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
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I believe those specs were listed in the old Coda website which dealers at the time copied into their web pages.

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Thanks guys for the information about WPC and Current. Not sure I completely understand it but from what you’ve describing the 5.5 would easily drive and control the Harbeth C7. Also since it’s 6 ohm the WPC would be somewhere between 50 and 100. Probably 75. 

So given the high current of the 5.5 you’re saying it will have the reserve power to handle dynamic events when listening at the 70-80 DB level? Again I listen to large scale classical such as Mahler, Opera,Film Scores etc. 

Is there a way to compare the current delivery to WPC? For example 100 Amps current is equivalent to X WPC max.