New Amp on the Way

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I have had the #8 for about 60 days now, it should be fully broken in I would think. After the initial excitement and the amp not showing any more sonic changes I settled in each session just for listening pleasure. I wanted to share some information that I feel is important for any potential buyer.

I noticed that as good as the amp was I was not completely satisfied It seemed to my ears the mids/highs were more prominent, the sound wasn't balanced and my attention kept going to the mids/highs and not allowing me to hear into the presentation. Hope that makes sense. Fortunately, for me the 4367's have mid/igh adjustments. After room treatments I found flat perfect for the 532h. I found one click down on both mids and highs good for the #8, full two clicks cut too much. There are only suppose to be .5 dB adjustments but they seem to do mor than that.

Not everyone will have a way to adjust the sound in their system so the #8 will require some careful speaker matching and I recommend buying with as much audition/return time as possible. The break-in took some time. I thought I heard the imbalance in early stages but I gave the amp plenty of time to settle and for me to conclude what was bugging me about wat I was hearing.
 
So glad everything worked out well and you were able to tweak the sound. I used to shun any type of adjustments aka tone controls. I’ve since realized not every room and recording is perfect so I welcome some adjustments.

I miss my 4367, happy you still have them.
 
Hi Wizard, I followed your link, I don't see well enough to see the pictures, my screen reader found some text on the S20 butI didn't find anything on the #8, was there some info there? Thanks for adding to the thread.
 
Mr Peabody said:
Hi Wizard, I followed your link, I don't see well enough to see the pictures, my screen reader found some text on the S20 butI didn't find anything on the #8, was there some info there? Thanks for adding to the thread.
Click to expand...

I didn't see any pics of No 8 in this thread so I posted one.
No 8 is a great design, the output stage uses bipolar transitors who are better than the ones used in D'Agostino Relentless.

If you want more current and power you should try No 8 mono or 16.0.
 
I didn't know monoblocks were coming,not surprised.

I don't need more power or current, the sonic imbalance was the issue. I also expected more punch or authority in the bottom end. Amps like krell (older) or Levinson have good grip on the bass and detail but the bass has authority. I will say, the #8 reveals great bass detail though. I listened to Royals by Lord last night, the 8 revealed layers and separated the bass lines in that track like I've never heard before.

Have you heard any of these Coda amps? Now that I found a good setting on my speakers to compensate I think the 8 will work out fine. But some may not have any way to compensate for the mids/highs so it's something that needs to be brought out or addressed.

Even though I found the mids/highs stand out more they wer never harsh or strident, just took my attention and kept me from fully enjoying what I was hearing.
 
I should add that the performance you get from the 8 at it's price, is amazing. Amps I compare the 8 to are those that cost more. On the other hand there were some bold statements made about the 8 in the published reviews.
 
Hi,
Thanks for your wonderful review about the coda 8.
Do you still have the amp and how does it compare to the pass x250 or 532h for bass. Does it have the same bass slam as the pass?

Many thanks
 
I sold the 8, I don't know if it didn't have good synergy withmy Levinson pre or a character of the amp and I was more sensitive to it. Coda doesn't allow much audition time so use it wisely if you purchase. I kept allowing for break in and biased by good reviews and friends comments, I let my window close. In other words I really tried to like it andgive it time but it just didn't work out for me.

The 8 bass response is faster and more lean then what I hear from Pass. I felt both Pass and the 32h had better midbass. The 8 has a slight edge in transparency over my 532h and easily so from what I remember of my X250.

I'm not exactly sure what you mean by "slam", the Pass bass is thicker, mor rich but not as fast as the 8. I would say the 532h has mor slam over the 8, due to the more midbass you feel the bass more, like in your chest.

It's really hard for me to describe what I didn't like about the 8, it just had like a glassiness and didn't fool me as much that I might be listening to actual performers.

A guy I know, mentioned above, has the 8, the 150x2 version, but bought the Coda Preamp, he loves the 8 and still maintains it's better than his former Krell ksa-250. Unfortunately we haven't been able to get together yet for me to hear his system.

My personal taste would lean to Pass or 532h over the 8 as I just wasn't able to live with it.

Music123 said:
Hi,
Thanks for your wonderful review about the coda 8.
Do you still have the amp and how does it compare to the pass x250 or 532h for bass. Does it have the same bass slam as the pass?

Many thanks
Click to expand...
 
Mr P, thanks for your thoughts on the Coda 8. I know from the past the you opinions are very valuable when comes to sound quality.

I abandoned my Pass Labs X150.5 after several years of enjoyment. Yes, it's a "polite" sounding amp and always agreeable. But when I got my Purifi 1ET400A-based amp I realized the the Pass just wasn't the great when it came to ultimate resolution and crisp dynamics which is were the Purifi amp excels.

A major up-side to the Purifi, unlike Mark Levinson or Coda, is that it is affordable to less well-heeled folks like myself. If there is a downside it's that the Purifi isn't "warm" at all, (unlike the Pass), so it helps to match it with a good tube preamp.
 
Feanor, congrats. Did you consider getting the VTV Purifi Eigentakt Stereo Amplifier based on EVAL-1, which I believe is how Bruno designed it and doesn’t come with a choice of op amps? I’m thinking about trying one and am deciding which brand and model to choose. Thanks.
 
RDSChicago said:
Feanor, congrats. Did you consider getting the VTV Purifi Eigentakt Stereo Amplifier based on EVAL-1, which I believe is how Bruno designed it and doesn’t come with a choice of op amps? I’m thinking about trying one and am deciding which brand and model to choose. Thanks.
Click to expand...

VTV's EVAL-1 based version wasn't available when I bought my Purifi, so I first ordered it with the Hypex evaluation buffer -- this was horrible, IMO: on the louder passages the treble was weirdly shrill. I bought the VTV buffer with the Sparkos SS3602 which got rid of that anomaly, thank goodness. I tried other op amps: OPA1612, OPA627, and Burson V6 Vivid but like the Sparkos best.
 
Mr Peabody said:
Hope you start a thread with your experience, I am not familiar with Purifi either.
Click to expand...

Well since we've got on the subject of Purifi amps ...

Purifi makes class D amplifier models, their only current model being the 1ET400A, a.k.a. "Eigentakt" See ... 1ET400A - PURIFI.

To demonstrate their product Purifi produce the "EVAL-1" which includes an input buffer which includes inputs and outputs and also produces a extra gain. A number of makers are using the 1ET400A modules; some have developed their own I/O modules and some, such as VTV, now also offer amps using the EVAL-1 I/O.

See ASR's Review and Measurements of Purifi 1ET400A Amplifier. The Purifi 1ET400A's distortion is close to as low as it gets; this makes it a darling of the objectivists in particular.
 
Mr Peabody said:
Hope you start a thread with your experience, I am not familiar with Purifi either.
Click to expand...

Well since we've got on the subject of Purifi amps ...

Purifi makes class D amplifier models, their only current model being the 1ET400A, a.k.a. "Eigentakt" See ... 1ET400A - PURIFI.

To demonstrate their product Purifi produce the "EVAL-1" which includes an input buffer which includes inputs and outputs and also produces a extra gain. A number of makers are using the 1ET400A modules; some have developed their own I/O modules and some, such as VTV, now also offer amps using the EVAL-1 I/O.

See ASR's Review and Measurements of Purifi 1ET400A Amplifier. The Purifi 1ET400A's distortion is close to as low as it gets; this makes it a darling of the objectivists in particular.
 
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