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

@olesno I will have to make sure to give serious consideration to Tekton if I decide to upgrade my speakers.  Not sure they would pass the WAF though 😀

I just recently discovered Coda and unfortunately live in an area without a dealer (Seattle area) so I cannot hear them.  I currently have an Accuphase E-380 integrated and am considering adding the S5.5 to my system and using the E-380 as the pre-amp for the short term.  The E-380 only has RCA out for the pre-amp section, would that be an issue with the S5.5?  If I like the S5.5 I would probably get a dedicated pre and sell the Accuphase. 

Does anyone have any insights on how the S5.5 would sound compared to a class A/B Accuphase?  I am very happy with my Accuphase but the allure of a Class A amp sounds really good!

My speakers are Spatial Audio M4 Sapphire's (4Ohm, 88db).

Thanks,

Tim

Thanks Teajay, very helpful indeed.  Sounds like this may be a great addition to my system.  I assume no issues driving a 4ohm 88db speaker?

I love my Accuphase but do feel the top end is a bit rolled off and the bass isn't quite as good as it should be, great mid range though. 

I started off thinking I would get the #8 amplifier, which looks great as well, but came across this discussion and think the S5.5 is what I am looking for.

Has anyone hooked up a REL line level sub to the S5.5? With my Accuphase I put the ground into one of the black speaker terminals, but if the S5.5 is a balanced design I think I would float the ground wire and not connect it? Will be hooking up a REL S/812 to the amp.

Will be calling Coda tomorrow to talk with Doug about the amp, think I am getting close to pulling the trigger and ordering one!

Just placed an order for a black S5.5!  Will take several weeks before it is ready to ship.  Really looking forward to adding this to my system!

@yyzsantabarbara It will be driving Spatial Audio M4 Sapphire open baffle speakers.  The specs are 90db, 4ohm. I may be upgrading to some YG Tor or Talus speakers in the Fall, not 100% sure on that yet.  Will be using my Accuphase E-380 integrated as the preamp initially.

@vthokie83 Very glad to hear you are using with a similar type of speaker and it is a good match! 

@olesno Thank you for sharing your experience as well.  I have hear my speakers with a Don Sachs tube gear and they sound amazing.  If you prefer the sound of the S5.5 over your tube gear that is very high praise for the S5.5!

Going to be a long several weeks waiting!

Very nice pre-amp you have coming!  I like the tube sound but don't want any tubes in my system,  I have too much tube anxiiety 🙂  So the next best thing is to find a pre-amp that has a somewhat "tube" sound to it.  Sounds like the Coda 07x does.  I think my Accuphase integrated does as well.  Will find out shortly if the Accuphase gets more of the "tube" sound from the amp section or the pre-amp section.  My hope is it is from the pre-amp section and I will be happy with it.

@vthokie83 what preamp are you using with the S5.5? 

Also, to owners of the S5.5, I have read that to put the amp in stand by you hit the bias button on the front and to take it out of stand by hit it again.  Once you take the amp out of stand by and start using it, does it take a while to warm up and sound good or is it good right away? 

I assume when not using you leave it on and just put it into stand by mode?

@olesno How do you like your Ulfberhts?  I have looked at Tekton offerings in the past and find them interesting.  Never heard them in person.  What other speakers have you had in the past to compare them to?

@jceahodges I also have the Spring 3 KTE Dac and a friend of mine has the Serene pre-amp.  Once I get the S5.5 I will have him bring over the Serene to see how it does with the S5.5.  Will report my findings. 

@yyzsantabarbara my fiend also had the Benchmark preamp prior to the Serene.  Wonderful preamp and adds very little coloration to the music. Unlike you, I prefer a warmer sound.  I am going to give the Accuphase a fair trial and if that doesn't produce the sound I like I will probably end up with the 07x for the exact reasons you didn't like it 😀.

Nice thing about this hobby is there are so many excellent choices for every taste.

