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

I was just informed that Coda's brand new model #16, which is based on the latest generation of improvements used in the #8, will be arriving later this week for review for The Stereo Times website.  Since the reviews I have done on the #8 amplifier and the 07x preamplifier, I have received numerous inquires when I'll get this piece in for review.

This beast of an amplifier, over hundred pounds with one of the largest power supplies in a single chassis design on the market, delivers 100 Class A before it crosses over into A/B. The Coda #8, is in my opinion, one of the best SS amps on the market for under ten grand.  I expect, based on the run Coda is on with their new generation of gear, that the #16 will be a beautiful musical performer.  We shall see! I still find it amazing based on build quality/performance that Coda's prices are so damn reasonable.  Yes, the #16 will retail for around 12K, not inexpensive.  However, I guarantee if this amplifier was manufactured by other high-end American or European companies it would be triple the price. If the #16 takes the already superlative performance of the #8 to another level, it will be truly a "killer" of an amplifier. 




teajay
lancelock
1,094 posts
 
@smodtactical,

I have not owned as many SS amps as I have tube amps. The closest I’ve had to the Coda is the Plinius SA125 and a Mirror Image Audio 1.1 SB. The MI amp is about 30 years old and is better than the Plinius overall but can’t match the Coda #16 although the MI is still an amazing amp. You rarely see them pop up used but they are a bargain when you do. I also had a Van Alstine FET 400R but it wasn’t in the same league.

The more I listen to #16 the more I feel like I’m listening to a tube amp. It is so very smooth. I try to find a weakness, grain, harshness or brightness but I cannot hear any such flaw. It has tremendous dynamics, speed and bass slam. I know how cliche it sounds but I can hear sound, instruments in the back ground that I haven’t heard before.


teajay OP
1,694 posts
 
Hey Lance,

So glad to hear that your "sore back" was worth it because of how much you are enjoying the #16! The #16 is completely grainless with an overall liquidity, is the quietest SS amp I have ever had in for review (that's way you are hearing micro-details you never heard before), and delivers timbres/tonality like a tube amplifier. It reminds me very much of the finest SET 211 amps I have had in-house with it's speed and purity of tonality, yet it also has unbelievable bottom end slam/control because of its massive power supply.




smodtactical
979 posts
 
Terry how does it compare to pass 0.8 series amps?
smodtactical
979 posts
 
And also to the MA400 Terry?
lancelock
1,094 posts
 
I agree with Terry on all accounts of this amp.  He is far better at conveying what he hears in writing than I am.  I do rely on his reviews and have never been disappointed once hearing the Reviewed product.
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