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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
Post removed 
firefly627s
54 posts
 

Vthokie83,

Thank you for your reply and we’ll patiently wait for your S5.5 and Caladan’s to settle in. Looking forward to your review comments on both the S5.5 and Caladan’s, as well as the Motherlode XL down the road.

Not sure if you have any experience with Klipsch quasi horn speakers such as the Heritage line Forte 3, 4 or Cornwall 4. If you do, my interest in your opinion as to how the Caladan’s compare isn’t a matter of which sounds better to you as they will be definitely different, but more of what you feel are their relative strengths and weaknesses. Understandably, this is only possible if you have had some experience with the quasi horn speakers mentioned. Thanks again for your comments on the S5.5, Caladan’s, and the Motherload XL, as all three are on my ’candidates of high interest’ list! Thanks again, joe

 

 

 

 

 

johnah5 OP
235 posts
 

Hey Joe,

Wish I could answer your question about how much current the AGD amps drop into different loads. However, I have never seen that spec on any of their different amp models, As we both know Coda has some of the highest ratings of current loading on the market which contributes to their superlative performance and ability to drive virtually any speaker effortlessly.

Teajay

vthokie83
905 posts
 

firefly627s,

My only experience with Klipsch speakers is in other people's systems, and I've mostly been unimpressed.....but that may very well be the accompanying electronics. Twice they were being driven by a "mainstream" amp (can't remember but Technics/Onkyo/Sony/or the like). The one time I was impressed, my friend was driving a pair of Cornwall IIIs with a Tubes4hifi VTA ST-120 tube amp......which I later purchased and still own. But I don't own Klipsch and certainly have no extended experience with them.

aw-agd
17 posts
 

@johnah5 

The information about the maximum current capability of all AGD amps is available on the AGD website under each product description.

Audion, Vivace and Tempo : 30Apk

AGD Gran Vivace and DUET :  50Apk

AGD Solo >70Apk

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