Happy to hear positive reviews!  I believe my amp will ship tomorrow so I should have it mid-next week!  I will definitely post my thoughts on how it sounds compared to my Accuphase E-380 integrated.  Will also have a friend bring over a Holo Audio Serene preamp so we will be able to hear the amp through two different preamps, will be using the preamp section of my E-380.  Getting very excited!

Just curious, has anyone tried the Coda CB/CP preamp as well as the 07x.  There is a big price difference, is there a significant performance difference?  Looking at the specs it seems the 07x has less noise and more gain on the XLR connections.

@firefly627s I have ready Terry's review of the 07x and it does sound amazing.  I guess I am having a hard time with the preamp costing more than the amp :-).  I only run digital and need 1 input from my DAC (running computer, streamer and TV).  My DAC does not have volume control.  Several years ago when I only had my Lumin T2 streamer I connected it directly to my amp (Modwright KWE 150 SE) and it sounded good, but was lacking compared to going through a preamp.

Will wait to see how much I like the S5.5, but from the reviews I am hearing I think I will really like it.  May be time then to think about selling the Accuphase and putting that money towards the 07x. 

@laaudionut I love the sound tubes add to a system but I do not like having tubes in my system.  I had a Modwright Preamp for a while with tubes and it sounded fantastic, but I didn't like having to turn off the preamp after using and then wait for it to warm up.  Many times I will only have 30-45 minutes to sit an listen and I want the system to sound great from the start.  I also didn't like knowing that at some point the tubes will have peaked and the sound would start to degrade.  Probably overthinking it, but I would much rather have an SS preamp that sounds as close to tubes as possible.  Don't know if tube anxiety is a real thing but I think I have it. 😁

My S5.5 arrived today!  Plugged it in and waited about 2 hours before listening.  I know it will take some time to break in but I couldn't wait 😀.  Initial impressions compared to my Accuphase E-380 integrated (still using the Accuphase as preamp):  Bass is much tighter, cleaner and there is more of it!  Top end is much more detailed and clear, my Accuphase tends to roll off the highs a bit.  I find the S5.5 to be just slightly to the warm side of neutral, the Accuphase is slightly warmer.  Both sound really good.  Overall detail and clarity easily go to the S5.5 as well as a blacker background.

I will let this break in for a while and report back, but so far it is looking very positive!

@yyzsantabarbara Yes, the date has been set, a week from tomorrow I will try the Serene with the S5.5 and compare it to the Accuphase as a preamp.  That should be enough time for the S5.5 to break in sufficiently. 

Will report back with my findings. 

@vthokie83 Great write up!  I plan on providing more thoughts on my S5.5 in about a week or so.  My write up will be no where as detailed as yours but I can say now after listening to the amp for several days I am hearing the same things that you are.

I bet the addition of the Aric Audio pre-amp will take your system to a new level of bliss! 

aolmrd1241 - Great information, thanks for posting.

@Paoz - I think the specs for the CP preamp are listed incorrectly on the website, I think the Output Impedance is the same as the 07x 50 Ohm / 100 Ohm.  If you download the manual for the CP it lists them the same as the 07x.  The info in the specs on the website for the CP shows 50 kOhms / 100 kOhms. 

Have had my S5.5 for about 10 days now and wanted to post my impressions after letting it break in a bit.  I have the S5.5 plugged into an UberBuss with a Revelation Audio Labs silver power cord.  I am using a Lumin T2 streamer going into a Holo Audio Spring 3 KTE DAC.  My Accuphase E-380 integrated amplifier is acting as the pre-amp.  It only has RCA out so that is how it is connecting to the S5.5

Speakers are Spatial Audio M4 Sapphire open baffle (90db, 4Ohm)

Initial thoughts were that the Accuphase had a better mid-range while the S5.5 had a better lower and upper range.  After listening for several days and a lot of listening to both I have changed my opinion slightly.  I feel that the mid-range on both are roughly the same, meaning they are both Excellent!  I would say the Accuphase has good lower and upper ranges and an Excellent mid-range.  The S5.5 is Excellent across all 3 ranges.  Because of this the mid-range in the Accuphase stands out when you listen to it because it is the star of the show.  Not so with the S5.5, the lower range is keeping pace with the mid-range and I would say the upper-range is the star of the show on the S5.5.

