CODA CSIb vs. HEGEL H-300 INTEGRATED


Has anyone listened to the Coda CSIb and the Hegel H-300 integrated amplifiers? The Coda has the build quality of a Rolls Royce by looking at their interior and exterior
photos on their website. It is far more powerful than the Hegel H-300 putting out 330 watts into 8ohms and 600 watts into 4ohms. Its 2kVA toroidal transformer is twice as large as the one in the Hegel. They both weigh 55 pounds. The Coda costs $5800.00 and the Hegel costs $5500.00. Based on the reviews the Coda is warmer than the Hegel. What are your thoughts between these two models?
audiozen
I own a Coda CSi...and truly love it...It powers my Tyler Acoustic Woodmere II speakers VERY WELL !!! My Coda has unbalanced inputs rather than the balanced you are referencing...Love mine...
Spoke to Doug at Coda yesterday. The CSIb will be going up in price in several months. It is one of the very few integrated amps on the market that will easily drive 1ohm loads. Great for Maggies.
Correction..the CSIb puts out 660 watts into 4ohms..not 600. Coda Engineers were part of the Threshold team with Nelson Pass back in the 80's. The three Engineer's founded Continuum/Coda in 1989 since Nelson left and founded Pass Labs.
Reason why I was fortunate (and extremely happy) to receive one that was tweaked a bit by them and had one owner who was meticulous with his equipment and very helpful to. One of my best purchases...Soon to be moving to the Coda for the summer months..Let my tube / SS combo rest for the next couple months...
It appears many Audiophiles are not aware that Coda even exisits due to Coda's very low profile. For those who owned Threshold back in the day Coda has carried on and improved the sonic character in their current products
that was Threshold. Coda is just as refined, musical and organic as Threshold since its the same design team minus Nelson Pass with Eric Lauchli heading the pack.
Coda is not really pushed in USA sales...mostly European market...not sure why since made in USA...
Coda has very strong demand in Europe in recent years, France in particular with the highest sales. Since its a small company in Sacramento and everything is made by hand, they have more than enough order's to fulfill all year around for Europe that the U.S. market is not cost effective for them.
If you wanted to buy it in the U.S. do they have dealers? Or do you have to buy it factory direct?
I had searched these and asylum pages a couple of years ago about Coda. Looks like their products are literally bulletproof. But the rags in the US gave them a bad rap. Some reviewers did not let go off Coda amp that was sent for review and Coda did not like that. Relationships went sour and hence no US promotions for Coda. Looks like their European market is very strong.
Milpai.."Rag's in the US give them a bad rap"..I never found that to be the case from all the US Mag reviews I've read during the past fifteen years and all the positive blog's on CODA owner's. Doug Dale, the President of the Company, answers the phone most of the time and is very personable and I have had many lengthy conversation's with Doug. A great company.
I concur about Doug...He is mostly available to talk with. I was having a minor issue with mine and he was on vacation and still called me to talk about what was going on..Ended up it was my wiring and not the unit...I love my Coda and its pure performance along with my other components..
I don't believe that to be true, but Proceed was a less expensive line spun off from Mark Levinson.
Of any SS amps I have owned or listened to Coda is closest to a tube.
Add the new 7X and the difference is negligible.
I'm not sure any of this is any indication that the Coda is in any way better than the Hegel. I've only ever heard the H200 and it was impressive. It of course is judged by your own ear. The H200 was by no means bright and probably close enough to tube sound to my ears that I could live with it or even possibly purchase the H300 without an audition.
The end result is the ear of the beholder no doubt.
Don have a look under the hood too.
Coda's are built as legacy pieces.
Is that a typo HF200?
I heard the Hegel 300 integrated and I was surprised how good it sounded. Did not have any of the solid state lifeless sound to it. Internal dac sounded great.
I'd like to mention that if any Coda owners on this forum are within 5 hours of Rochester NY I'd love to have a chance to hear their latest control amp or any of their equipment for that matter.
Anyone who is near SE North Carolina more than happy to come here and have a listen...About 1.5 hours from Myrtle Beach or Raleigh...Just down I - 40
attention all new Coda integrated 400 wpc rms into 8 ohms and the latest
In circuitry available will be going up a bit maybe $500
But worth every penney ,built like a tank,musical and excellent parts
Quality,very natural timber,with a nice warm balance.
I heard 2 year old model.new ones even better with even better control and Bass even into a 2 ohm load ,also pure class A biasing can be requested up to the first 10 watts.
Could someone describe the sound of the Coda int? I'm a tube integrated owner now but I am toying with the idea of making the switch to SS for a while. Where does the soundstage sit? Is its "tube quality" in its midrange or just in its warmth?
06-11-13: Audiolabyrinth
Hi, was threshold a spinn off of proceed?

