Parasound vs Coda

@yyzsantabarbara Yeah, I traded my old amp for the No 8.  I'm using it with a Linear Tube Audio MicroZOTL preamp.  I like a tube preamp with a solid state amp.  Works well for me. 

I like and do the same with my Cary Tube preamp combined in with an alternate Class A 50w SS Pass/Forte' amp I rotate in place of my tube mono block amps.   For my larger speakers I've been eyeballing the Coda S20. Have a note out to Doug @coda, would like to find out how many watts are Class A before it switches to Class AB. Coda is local to me 15m away so might check it out more fwiw.  

@decooney 

Check out the manual: 

The S20 normally operates in stereo mode, providing a maximum output power of 10 watts Class A (into an 8-ohm load) per channel. In BRIDGED mode, both channels act as one amplifier providing a maximum output power of 800 watts.

Thanks @mclinnguy I just checked out the manual.  Also shows the front end never enters class class B operation as-is common with most amps - I'd still need to find out if Class A power doubles with 4ohm speakers.  The only reason I'm interested is they are local and future repairs would be easy, and it's a lighter weight amp compared to all of my other SS amps over the years. Something to check out in any case.  Thx

@decooney Yes, must be nice to be so close. Shipping my 140lb monster will cost $370 CDN each way.

I’ll tell you though, it is speaker dependent of course, not sure what you got, but I am currently running my 4 ohm speakers (98db) with less than 2 watts per side from this little Yamamoto 45 tube amp, and it’s shocking how much output that is, and it is plenty loud- I understand there is a difference between tube and solid state watts, but 10 watts of class A Coda would be overkill for me on these speakers.

I have a Coda #8 V1 (Blue meters) with a BAT VK-80 Tube preamp. I had the Holo Audio Serene KTE preamp before, but this BAT preamp brought everything to a new level. The Parasound brand is good, and I have listened to them, but the Coda amps are better. I did consider getting a #16 Coda but with the large cost difference and the extreme weight I decided to get the #8 and couldn't be happier! BTW I don't buy my equipment used so that wouldn't matter in my case. My #8 barely gets warm driving my current hungry Magnepans. Since it's a V1, it puts out 150 watts into 8 ohms yet has the heatsinks for a 400 watt amp (V3).