From my experience, it is EVERY BIT as good as reported. I have owned Hafler DH-500, Hafler 9500 and 9505 (run stereo and bridged), Nakamichi PA 7, and Sunfire 300. Long story short, I currently have Legacy Focus SE speakers, a Pass Labs XP-30 preamp, and 3 years ago purchased 2 McIntosh MC 601 mono block amplifiers new. Since the purchase of the MC 601’s I have been quite disappointed in their bass response. The bridged Hafler 9500/9505 had more weight in the bass region. The Sunfire, Nakamichi, and McIntosh all fall short of the Haflers in the bass department. The McIntosh MC601’s are great in the mids and highs, much better and clearer than all of the previously mentioned amplifiers. I recently purchased a used Mccormack DNA 500 based on the reviews and the fact that all of the reviews mentioned the weighty bass. I purchased it to use only as a bass amplifier for the woofers. I have had it hooked up for about 4 months now running it full range to the Legacy Focus SE’s just to see what it is capable of. So far, I have not even put the McIntosh MC 601’s back in the system on the mids and highs as planned. The DNA 500 is superb. It seems to do everything right from the bass, the mids all the way up to the highs. It is every bit the equal of the MC 601s in the mids and highs – even a small notch less bright (advantage for the Legacy Focus SE’s). IT STOMPS the MC 601s in the bass department. It tops any amplifier I have ever had in my system in the bass department. The term “Velvet hammer” fits perfectly. It is not too much bass, just bass you never realized you were missing with other amplifiers. This helps acoustical music tremendously. An acoustic guitar sounds so much better and real when an amp has the reserves to produce proper bass. I will soon put the MC 601’s back in just on the mids and highs just for comparison. But, so far I have been so happy with the DNA 500 running full range, I haven’t messed with putting them back into the system yet.
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