2. amps-preamps
  3. 188282-170518

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

I have in-house the New Coda Technologies S5.5 amplifier for review for Stereo Times website. It will be awhile before I write the review. However, I'm so impressed by the performance of this petite amplifier, it only weights 45 pounds, that I wanted to give a heads up to you GON members if you are in the market for a balanced pure class A amplifier, delivers 50 watts @ 8 Ohms, and can drop 100 Amperes of current on a peak!

The world class build quality of Coda amplifiers is on display with the S5.5, along with the most beautiful purity of tonality, precise sound-staging, complete liquidity offered by pure class A design, and what might be the best top end regarding details, decays, and a natural shimmering without brightness or any edge at all.

The S5.5 uses extremely wide bandwidth output transistors instead of the usual TO3 devices used in most transistor designs. I own the Coda #16, which is great, but the midrange/high end is taken to another level of musical enjoyment with the S5.5. The S5.5 has a sense of speed/aliveness that is exciting to listen to that you experience in live music. The amp is dynamic as hell, has driven with ease any speaker I have tried it with, hence my nickname of the "Petite Beast". Remember, 50 watts pure class A, can drop 100 amperes of current and only weights 45 pounds.

Teajay (Terry London)

johnah5
evank's avatar
Ag insider logo xs@2x
evank
304 posts
 
sim_audio_nerd

55 posts

 

Just got my Coda S5.5...havent taken it out yet..will do this  weekend..

 

The manual online the speaker terminals seems to be opposite..the left channel terminals are on the right and same for the right channel..

Do I just ignore it? Put the left speaker cables to the left amp terminals and so on?

minatophase3

30 posts

 

@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 called Doug today and he told me the same thing, but this can't be correct. The only way this would be right would be if you also switch the left and right input cables. If you use a test track it will show left channel on right and right channel on left.

cd45123
195 posts
 

@teajay  do you have any insight into the S20 model other than it being an A/B design? Trying not to heat up my small listening space in pure class A. Thanks

minatophase3
32 posts
 

@evank Yes you will also need to switch input cables as well.  I just ignore what it says on the back and put the left speaker cable and input cable on the left side and the right ones one the right side when looking at the amp from the front.  When I asked Doug about this he said it was fine. 

jceahodges
9 posts
 

I also have an S5.5 and it doesn't matter which way you do it, but know that tracks that have specific right and left channel content will be reversed. Knowing that and then hearing it myself... I just couldn't do it. Those songs just don't sound correct any more, but I'm pretty OCD with that kind stuff. 

5560
44 posts
 

I’ve experienced a lift sound quality by replacing factory fuses.

There is a 12 amp fuse for main power supply, in the back of the S5.5. Four other fuses are on top of the circuit boards inside the amp. Replacing all five fuses would be prohibitively expensive. I’m wondering if anyone has replaced just the back fuse and experienced a bump up in sonics? Hopefully the four internal board fuses have less effect on sound.

More to discover