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Focal Kanta 2 and CODA 16 amp

Hello All,
My audio system was sounding really good but I felt the need to go further and recently upgraded a McIntosh MC152 amp to a Coda 16. What was missing? A certain bit of clarity, the ability to place instruments in the soundstage, and an amp that is consistent in quality with the rest of my equipment.

McIntosh is one of the amplifiers that pairs well with my Focal Kanta 2s. I thought about a more powerful McIntosh but didn’t go there, heard a Luxman M900u in a dealer’s showroom that was OK, but a demo of the Coda turned my head. The Coda is an eye-opener in the clarity and power it brings to the system, but it has thrown the balance off. I am now struggling to overcome some brightness with certain music (not all), a slight edge that I had previously managed to defeat by changing cables, rolling tubes in my preamp and adding the Mac.

My listening space is not ideal and can use acoustic treatment to tame the highs, but things sounded pretty good before. The focus and bulk of time (say 85%) is with home theatre, but when I play two channel, I want it to be high quality. An obvious path is to correct my mistake, sell the Coda and look elsewhere.  Another alternative is to keep this excellent amp and get a different (warmer?) preamp to better match the Coda (must have HT bypass and XLR connections), or perhaps something like a MiniDSP with Dirac to tweak the sound. I'm even contemplating warmer speakers to replace the Kantas, but that means three speakers (L/C/R) for home theatre.

I appreciate any words of wisdom or solace from Kanta and/or Coda owners on a strategy to manage this issue. Thanks,
Robert

traubr
traubr's avatar
traubr OP
69 posts
 

@rick_n , I read your suggestion elsewhere and thought it worthwhile.  I have the speakers on IsoAcoustic footers and they are aimed as high as I can get them; it helped.  I've played with toe in versus straight ahead and it makes a subtle but not big difference, but every positive step is a win.  Thanks.

I am coming to accept and understand that the Coda is doing what a high quality amp should: present ALL the music.  My dilemma is whether I want to hear it all, or sacrifice some highs towards a more relaxed sound.

audphile1's avatar
audphile1
5,769 posts
 

So Meitner into Backert with AZ Absolute Copper and cardas into Coda?

Meitner is not bright. Coda isn’t either. Nit familiar with Backert sound. But your equipment is basically passing all the information to your speakers. The Focals have a be tweeter that’s known to present an issue for some listeners. Your McIntosh amp was homogenizing all recordings and created a sense of smoothness in high frequencoes. Coda is transparent, fast and articulate.
If I were you I’d look into replacing the Focals. Otherwise sell coda.
 

Oh and other suggestion….try Meitner direct into coda using AZ interconnects. If you are running Backert into Coda balanced it may not be ideal match. Worth a shot  also worth trying backert into coda using RCA interconnects

 

rick_n's avatar
rick_n
387 posts
 

One more thought, make sure your speakers are positioned so that you don't have a dip in the upper-mid bass.  If you have this it will make the HF appear more apparent.  FWIW the Hegel H30A drives my Sopras with no sharpness.  

audphile1's avatar
audphile1
5,769 posts
 

Looking at your system the stands and vibration control feet raise the speakers quiet a bit. It could bs a problem considering where the tweeter is located 

traubr's avatar
traubr OP
69 posts
 

When I placed the speakers initially with no height adjustments, the tweeters were pointed directly at my head.  Break-in helped considerably, but adding the footers and aiming the fronts high got the tweeters pointing over my head, which was better.  It's easy enough to go through height adjustments again to check results.

After the Meitner upgrade to 3i, I tried streaming directly to the preamp but I felt the combo of Aurender N200 plus Meitner was better than Meitner alone.  I did not try using Meitner as preamp and bypassing Backert, certainly interested to see what impact that has.

I consulted with Backert and Andy suggested trying a different tube, which I just ordered.  He's sending me a pair of interconnects he's had success with to calm sharpness, will also give that a whirl.  Then, of course, replacing the Coda or the speakers is always an option, albeit a costly one (especially the latter).  Not there yet.

Thanks for the feedback,

Robert

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