 585 - softer, less detailed but transparent. Probably most pleasant for me. Luxman 590 - soft, nice but not detailed. Is new Coda CSIB (v.3) also transparent and detailed similar to…..??
tmac1700
76 posts
 

I have the opportunity to get a 07x at half the retail but it’s appx 5-6 yrs old. Do you guys think this is worth my time? I know Coda has a line stage simply called CB...which is just the CP minus the phono stage.

helomech
1,685 posts
 

Since there is some discussion here regarding the Pass XA25 vs the Coda amps, I’ll throw my $.02 in the mix. I owned two examples of the XA25 and now have the No.8 V1. The XA25 is a nice amp, but when it comes to speakers of <90dB sensitivity, it just doesn’t have the requisite juice. 

For $1K more, the Coda No.8 is like an XA25 on steroids. In all aspects the No.8 is at least a little better to my ears, and a lot better in the bass and mid-bass. When it comes to driving speakers like Magnepans, the two are a world apart. Speakers like Maggies need current to come alive and the XA25 (at 10A peak), simply doesn’t produce nearly enough. 

 Overall, I find the no.8 produces superior decay, is smoother/better refined, and larger sounding. 

Regarding Hegel, the only one I’ve owned is the H190, so obviously not apples-to-apples, though the 190 has a similar power rating to my No.8. There is really no comparison. For less than $5K all in (≈$750 more than H190’s original retail) one can pair a No.8 with a Topping Pre90 or A90D and get far superior performance. And believe it or not, the No.8 in V1 guise actually runs cooler than the H190.

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