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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
vthokie83
1,001 posts
 

yyzsantabarbara

One should be mindful of which S5.5 they are purchasing. The one that is currently for sale, was updated with new transistor hardware in 2024....and that is what now makes it so special. The S5.5 has been around for a bunch of years, but it is this latest improvement that is so critical......I'd make sure to only look for 2024 manufacture dates.....I wish they had just changed the model to something like the 5.6

grk
233 posts
 
@sim_audio_nerd. "Not sure why Coda has it like that in the manual..very confusing"

 

@ Markmuse: From pictures I have seen, the labeling on the amp is the same as in the manual.

Maybe the owner is dyslexic?

johnah5 OP
236 posts
 

Jeez Guys, 

Like all amplifiers I have ever owned when you face the front of the amp the left input/speaker wire output is on the left and the right input/speaker wire output is on the right. Regardless of the manual this is a no brainer.

The S5.5 does double down to 100 watts into four ohms. Nobody, including myself, has yet used a speaker that the S5.5 has had any trouble driving effortlessly to very loud volume levels in many different systems. Vthokie83 is correct regarding that my review and this total thread is based on the brand new version of the S5.5 with the different transistors compared to earlier generations of this amplifier.

Teajay (Terry London)

grk
233 posts
 

@johnah5 

You are correct! The question is...why is the back of the amp labelled  the reverse of virtually all other HIFI equipment? I plan on contacting Coda tomorrow to ask about this and why the input impedance is so low. ; )

aolmrd1241
1,043 posts
 

Here is Doug Dales response to me about the S5.5 amp wattage rating. I think this will clear things up!

Mark

 

 

 

“The amp is smallest in production. It does double into 4 and again into 2 but at 2 Ohms there may be current limiting on transients and it is not optimal. Below 2 Ohms is not advised.

Unlike power the Class A region shrinks as you lower load impedance. The comment about 40 at 4 Ohms is likely a reference to the Class A wattage.”

 

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