If I were to rate on a scale of 1-10 I would rate them like so:

Accuphase - Lower (7) Mid (9) Highs (7.5)

S5.5 - Lower (9) Mid (9) Highs (9.5)

The S5.5 does everything the Accuphase does and then improves upon it.  The background is blacker, more detail and slightly wider and deeper soundstage.  I am extremely pleased with this purchase and would like to thank Terry and everyone else for this thread!

Also wanted to post my findings on comparing the Accuphase E-380 used as a pre-amp vs using a Holo Audio Serene pre-amp.

I am using relatively inexpensive RCA's to connect my E-380 the S5.5.  They are good but not at the same level as the rest of my cabling, but I bought them to test the Accuphase as a pre-amp with the understanding that I would either sell the Accupphase and get dedicated pre-amp and connect via XLR or I would purchase a higher end set of RCA's if I wanted to keep the Accuphase.

My friend brought over his Serene and we fist listened to the Accuphase and then listened to the Serene using the same RCA's.  We found the Serene to be a very good fit with the S5.5 as is the Accuphase.  They both sounded very similar but there were 2 main differences.

1. Using the Serene the bass was quite a bit better.  Faster and more of it.

2. Using the Accuphase the upper range frequencies had more sparkle and sounded a bit better.

I would be happy with either and they both seemed to fit really well with the S5.5.  Then we swapped out the XLR connection on his Serene.  Once we did that there was a huge difference in overall sound quality, clarity, bass, etc.  Everything just got a lot better.  It is worth noting that the RCA's I am using are around $100 where the XLR's we tested are around $2,000.  So, how much of the difference is in the XLR connection vs RCA and how much is due to the cable?  That is the big question.  I tend to think about 80%+ is due to the quality of cable but I am not sure.

I did just borrow a pair of Nordost Heimdall 2 RCA cables from my local hi-fi dealer and will test this weekend with a higher quality pair of RCAs. 

I do not know enough to know if RCA or XLR connection from the pre-amp will yield better sound, but will find out in a little while if a nicer pair of RCA's enhances the sound.

I borrowed a pair of Nordost Heimdall 2 RCA's to connect my E-380 to the S5.5.  I was amazed at the increased detail, clarity and speed they added to the music.  The downside is that they are a bit too revealing and made the music sound a bit clinical and a tad bright.  But it made it clear that I want to upgrade my RCA's if I keep the Accuphase as my preamp.

I would prefer a slightly more laid back presentation leaning to the warmer side.  The Heimdall's are excellent but almost too much is coming through 😀. 

I am currently using Signal Cable Analog Two Interconnects with upgraded Neutrik ProFi connectors.  I really like the way they sound, they are just holding back some of the detail and dynamics.  But given the choice between those and the Heimdalls I would stick with the Signal Cables.  Not as detailed but easier to listen to. 

Would be interested to hear what interconnects others are using. 

@fleschler I am not sure, I have an Accuphase E-380, never heard the Westminster labs REI.  Compared to the Accuphase I think the S5.5 is better in every way with the exception of the Accuphase has a bit warmer sound which I like but that is personal preference.  Lows and Highs are better on the S5.5 and I would count the Midrange to be equal on both.

@sim_audio_nerd Yes just ignore it.  Put left speaker cables of left side when looking at the amp.  I asked Doug about this and he said this is the way some older amps used to be labeled.  Not sure why they did it that way only for the S5.5 but they did. 

I was very fortunate when I ordered mine (3/12), was told about a month but since I ordered the black one it shipped within 2 weeks.  Doug said he had quite a few silver orders and was waiting to get the silver chasis back in stock so mine moved up on the list as he had the black chasis in stock.  This was back in mid March. 

While waiting is no fun, I can assure you it will be worth the wait.  My system has never sounded so good!

@fthompson251 Congratulations, I know it has been a long wait.  Looking forward to hearing what you think about it once it arrives.