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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
audioman58's avatar
audioman58
3,869 posts
 

Teajay what is the Price $$ it  most important to most working class people ?

audioman58's avatar
audioman58
3,869 posts
 

Ok it’s $6500, what I find totally off is from the front the left channel should be left and right is right ,instead you. Have to bring the speaker cable totally across the amplifier on both sides ,that doesnot make an6 sense .I have owned many amplifiers I just looked on their website Backwards ?I have awg9 thick speaker cables it’s reverse logic.

johnah5 OP
222 posts
 

Hey audioman58,

I have no idea what you are talking about. The inputs and speaker wire terminals are symmetrically laid out. The left channel is on the left side and the right channel is on the right side.

Teajay

jim2
153 posts
 

@johnah5

Hey audioman58,

I have no idea what you are talking about. The inputs and speaker wire terminals are symmetrically laid out. The left channel is on the left side and the right channel is on the right side.

Teajay

He may be referring to this in the manual. Probably just a misprint. It’s also true you can just use inputs / speaker outputs however you want... they don’t know their given names.  🏁

 

 

 

tuckia08
23 posts
 

Hi Terry,

Does the S5.5 have a preamp preference? Tube, SS, SE, balanced? I know you have a few on hand. Maybe you have rolled them?

This “model” has been around for a long time. First as the S5 and now the S5.5. AFAIK, it received upgraded parts around 2019. Do you think it has been upgraded again?

Does anyone else know the story with the upgrade status? I haven’t reached out to Coda. I don’t want to bother them if others have already.

On paper it looks like a good amp for my speakers. Just looking for a few opinions/answers before I do anything.

Thanks

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