Parasound vs Coda

@ghdprentice 

There's definitely something about those blue Mcintosh meters that doctors just love.

@1extreme

+1. I love those meters and the look. About once every five years I have gone in to buy a Mac component, sat down and listened to it for thirty seconds and gave up. The sound quality is not what I am looking for… they are like muscle cars and I like performance cars… well, if I was into cars.

I have the Coda No.8 V1. It’s much better sounding than the Parasound amps I’ve tried. The Coda sounds similar to the Pass XA25 but with way more grunt. It’s also much quieter than any Parasound amp. 

I’ve ran my No.8 with the Topping A90D and Mac C49 preamps. The latter is warmer, with greater punch, while the former is higher in resolution and more neutrally balanced. The Topping performs similarly to the Benchmark LA4 but with a hint of added warmth. One area the Coda excels in when paired with the Topping is “decay.” It produces better instrument decay than many tube amps IME. 

Suffice to say the No.8 is the best amplifier I’ve owned and likely my last. 
 

@helomech If you recall, what did you like more about Coda over Parasound besides being quieter? 

@christianb5s4 

The Coda has greater resolution, a wider soundstage, and better instrument separation. Also, it’s more refined and has greater decay as mentioned earlier. 

FWIW, the JC5 is merely an A21+ with a slightly altered bias and better quality parts. Both the JC5 and A21+ measure worse than the original THX-rated A21, and it’s definitely audible in real world use. The newer Parasound Halo amps are a regression in performance despite the claims of the spec sheets.