Coda vs Parasound

we were a parasound dealer years ago and are a coda dealer now the coda amplifier is far better in every way the Coda and Parasound are both clean musical amplifiers however the coda manages to provide far greater clarity and a bigger soundstage

the coda is hand made in the USA while parasound is made in china.

Competition and Comparison
Based on price and having listening experience with both of them, the two amplifiers that would be natural competitors with the No. 8 amplifier are the Parasound Halo JC 5 amplifier, which retails for $5,995, and the Bryston 3B amplifier, which retails for $5,495. Both are high powered single chassis designs. For my tastes, both of these amplifiers are bested by the No. 8 amplifier in three key areas. The Parasound Halo JC 5 and the Bryston 3B both sound grainy and dry compared to the more smooth and pristine presentation of the Coda amplifier. Both the Parasound Halo JC 5 and Bryston 3B do not create the life-sized soundstaging and space provided by the No. 8. Finally, even though both the Parasound Halo JC 5 and Bryston 3B have higher wattage ratings than the No. 8 amplifier at 4 ohms, neither have the iron-fist control of the bottom end frequencies or the explosive macro-dynamics of the Coda Continuum No. 8.

The ties to Threshold from the audiophile past make a comparison to Pass Labs to be pretty obvious. Priced at $4,900, the somewhat-no-frills (or just without a fancy meter) Pass Labs XA-25 is a good comparison in that it is mostly a Class A power amp and stays Class A for more watts before switching over to Class AB. The Pass Lab sound is slightly warm and velvety while the Coda is smooth and silky in its overall presentation. Both are great. Which one you would like better would boil down to personal taste and system synergy. Both amps offer a liquidity and grainlessness that normally is only associated with tube-based amplification. The Coda is very musical yet very detailed in ways that make me think that a fairer comparison would be my Pass Labs XA-60.8 monoblocks, which is a significant accolade for the Coda No. 8, as the Pass 60.8s are mean competitors costing far more money.

https://hometheaterreview.com/coda-technologies-continuum-no-8-stereo-amplifier/

Dave and Troy

Audio intellect NJ

coda dealers

FWIW I have the Coda S5.5 and it is a very good sounding amplifier, very powerful for it's modes rating. I can wholeheartedly recommend Coda amplifiers.

Audiotroy WAS a Parasound dealer and IS NOW a Coda dealer.

Mmmm, might want to take his advice with a grain of salt. I just installed a JC5 in my system and could not be anymore pleased. I know nothing about Coda.

I have owned lower end Parasound (A21+) and the CODA #8 and #16. The #16 is the best amp I have owned.

Another amp that competes very favorably to the #8 is the new Schitt Wotan. It is $2k and has a 15-day home trial, though it took 2 months of very heavy play to get the top end hardness to go away.,

I really like the Wotan with Forkbeard integration. Sounds very good, powerful, and love the iPhone integration. Saves me the hassle of walking a few feet to put into Standby.

It’s really hard to beat Coda.  Auditory though he’s a dealer and that might make him biased provided some great info on Coda.  If you like their sound signature, which Auditory did a good job describing, build quality, quality of parts combined with their engineering know how is about the best value in high end audio.  Their gear isn’t cheap by any stretch but you can compare their gear to other high end brands and in an apples to apples comparison their gear is probably 20-50 % less expensive, likely made with better, more expensive parts by engineers that know how to maximize the performance of the parts used.  You can’t go wrong with Coda, again, if you like their sound signature.  Pass is another great brand, Coda has ties to Pass, Audiotey did a great job laying out the differences, Pass will be warmer but both Coda and Pass are gainless and are designed to control, grip speakers far beyond their wattage ratings.  
 

Parasound, not made in China, designed in California and built in Taiwan.  Parasound built its brand on having world class engineers in Cali design, select parts, components and then manufacturing in Taiwan to strict quality standards delivering some of the best “bang for the buck” equipment.  I wouldn’t put their gear in the class of Coda but in fairness, Coda is way more $$.  The # 8 Coda would really be compared to the A21 +, the # 16 to the JC5.  The A21+ or the JC5 are both great amps as well.  I’d roll with the Coda # 8 but would have no issues living with either the A21+ or JC5, you should let your ears guide you. 
 

