Preamp dillema for McCormack Ultra Platinum

Long awaited update but I was able to find a RLD-1 in excellent condition  for just under $500....should be here tomorrow.

I would like to find a good tubed pre again that matches my system but I want to wait and save some more and get what I want.

I'm sure the RLD-1 will serve me well and I plang to discuss upgrade options for it. I'll report back once I have spent some time with it.

Sorry for the lengthy wait on the update....I’ve spent quite a bit of time with this preamp and can say it’s definitely a welcome addition having full analog pass-through.

The transparency and detail quickly became apparent and mates well with my gear.

However, I can tell the RLD-1 and the DNA-1 Ultra Platinum together are just a touch on the bright side and this is very slight. When I say bright, I also want to speculate it’s also a slightly thin midrange and my last tube preamp (VTL 2.5) tended to fill that slight void.

My question is ..given the age of the RLD-1, should I mod the RLD-1 to a platinum or ultra platinum, or maybe look for a used Pass XP-10, or maybe even a XP-20?

I could likely sink $1500-2K into this RLD-1 but I’ve never heard either a modded RLD-1 or any Pass Labs preamp.

Tough call given the cost to modify the RLD-1, but I really like the DNA-1 so I’m not uncertain SMC could make it shine..just a fair bit of coin that could go either way.

I owned the platinum RLD and while it had tons of drive it didn’t sonically touch my modded TLC-1 that you can see on my system page and on the SMc website.  Steve can work wonders with the TLC-1, which can be set up for unity gain (like mine) or to have +6 dB gain, if needed by your system. I have owned quite a few mid to high’ish end preamps and none of them were equal to my SMc Audio TLC-1.

@dyl71 ,
I had many products modded by SMcAudio. All turned out to be improvements.
I would call Steve or Pat, describe your system and they can do a custom upgrade based on what you want to spend.
B