No, Proceed was a spin off of Mark Levinson. Coda and Pass Labs are spin offs of Threshold.
Coda and Pass Labs were founded by people who were involved in Threshold, but they were not members of a single corporate entity such as Proceed was to ML.
I do not find my Coda CSi near a tube sound...I find it very detailed and true to the intended pressing. What I like is the stage it presents and the power to back it up.
Donjr,

I have been running the Ayon Troton II for the past two years... Just looking to stay warm with a stage that does not project forward into the room to much... My speaks are 98db Daedalus Ulysses, and i hear with a very smooth slope. This Coda souls be PLENTY of power. And I don't listen to loud, so maybe over kill, if people buy it for its power.
08-25-13: Onhwy61
Coda and Pass Labs were founded by people who were involved in Threshold, but they were not members of a single corporate entity such as Proceed was to ML.

Correct you are! I guess that you could say that Forte was to Threshold what Proceed was to Mark Levinson.
Audioman58..thanks for the update back in August on the upgrades of the CSIb..got an email from Doug at Coda this morning confirming the changes. The new version is available but Coda has delayed the price increase until January.
I am glad I could be of assistance. I am hoping to get my unit or Oct.
Best of luck to you Audiozen.
I was moving towards the Coda then had the chance to hear the Hegel
H200 ,personally I feel as well as the dealer and his staff a more natural sounding amplifier. Vs the coda the coda has more power ,and has very good dynamic drive a bit warmer then neutral a very nice integrated.
Everyone situation will vary from other sources, some speakers
Have a warm resonance,on a Coda it is a very good match.
Myself with YG Carmel speakers they have no sound of their own and
Your choice electronics is instrumental.that being said the Hegel 200
Is like a good Vacuum tube amp it may not dig to get that least microsecond from an instrument but is natural like you would hear in life and has very good detail and balance with excellent image depth,and tight solid bass,the patented sound engine is what gives it an edge very similar to a class A sounding amp but runs cool. all around
An amp I can listen just listen to and forget about dissecting the music.
your down stream cable,tonal balance,and digital,turntable these will dictate what type of balance you want and how much power,the hegel is very high current a awg 11 gauge or lower cable is recommended.
That is my opinion I have heard all 3 and that is my opinion they are all very good products.
Audioman58..It would be interesting to compare the Hegel to the new upgraded CSIb integrated..have you heard the latest Coda CSIb?
I own the H200 and was actually emailed through Audiogon from a dealer Who mentioned that he and everyone that works for him thought the H200 was better than the H300. I found that to be an interesting email but of course I felt good about it.

I'm sure the Coda is amazing but I'm not ready for the leap in faith when I can order from my best pal Bob who owns the local brick and mortar. The Hegel gear is amazing and there's no getting past this fact. If the Coda is better I may never know and certainly don't care. If I win the lottery I'll find out.
Have not heard this year2013 Coda,heard 2012 model very good gear.
Cannot give a absolute against the Hegel 200,the Hegels balance is a shade warmer, and to make an absolute you would have to have both
In the same system for the day.
Well..its been a while since the last post on this thread.
Curious if anyone out there has had the opportunity to listen to the latest Coda CSIB Mark III version which has additional upgrades including PRP Audio resistor's and a larger power supply which now provides 400 watts into 8 Ohms and 800 watts into 4 Ohms.
I too certainly would be interested in hearing about the Mark III version as well. Also US pricing.

I am looking at amplifiers to power my Shahinian Obelisk 2's, which can be a bit of a tough load for many amplifiers. This integrated and also the Magamp from Sanders Sound seem to be potentially good matches.

The big problem is getting a chance to demo the Coda in my system without apotential loss of money. At least Sanders offers a 30-day in-home trial, can't get much better than that!
Actually now that I dug around on Codas webpage, they appear to offer a 14 day trial period if no dealers are in the neighborhood. Might have to look into this a little more afterall! I certainly like having a one-box solution to amp/pre, just add source!
That Magamp from Sanders Sound looks like it was made by Coda. Coda does a lot of design and manufacturer for other companies too. Coda designed and built amps for Innersound and Legacy, and that Magtech certainly has that similar look to it.
Yes it certainly appears to be a spitting image of Coda products, I certainly do not know what differences that may be lurking within the circuitry.

At any rate, both the Coda and Sanders are on my very short list of taking a listen to, just need to get me a decent block of time to do so.
Sanders power amps are built by CODA, but are custom designs and built to their specifications. So while they appear similar in looks to CODA products, they do not have the same internal circuitry.
Thanks Bill, kind of what I had figured, as Sanders does have some unique power supply regulation he uses within his units. Maybe other things as well. The important thing is the music in the end!
Well I know that when I spoke with Doug Dale of Coda, he explained how they work with their other products. He said that the companies will tell them what features are important to them, then Coda will design and build the amps/preamps to suit their tastes.

I've owned many Coda pieces over the years, great stuff. These guys know what they are doing, and would be a much bigger name if they didn't have such a disdain for the marketing type of people. Coda was founded by 3 ex-Threshold engineers. They like designing and building amps. They don't like the business end of the industry though. They would rather design and build amps for other companies than go to shows, schmooze with the reviewers, etc.
I use the Marantz PM11s1 and its amazing. Anyone on how it would stack up against the CODA???