Coda 11, Schiit Tyr, JC5 or ???
Poured over the forums but seeking repl. for Rogue Medusa. Sold my Parasound 5ch beast and had regrets at the sale-demo. Miss the gutteral full bass. I'm done with ClassD. It's got detail but lacking fullness Want more musicality and like a good soundstage and prefer ClassA/AB. Tried tube rolling. Max budget $4k new or used considering Coda 11, JC5, Kinki M7, or new Schiit Tyr pair. All in budget used. Recent Tyr favorable review in Absolute Sound. Need power for pairing with 4-Ohm CSS towers with Audible Illusions L3A pre.
Appreciate opinions?
@adamsherman What class D amps were you listening to? I’m finding them to be more similar to AB these days. Personally I’m using Orchard Audio ganfet amps and enjoying the synergy with tube preamp. For solid state I have Schiit Aegir monoblocks which are very good Schiit has a new dual mono amp called Wotan. Worth trying with their 15 day return window. |
I also fully endorse Odyssey. Talk to the owner on the phone, tell him what you are looking for, and just let him talk you into whatever he thinks will work best. The guy (Klaus Bunge) is a character in a "mad genius" sort of way. You will have great fun, wait quite a while (...), then end up with a phenomenal amp for a great price! |
I had a terrible experience with Odyssey Audio and would avoid them like a plague. Without question it was the worst experience I’ve had in this hobby among the many dozens of products and brands.
If you miss the gutsy/meaty Parasound signature, you’ll be remorseful with most other brands. For example, I had the Coda No.8 (V1), and while it was a good amp with plenty of refinement, I ultimately preferred my Parasound A21 for its “effortless” reserve and low-level authority. Based on the measurements of the Tyr monoblocks, you’d be giving up over 1.5dB of headroom relative to a JC5, which is not insignificant. However, the Tyrs are quieter so can likely resolve a little more detail. I do believe there are better amps out there, but IME, you don’t really get much of a worthwhile improvement until you step up to something like a Gryphon or Boulder, or possibly a flagship Coda or Pass. Also, consider that the Parasounds would likely sell for 2X the price if they were manufactured in Europe or the U.S., rather than Taiwan.
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I would look at the Odyssey Audio amps. They have both stereo and monobloc options within your price range. I replaced a well-reviewed tube power amp with a pair of Odyssey monobloc amps and my ears said the result was stunning. Plenty of power for peaks, plus excellent tonal qualities at both low and moderate volume levels. These apps brought my system to life. |
I am a big fan of Schitt gear. I have owned the CODA CSiB, #8, and now the #16. There was a great series on SoudstageUltra.com about Jeff Fritz searching for his new uber reference amp. He used a CODA #11 as a stop gap while he was looking for the uber amp. After a while he was wondering why he needed another amp when the CODA #11 was so good. He eventually spent about $30k for a used Boulder amp.
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But you don't need power to get high average levels. You only need four watts to listen at 86 dB average level(very loud as an average) at 2 meters. You need power to maintain clean sound during and after large peaks(such as not untypical 30 dB piano peaks). Suddenly your 4 watts turns into hundreds of watts. |
