The new Coda S5.5 amplifier: It's a "Petite Beast"!

We all have different systems, different preferences and there are a lot of choices so nothing is for everybody. Enjoy!

@johnah5   When will this review be coming out? I cannot find any reviews on this amp.

I placed my order for my Coda S5.5 in Black today, thank you @vinylvalet for working with me, what a great stand up guy. Recommended. It will be paired with my Legacy Audio Focus XD's and Wavelet II.  Also thanks to @johnah5 for the heads up Agon post. I think Doug will sell a bunch of these.

8 on this page alone have been deleted. ???

I am going to wait for @vthokie83 to report back on his Motherload XL to make a decision on which preamp to get to pair with my incoming Coda s5.5. I am to the "endgame" point at age 69. I am intrigued by that Coda 07x from the synergy perspective. This shift in the conversation is exactly the information I am looking for. What to pair with the S5.5 that won’t require selling a kidney to buy.

I estimate I am about a week out for my Black Coda S5.5.....maybe a bit more due to Easter.........you guys are getting me excited!  I shipped out my VAC amp and Preamp today to be sold @ TMR.  Deciding on what to do for a preamp, will use my Wavelet II for now. Thanks @vthokie83 for you review, I like a LOT of the music you listed in your report. My amp will only be driving the mid and top range of the Focus XD's....where you state it shines. All good news!

Today marks 3 weeks since my amp order was received by Coda, the wait is killing me.  Maybe next week. 🙏

This thread by Terry has caused quite a stir for Coda, as of today my 5.5 S has been on order for 5 weeks and it may ship maybe by next week! And Terry's review has not even gone live yet!  Selling like hot cakes just from this thread evidently. Cannot wait to hear from those that get their amp and can report back here how they like them. for me it's going to provide my "escape route" from a lifetime with tubes, hope it works out for me! I need to simplify my life.

Friday May 3, marked 7 weeks and waiting. Ordered March 15, when did you that have them order? @sim_audio_nerd ?

@sim_audio_nerd   Thanks for the report, still waiting for my S5.5  we're at 8 weeks now.

@minatophase3   Interesting, my BLACK S5.5 was ordered on March 15 and I am still waiting. 

@vthokie83 Yes I get it, I waited 18 weeks for my Legacy Focus XD’s. It’s just that Doug told my dealer 2-3 weeks when he ordered it and we just passed 8 weeks. which was unexpected and no firm ship date as of 2 weeks ago. I guess the hold up is the Anodizing vender for faceplates and heat sinks. He was promised them 4 weeks ago.

FWIW for those waiting for their Coda S 5.5 amp. I talked to Doug yesterday, they have been waiting on anodizing to finish their faceplates and heat syncs. That was behind at least 4 weeks. They received a shipment last Friday and are working on my amp this week, maybe yours too? He said they will be shipping mine late this week or early next week. I also asked him about that power the amp makes into 4 ohms @ watts/Ch and he told me about 40. It’s not 50/100/200 (8/4/2) Anyway it’s nice to know I will be getting my amp soon to drive my Legacy Audio Focus XD’s I got last August. I sold my VAC Renaissance 70/70 Signature amp over a month ago.

My S5.5 ships Monday! 

Great review @johnah5  UPS tracking has it scheduled for 5/23/24. However I leave for the holiday for 4 days so won't get it running until after Memorial day. I'll give it a few days to settle in before any reports. Needless to say I am very happy. 

I FINALLY got my Coda S5.5 going today. (I have been without the rig since December 2023!) It was quite an ordeal because yesterday when I got it connected there was distortion! It took me all day of fruitless trial and error. I narrowed it down the the Legacy Wavelet II so I emailed them this morning. (Ed at Legacy is great and answers me quickly every time) It seems that since my Dinafrips Venus II DAC XLR’s were into the Wavelet the gain was too high causing the distortion. Ed suggested I use the dip switches to take the input down and I did -3db then -6 Db then -12Db and that cleared it up! It took some trial and error to get the right dip switch settings. right, I ended up at -6 Db. So now it is finally sounding sweet and burning in. Yesterday I spend hours trying to troubleshoot the problem, trying cables, different configurations to isolate the issue, what an ordeal fearing it was my new amp. I am so happy now! I will report back after I get 100 hours on the rig. It sure shows great potential! Sidebar comment: I also needed some adapters from Silversmith to fit my Fidelium speaker wires into the posts, so I had to use some old heavy gauge Monster cable just to get it going, holy cow when I got the Silversmith speaker cables back in it later today what a revelation! Solid copper isn’t the answer in my case. The change was HUGE! I can already hear the same attributes previously noted in others impressions of this amp. I am transitioning from all tubes to all solid state so a big leap.

