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

Have the S5.5, love it, can’t believe the price/performance value on offer, $6K new 10 year warranty 45 lbs only runs warm not hot and yes drives everything with ease.

My understanding is that it is sliding bias not "pure" Class A which makes sense given it runs warm not hot, but I defer to Terry on this as I’m not in contact with the factory.

Terry, how new is the S5.5 actually? And is there a better value US hifi gear manufacturer than CODA?

If there is I’m all ears...

@speedthrills yup I think reselling CODA amps might not be as easy as McIntosh, I imagine the circle of CODA buyers and sellers is somewhat self-contained but then also self-sustaining. I’ve owned 3, all were rock solid amps. The S5.5 is $6.5K new, the only other amp I’ve heard in my system that’s of similar price/build quality/warranty/sonics is a Pass XA25. And that thing runs HOT. There isn’t a lot out there you can buy new that’s of similar quality (unless you like Class D, which I haven’t had success with), personally I’d love to hear from others which amps they’ve owned and felt were of a similar price/quality ratio.

Hey Terry, do you mean CODA updates the amp parts without signalling the change with a new name, like S5.6?

If so is there a way to check the manufacturing date of the amp? If that's a stupid question forgive me!

Yes I had a #8 and a CSIB and ended up with the S5.5 and agree with Terry it's the best of the lot, and by a considerable margin, at least in my system. Yet it is the cheapest amp CODA makes. I have it paired with an Audio Hungary Qualiton C200 tube preamp, and there is no musical genre the stack doesn't render faithfully, at least to my ears. 

Just now I finished listening to two tracks (via Tidal) that had me spellbound:

-Art Pepper's "Nature Boy" 

-Leonard Cohen's "The Night of Santiago"

The tonal verisimilitude of the acoustic instruments was breathtaking. Cohen's voice was so eerily "present" in the room, when I turned the lights back on I had to chuckle at my goosebumps.

The system is as follows:

Puritan PSM156 conditioner -> Melco S100 ethernet switch (fiber optic output) -> Lumin U1-> Gustard R26 w/external masterclock -> Qualiton C200 -> S5.5 -> Mofi Sourcepoint 10s (cabling is all by Transparent)

I sometimes prefer this setup to my main setup in the living room, where the amp is a Gryphon Diablo 300 running B&W 804 D4s, especially for small scale acoustical music.

Regardless, the point is IMO someone could build a killer system with the S5.5 at its heart for under $20K.

The Audio Hungary Qualiton C200 tube preamp is a true balanced design and that is what I use to drive my S5.5 - I am getting solid, articulate bass, pure, resolving midrange and sparkling high frequency extension. Wide and especially deep soundstage. Speakers are Mofi Sourcepoint 10s with Inakustik cables. I paid $5.5K new for the preamp so it's not expensive. It was a recommended pairing from Al who owns Hifi Art in Winnipeg (we're in Canada), google the website it has a list of what he carries. 

For anyone worried about the S5.5 driving a tough load, it drives my B&W 804 D4s easily, and the D4s are a VERY complicated load for an amp. Lol JA's measurements in the Stereophile review had the ASR zombies frothing at the mouth.

@irave I have my S5.5 driving B&W 804 D4s which are at least as difficult a load as your Amatis and the sound is sublime, zero sense of compression or hardening or lack of dynamics. Preamp is a Audio Hungary Qualiton C200. 

@tmac1700 faster more dynamic and much more resolution yet less sibilance more refined more open/airy.

Rare combination of sonic virtues.

Despite the lower wattage vs the #8 it has zero problems driving any of my speakers including some B&W 804 D4s, mind you my room is smallish and I don’t very often blast AC/DC.

Pairs well with tube preamps and is quiet too as others here have mentioned. 

I think for SS under $15K it’s the best I’ve encountered at least in my system, lol sometimes in hifi there does exist excellent value for money, and in this case, CODA just might have a true Unicorn 🦄

@yyzsantabarbara those Bryston amps were clear, neutral, dynamic and resolving, but the tonal characteristics of acoustic instruments were never "right" to my ears in my system, for whatever reason. A little "grey".

The NAD was "grey" as well, the Kinki monos were thin, not meaty enough for my tastes.

The BAT was the best of the lot, except for the S5.5 and Gryphon, I had it for years and really regret selling it.

@aolmrd1241 

Some of these amps didn’t last in my system very long (the NAD and Kinki monos only 3-4 months, ie I just could not get some of the amps to sound right in my system) some were/are integrateds, and this list is in no particular order:

NAD M22 V2

Parasound JC5

Bryston 4B3 & 14B3

CODA CSiB & #8 V1 & S5.5

Kinki Studios EX-B7

Gryphon Diablo 300

Mcintosh MA9000

BAT VK-255SE

I still have the Gryphon and of course the S5.5, the Gryphon replaced the McIntosh in my main system, but honestly with some music I like the S5.5 more than the Gryphon, I have the S5.5 paired with a tube preamp and the synergy of the stack is really fantastic with the Mofi Sourcepoint 10s in my second system. As I mentioned too, the S5.5 has no problem driving B&W 804 D4s which are a really difficult load.