I got to compare the A21, Coda # 8 and Krell 300xd in my system.  I landed on the Krell, to me it was the best of Pass and the best of Coda rolled together.  All Class A, Krell kept its legendary ability to drive almost any speaker with grip, control alive with the XD gear along with a silky, grainless, smooth presentation.  There is also a touch of warmth, tube magic to the Krell XD gear.  Prior to the comparison I owned the A21 and Coda at the same time, had lots of time I compare the 2.  I preferred the Coda but was based on my taste, the A21 for around half the price of the Coda was really hard to beat form a dollars / performance ratio.  
 

I’d give a look to Coda, Parasound, Pass and Krell.  Let your ears decide.  I’d list their build / parts / warranty ranking as:

1. Coda

2. Pass - will have the best resale value if you decide to sell / upgrade 

3. Parasound / Krell tied 

Not a big poster here, but I absolutely love my Coda #8.  I was using the Pass XA25.  They are indeed very close competitors, and cater to slightly different sound footprints, but I chose the Coda due to greater power in the bottom end, and slightly more clarity in mids and high, compared to the warmth of the Pass amp (much like Audiotroy's description).  I have not listened to Parasound or Bryston, but the Coda is my end game.

Not even close.....CODA !

Jc5 gets my vote!

I haven’t owned the JC5 but have owned the original Parasound A21 and a Coda No.8 V1. Owned both simultaneously. In my system the A21 sounds considerably more “effortless,” with better bass. However, the Coda was a little more resolving and refined. Ultimately I preferred and kept the A21. 

That said, I actually prefer my Yamaha A-S2100 to the Parasound. It digs even deeper in the bass and has better synergy with my Satori Helios speakers. 

Take a look into the guts and see if you like them. Take note of all the fuses the Parasound uses. Soooo many. Take a peek at Coda and you might find just one possibly two. Coda does not need to back up a back up of a back up to ensure something really bad doesn't happen.

Finally, even though both the Parasound Halo JC 5 and Bryston 3B have higher wattage ratings than the No. 8 amplifier at 4 ohms, neither have the iron-fist control of the bottom end frequencies or the explosive macro-dynamics of the Coda Continuum No. 8.

That’s a weird assertion because in a back-to-back A/B, even my lowly OG A21 had much better grip and bass extension than the No.8 in my system. Dynamic contrasts of the two were very close but the A21 took the lead there too. I did enjoy the No.8 for its refinement but even my Yamaha integrated at 100 WPC has better control over the bass. It was the same issue I encountered with the Ayre V-5XE. That isn’t to say the No.8 is bass-light per se, but it certainly isn’t what I expected from an amp that claims such an outlandish current capability. Certainly the Codas have better build quality, which I imagine might cause expectation bias in some listeners. 

I think most comparisons will reveal the preferred match for a given set of speakers and speaker cables.

I know. I have a amazing grasp of the obvious. 🙂

I got to compare the A21, Coda # 8 and Krell 300xd in my system. I landed on the Krell, to me it was the best of Pass and the best of Coda rolled together. All Class A, Krell kept its legendary ability to drive almost any speaker with grip, control alive with the XD gear along with a silky, grainless, smooth presentation. There is also a touch of warmth, tube magic to the Krell XD gear. Prior to the comparison I owned the A21 and Coda at the same time, had lots of time I compare the 2. I preferred the Coda but was based on my taste, the A21 for around half the price of the Coda was really hard to beat form a dollars / performance ratio.

I like you loved the KRELL Duo 175XD that I sold to buy the CODA #16. I have had the following amps in the house with essentially the same system

• Parasound A21+
• CODA #8
• CODA #16
• KRELL Duo 175XD
• Schitt Wotan ($2k)
• Benchmark AHB2

My favorite is the CODA #16 because it is almost the best on top (AHB2), it is the most powerful and overall has the best sound. The next 2 would be the KRELL Duo 175XD and the Schitt Wotan. I am not sure which I like better so call it a tie.

I've went from the JC5 to #16. Long story short, everything is improved and it's things you don't notice until you do. All frequencies have more extension, sound stage is wide, bass is more pronounced and tighter, less grain, highs and mids more pure and defined.

Parasound makes great stuff but the Coda is what I prefer. It's also much more expensive so I'm glad it's preferred to me. 

 Appreciate all you folks that have taken the time to respond. Keep em coming !

Audiotroy,  FYI, your website lists you as a Parasound dealer with no mention of Coda....