Hi,
I owned a CP a few years ago and it was very good. I compared it to a two chassis Pass Preamp and I kept the CODA CP. Latter I replaced my CP with a tube preamp and was happy with the tube unit. I would guess that a CP with the new FETs would sound much better than the older one. The new FETs are game changers.
I‘ve known Doug at CODA for several years. He’s told me that the 0.7x is much better than the CP. It should be as it is more expensive. My system never sounded as good as this with my CODA 15.5 amps driven by ARC, Levinson, Gryphon or any other of number of preamps I’ve auditioned or friends have brought over. That being said, I’d think a CP with the new FETs might put many preamps(with a great phono stage included) to shame and has got to be one of the best buys in the audio world. But it is not an 0.7x.
But I’d say the Coda 0.7x preamp is the best of best best buys! Because I wouldn’t be surprised at all that the CODA 0.7x preamp @ $6500.00 will outperform many solid state or tube preamps in the 20k to 30K price range.
And here’s a little more news . . . . . 0.7x is soon to be upgraded with a SOTA outboard power supply!
Wow. I ALSO upgraded my two 15.5s with the latest boards. Doug told me except for a couple of odd caps my amps sound identical to 16s. My amplifiers sound incredible now. I have played my system with my new updated amps with my previous preamp and there‘s plenty of new magic that didn’t exist before. But pair the 0.7x preamp with my virtual pair of 16s and instead of magic, one has enchantment.
A friend with two legendary pieces of audio gear, the Gryphon Sonata preamp and a Krell KSA 250 amplifier, recently updated his system with the CODA 0.7x and the new CODA 8 amplifier. This pair manifests most of the same same sonic attributes that the 0.7x and the 16s demonstrate so well. All I can say is that the Gryphon and Krell are designated to the closet! (Both Gryphon and Krell units above were recapped and reconditioned to bring them up to their new specs!)
To illustrate the sonics I’ll provide the readers with some examples from recordings that many of us are familiar with. I need to point out that I’m away from home and trying to name the albums and cuts from memory.
One of the first is a Three Blind Mice recording called Misty and the cut, I believe was Angel Eyes. The pianist plays the piano with an attack that I as a pianist could never begin to do without bruised and mangled fingers. The pianist also either taps along with the music or uses the sustain pedal with gusto. With my previous preamp one knew you were hearing a powerful played piano by a dynamic pianist. But when played back with the 0.7x and the 16s it sounded more like a piano than I’ve ever heard before. And the work with the sustain pedal through the 16s and 0.7x is a revelation. Each pump with the pedal resonates and swells front to back of my listening room and from side to side. And the attack at the keys, oh man one can hear the fingers as they strike the keys. Its an amazing recording and if you haven’t heard it you should seek it out.
Another recording I’ve been amazed with is Suo Gon, a track from Steven Spielberg‘s soundtrack Empire of the Sun. This is a recording of a boy’s choir. One can hear Jim, the soloist, sing out from the other boys during his solo. Jim never gets lost in the crowd. One gets a sense of height, depth, and width of the stage that’s uncanny. I’ve listened to this recording many times in many systems and in many homes and its never come to life like this. And the recording never sounded like this through the older 15.5s and my previous preamp. Those FETs make a great difference.
I have (I think) a superior DAC, the Lampizator Pacific, exemplary. speakers in the Legacy Vs, a six pack of JL Audio F113 Mk 2s, and a great streamer and an Ethernet support system for my Auralic Aries G2. These components make music together according to various friends that heard my system before. Now they’ve heard the system with the Coda 16s and the 0.7x and they believe the difference is profound. I just shake my head in disbelief and have to be pried from my chair.
Oh my, I’m typing while watching the debates and I’m getting fracked! More if you want latter.