Pass Labs xa-25 or Coda Continum #8

Great thread. I'm on the fence about choosing between the Pass XA.25 and the Coda S5.5, but I'm leaning towards the Coda.

@earthbound you're right, there are plenty of raving reviews about both amps. It's really difficult to get genuine feedback about audio gear on the Internet with all those paid ads and sponsored reviews. Still, I’ve read a lot of positive comments here and on WBF about the Coda, and many people moved from Pass Labs to Coda and considered it a step up.

Actually, I just saw the first somewhat negative comment from @hickamore: 'The one thing lacking is the sense of huge black sky overhead that you get from superpower amps.' That makes me a bit sad, because it sounds like I’ll lose something special.

I have owned a few Pass amps and liked them. In the end, they were very smooth but not as "energetic" as I had hoped. Down the road I tried the Coda, not moving away from Pass at that time, and fell in love with it. I considered larger Coda amps but this 8 unit is well broken in and just works marvelously. Both the Pass and Coda amps are reliable, quiet, and not fussy. Don't know about the XA heat signature, but the Coda never gets hot. You can place your palm on the amp and never fear getting burned (or heating up your room).

Best of luck!!

Thanks guys. Since the start I’ve kind of moved off the xa-25. I’ve reading about how neutral it is. I don’t want anything much more transparent and neutral than my tube amp, which is already a tough listen on many of my favorite albums. The Sit-4 and 5 are also on my radar. Btw, the Coda some have said can be a little noisy compared to some amps. That concerned me. 

@earthbound Where did you hear that about the Coda being a little noisy? Please provide the source, I'd like to read about that too.

@bugredmachine Thanks for your opinion. How would you describe sound signature from the Coda?

Coda is very quiet. I have eliminated so much noise using XLR cabling, etc. it makes me very happy.

Coda is transparent and gives no sound signature of its own. My ARC preamp and Bricasti sound come right through.