The new Coda S5.5 amplifier: It's a "Petite Beast"!


I have in-house the New Coda Technologies S5.5 amplifier for review for Stereo Times website. It will be awhile before I write the review. However, I'm so impressed by the performance of this petite amplifier, it only weights 45 pounds, that I wanted to give a heads up to you GON members if you are in the market for a balanced pure class A amplifier, delivers 50 watts @ 8 Ohms, and can drop 100 Amperes of current on a peak!

The world class build quality of Coda amplifiers is on display with the S5.5, along with the most beautiful purity of tonality, precise sound-staging, complete liquidity offered by pure class A design, and what might be the best top end regarding details, decays, and a natural shimmering without brightness or any edge at all.

The S5.5 uses extremely wide bandwidth output transistors instead of the usual TO3 devices used in most transistor designs. I own the Coda #16, which is great, but the midrange/high end is taken to another level of musical enjoyment with the S5.5. The S5.5 has a sense of speed/aliveness that is exciting to listen to that you experience in live music. The amp is dynamic as hell, has driven with ease any speaker I have tried it with, hence my nickname of the "Petite Beast". Remember, 50 watts pure class A, can drop 100 amperes of current and only weights 45 pounds.

Teajay (Terry London)

johnah5

Hey Jeff,

I'm very interested in what happens going from the Luxman to the Coda S5.5 in your system. Both, excellent, but different. I predict that the S5.5 will bring a sense of aliveness/overall dynamics to your rig. Also, the clarity of micro-details across the board with a much more airy high-end. The Coda overall is silky smooth compared to the Luxman's overall velvety perspective.

Hey vthokie83,

I totally agree with you statement about Mike and Aric. Both are great people, take care of their customers, and are totally knowledgeable about what they either build or sell.

Teajay

Post removed 

laginz,

Sorry I seemed to have missed your post. Currently with the Denafrips Hades preamp > CODA S5.5 > Clayton Shaw Caladans, the soundstage is more similar to what I would consider a live performance. Soundstage is outside of the speaker width maybe a foot and sometimes more. The vocals are front and center with instruments in their location, and the whole presentation comes from a "platform of sound" and not from the speakers themselves. I have not noticed vocals coming forward of that stage, but I may have just missed it if it does.

One of my favorite bands Poi Dog Pondering is a collection of 8 to upwards of 16 musicians and vocalists depending on the track, and I have never heard them properly placed in a recording before.....at least compared to live performances where I have seen them more than a dozen times. Also the instruments all have their own audio space as well, being able to pick out synth, from electric violin, to recorder, to horns, to xylophone, to accordian, to harmonica. The CODA and Caladans do this for me.

I don't tend to listen to a lot of small presentations with minimalist vocals or instruments.

Off topic for you streamers, I'd recommend listening to a couple of albums from Poi Dog "Wishing Like A Mountain, and Thinking Like a Sea", "Pomegranate", and "Natural Thing".....may or may not be your cup of tea, but a real workout for a system.

Post removed