Before I describe my new Coda S5.5’s sound I feel the need to reveal that I made several changes to the rig prior to adding a new amp. I placed my my VAC Cla1 Mk III tube preamp and VAC Renaissance 70/70 Mk III Signature amp on consignment to fund the change. However I’ve made several other improvements while waiting 9 weeks for it to arrive. Here are the things that have changed:

1. I now run an XLR Wireworld Eclipse 8 from DAC to Wavelet II which is now used as the preamp/crossover/DSP unit. No preamp prior to the Wavelet II anymore.It used to be the same level Wireworld Eclipse 8 but RCA. I am now fully balanced end to end.
2. I purchased a used 1.5 meter Wireworld Gold Eclipse XLR from Wavelet II to the Coda amp. I was using RCA Wireworld Eclipse 8 RCA before.
3. I added a very nice power box with DH labs wiring and Synergistic plugs and two DH Labs Red Wave Signature power cords to the Legacy Audio Focus XD speakers, internal powered bass amps replacing a pair of Waudio PC’s. The power unit is fed by the Shunyata PC I used before on a lower level API power box.
4. I added another DH labs Red Wave Signature PC to my Aurender N200 and moved the Wireworld Silver Electra 7 PC to the HDPlex linear power supply feeding the Wavelet II, an upgrade from the Wireworld Electra 7 PC that was on it before.
5. I used to run 2 BMI Whale elite PC’s on the VAC amp, those have been replaced by another DH Labs Red Wave Signature PC for the Coda.
6. I now run a AQ Diamond USB from Aurender to Hermes, but I still have the coax connected too.

OK, whew! Now that is out of the way I also had to run new sweeps for the Bohmer Legacy Room correction software in the Wavelet II to reacquaint the room to speaker interaction to the refinements made since the last version of the system way back in December 2023. December is the last time I have heard my rig. I got rid of the VAC stuff immediately after arriving back home from our Florida winter after getting it repaired. So, lots going on here and I took my time discerning how it all changed and to what effect the amp had on it. (My system is in my signature if you want to see what else I have going on)

I am breaking in new power cords, new USB cable, new XLR’s and a new amp!

Anyway here is where i am at now in comparison switching from tubes to all solid state. A bit of a paradigm shift for me if you will. I have 50 hours of music run through and 120 hours total time on the system being powered up.

OK so here are comments in my listening notes:

• Sound is sorted out, I hear more of whats in there -clarity.
• Great driver integration vs tube, no lag, quick, keeps up better with bass amp section through the outboard crossover in the Focus XD’s Their bass had become better defined and controlled.
• Great top end detail, not harsh at all.
• Dynamics!
• Quiet, blacker background
• Lacks the bloom and fullness of the old tubed electronics. (A SS Tradeoff I expect) I think I get a great result with either a tubed preamp or maybe a Lampizator Balitic 4 in the mix.
• Speakers still disappear, soundstage is the same front to back and side to side. BIG.
• Accurate tonality of instruments and textures.
• Better upper bass articulation
• Light, delicate, airy and quick
• Images are sharper with less “tube haze”
• Quick leading edges, such as on guitar riffs
• Great rhythm and pace
• Can enjoy at lower volume, but it can play very loudly. I listen around 85Db average, I wish I had better hearing at age 69 but I do use hearing aides.

I like this amp very much. I am sure as it continues to get time on it and the system it will keep getting better.

@vinylvalet thanks, breaking in those WW Gold Eclipse 8 xlrs thanks to you!

It is kinda small for those Legacy Aeris but the Wavelet II can help a lot. I have the same combination, just with the Focus XD, the next step down from the Aeris. That room is not kind to the sound that you are capable of achieving.

Yesterday I was doing some listening. I use the Aurender N200 through Qobuz. Anyway, when i make playlists they sometimes are done on my Phone with headphones and songs added to the list don't always sound good once played on the big rig. This was the case for many of the cuts on my "Blues" playlist, but I decided yesterday i was in the mood for something different so I o loaded that into the queue. This was the best i have ever heard this music, even songs that I usually skipped by I was just enamoured with and tapping my toe. They sounded so much better, musical textures i never heard before, the bit of harshness was gone!  Things are getting really, really good with this amp!

I have been out of town for 2 weeks so after I get back I will check on the amp/system progress and report back. The last time I listened I was ecstatic at what I was hearing.

@minatophase3   Silversmith makes Fidelium interconnects now? I have the speaker cables.

@hickamore   I am driving some Legacy Focus XD's with the 5.5 effortlessly FWIW. Because of my hearing and need for hearing aides I try to keep the volume 75-85 dB SPL. I used to have to listen louder but now I can hear more of what's in the recording without the extra volume.

@sim_audio_nerd   I have been thinking the same thing. Well, I don't upgrade very often but since I have made other system upgrades this amp lets them shine through. I just got a new DAC and the change is clearly evident. I love this amp! I've had my amp about 7 months.

@sim_audio_nerd  I bought a new Denafrips Terminator 15th to replace my 3 year old Denafrips Venus II.

@charliee  No I no longer am getting any preamp. I had conversations with dealers that advised it is not necessary with only 1 connection. I would just be adding more into the chain, need more (expensive) interconnects and power cords. Instead I added a end game (for me) DAC. I am very happy with how the rig sounds now, very happy. 

@yyzsantabarbara The Legacy Wavelet II is a pre amp so adding a tube preamp would be redundant. My DAC doesn’t have a volume control. The only source into the Wavelet is the XLR's from the DAC.