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

@johnah5

Thanks Teajay and glad to hear the S5.5 doubles down to 100 Class A watts into 4 ohm. Interestingly enough, the No. 16 amplifier is reported to deliver the first 100 watts as Class A into 8 ohms or 4 ohms, and above 100 watts,  it's Class AB). 

When I spoke with Doug last week I did get a different answer. Maybe I heard wrong or there was some misinterpretation so I won't go into the details. I don’t know why they (Coda Tech) don’t state it on the Coda site specs or put in print in the manual instead of only stating 50WPC Class A into 8 ohm. Maybe it’s just me but if you can double down to 100WPC into 4ohm Class A, don’t hide it, flaunt it.

I know the dealers say 100WPC into 4ohm but it’s ambiguous to me if I don’t see "A" specified, so I was thinking that’s AB. The S5.5 is certainly an outstanding amplifier and quite a value! What are specs anyway? Performance is what matters and the 100 amp current the S5.5 and 16 have are doing the job quite well!

Again, thank you!

@irave I have my S5.5 driving B&W 804 D4s which are at least as difficult a load as your Amatis and the sound is sublime, zero sense of compression or hardening or lack of dynamics. Preamp is a Audio Hungary Qualiton C200. 

@firefly627s Specs do matter to me. I spoke to Doug about getting the S5.5 for my Yamaha NS5000 and he said it may work since it is a 6 Ohm speaker. 

I told him the 100-watt Benchmark AHB2 does work with it to some OK volume level. However, the amp is almost at 90% volume, and it seems to be pushing it.

On my Sanders Magtech amp, the sound was bigger and louder. That amp is 500 | 900 @ 8 | 4. On my CODA #16 it was similar to the Sanders with some sonic differences that I cannot remember now, essentially a Class AB vs A thing.

After those comments Doug said the S5.5 would not be a good choice for me. That is how we eventually ended up with the topic of the new CODA SYSTEM 150 coming out next month.

I may have a buyer for my Sanders amp and the AHB2 may also go. I will use 2 CODA amps on my 2 systems, but not the S5.5. 

BTW - I thought the #16 was 50 watts Class A in 4 Ohm. Though that is an old recollection.

@yyzsantabarbara 

       Thank you for your helpful comments as always! Much appreciated!

       To all from my previous posts, Doug may have been extra conservative with me because I am in a Magnepan LRS+ phase. I really am not a specification person at all and it's odd I even raised this question. I believe it was  truly intended to help others on this thread, in case any of us were placing a specification as a key criterion for purchasing the amp, that there were no unintentional or inadvertent oversights,  misunderstandings or false presumptions here . There certainly doesn't appear to be any. And would it even matter if there were any? Probably not!

        The S5.5 is hitting the ball out of the park  for everyone, so that has much more practical value to us than specs or what is printed in the manuals. I totally agree with YYZ though that specs are important; however, the bottomline is how a component sounds to each user, in their room with their equipment and their music. Teajay loved the sound these S5.5's were producing and everyone else does too. That says it all! I am not chancing it with Maggies though. Doug steered me back to my CSiB.  Enjoy the music! YYZ thanks again for chiming in! Best, joe

@yyzsantabarbara 

        On your last point on the #16 and this is from the manual as well as Teajays past review on the 16 powerhouse amplifier.

  No.16 is 150wpc/8 AB, 300wpc/4  AB with the first 100watts being pure Class A into 8 ohms or 4 ohms. When CODA states the No. 16 is "100 Watts of Pure Class A Precision Bias Operation" , with no impedance qualifiers, it translates to the amp being  a 100 Watt Pure Class A amp for 8 ohm or 4 ohm loads. Above 100 watts at either impedances, transitioning enters into Class AB as per above spec maxima. 

Added HP in the #16,  so the amp does not stress at lower impedance is; 3Kv power supply, 280,000 uf capacitance and of course the Coda magic; >100amps current.