McCormack DNA-125/225 Upgrades

Reading this thread, and particularly Paul's post, made me think about what you are really getting for your money with these upgrades. I owned the DNA2 and seriously considered having it upgraded by SMc. My conversations with the folks at SMc showed them to be dedicated, professional and very helpful. However, as I researched it, my decision was that for the cost of the upgrades, one could buy a sonically equivalent or superior new (or used) amp. I am sure the 125,225 and 500 are nice amps, but I belive a significant amount of the upgrade cost through SMc must be labor, since that is their main source of revenue. Therefore, wouldn't it be better if McCormack made a "Signature" series of these amps, which incorporates the upgrades and takes advantage of the lower cost of line-based assembly, rather than for consumers to have to pay SMc to both take apart the factory installed components then install the upgrades, just to get the desired performance. On the flip-side would be the low cost production of the Parasound JC-1 Halo, in which all the concievable modifications are incorporated into the design, and the assembly is performed in as low-cost a manner as possible (overseas). I am not advocating overseas production (in fact all of my components are American made), and I am not saying the Halo is a better amp than a modified McCormack, but simply pointing out the different production philosophies and the potentially high proportion of labor cost to sonic benefit of the upgrades associated with these McCormack amps.

I would love to hear a modded DNA amp vs. the JC-1. What a great test that would be - for me. Here's why.

I have a DNA.5 Deluxe that I self-modded to near revA status. I had lots of help from both Bob Crump (who voiced the JC-1) and Steve McCormack himself, on parts selection and other options that I could carry out myself without serious circuit redesign. Yes, this DIY approach saved me big time $ over Steve's mods, and was really the only way I could afford to upgrade my amp. I was also able to implement the cap bypass design that Bob used in the JC-1 with excellent results.

The McCormack amps are a gem by themselves, with the mods they are truly in a different league. How much better can it get?

Enjoy,
Bob

Having read the various posts here, I felt I should weigh-in with a few comments of my own. First of all, the whole point of McCormack Audio is performance *value,* while my personal goals with SMc Audio are oriented more toward absolute performance, with somewhat less regard for cost ;-) If McCormack Audio were to implement the sort of things I am doing in my upgrades, the products would be entirely different, and several times more expensive.

As a designer and audiophile, SMc Audio is an important outlet for me because it allows me to pursue my dreams and create product solutions that are purely performance driven. It’s a lot of fun, I get to express my audio creativity in some very cool products, and I get to deal with you folks directly, which I also enjoy.

To say that this is a subjective business is something of an understatement. There is no “best amplifier” that everyone will agree on, but I think it is important to understand that my Revision A upgrades and the new Platinum and Gold Edition amplifiers will get you into “the best” territory for a lot less money than you might spend otherwise. It may seem odd to invest as much (or more) in an upgrade as the amp cost originally, but that is what it takes to deliver the best combination of parts, attention to detail, and hand craftsmanship I have to offer. And for those who are fundamentally happy with these amps to begin with, this may truly be the best and most cost-effective path to state-of-the-art performance.

Finally, please understand that hearing the stock McCormack amps really doesn’t prepare you for what the fully upgraded versions are capable of. You have no idea how many times I have heard the phrase, “How much better can it get?” only to hear the same person ultimately reply, “Wow! I had no idea you could make *that* kind of improvement!”

Thanks to all for your interest, and please contact me if you have questions.

Best regards,

Steve McCormack
www.SMcAudio.com

I think the upgrades provided by SMc Audio to my DNA-2 Deluxe are an incredible value.
There is more to it than just a parts and labor ratio. With the more extensive upgrades, you are essentially getting a new amplifier along with a new warranty. If you have a problem or question, the designer and technician are a phone call away. There are many factors besides the huge perfomance and sound quality benefits.

The stock DNA-2 Deluxe was a very good amp, powerful and musical. With the Gold revision and input transformers, it has exceeded my initial expectations and my appreciation for the quality continues to grow. There is no pondering the parts vs. labor ratio here.

There are a few new amps that have become available since I decided to have mine upgraded and most have magazine reviews that wax poetic how wonderful they are. It is not possible for most of us to audition all the choices, so our "research" is often based on the feedback from others.
To my knowledge, there are no magazine reviews of the McCormack revision amps, but a long list of feedback from satisfied customers. I consider this type of endorsement more credible than most magazine reviews.

I have the first DNA-225 amp upgraded by SMc (upgraded this summer) and have about 400 hours of listening time on it to date. Steve, if you are tracking this thread, I was going to email you, as you requested, with a "review" of the modification, but perhaps this posting will be an acceptable alternative. Actually, I was going to post a review on Audiogon, but haven't had the time to post the kind of review I'd like to do.
Before I describe my listening experience I'll list the rest of my system: Vandersteen Model 5's (new as of 10/3/03), ARC SP-9 MKIII, MF Tri-Vista (new as of 10/3/03), Linn LP12/Lingo/Ekos/Cirkus with Dynavector 20x cartridge, Harmonic Technology Pro Silway MkIII ic's, OCOS speaker cable, Audience Power Chord for amp, JPS Labs Digital PC for Tri-Vista, everything plugged into Hubbell 5620 cryo'd outlets on dedicated lines. I also listened to the amp with Avalon Acoustic Avatars and did extensive comparison listening with an ARC VT100 MkIII.
Steve's transformation of the DNA-225 is absolutely stunning. The unmodified amp has been acknowledged by both TAS and Stereophile as one of the best amps around, but the modified amp is leagues better than the stock unit. These are the adjectives that come immediately to mind to describe the sound: gorgeous, vivid, detailed (but not etched or bright), revealing, full bodied (but not loose or fat), with a soudstage that is wide, deep and detailed to the corners. Almost like a stage that has sunlight evenly illuminating the entire surface. The "threadbare" quality of the midrange mentioned in the reviews of the stock unit has been replaced with a vibrancy a, I want to say "lushness" but that isn't the right word, that is very seductive. After listening to the ARC tube amp and then going back to the McCormack, both I and my audiophile friends much prefered the McCormack's quiet background, high resolution, and faithful rendering of the musical textures. There is a 3-D quality to voices and instuments that you hear only on the very best equipment. It has this "rightness" of reproduction that allows you to hear music with which you are very familiar as though for the first time. And it does this whether you are listening to Art Pepper, Heifetz, or Lonnie Brooks. Remarkable.
I really believed I was going to like the VT100 better with the Vandy's, but it wasn't even close. On classical, jazz, blues, bluegrass, voice, instrumental, small scale, large scale, you-name-it, the McCormack was preferred by us all. Even the ARC dealer had to reluctantly admit that he was shocked at how good the modified DNA-225 sounded (first time he had heard the amp was when he came to make final adjustments to the Vandy's.
While the beautiful synergy between this amp and the Model 5's is well known to Audiogoners, the dramatic improvement wrought by Steve's modification were obvious with the Avatars as well. I should also mention that Steve is a delight to do business with and is very responsive and generous with his time. I wish more people in the industry shared his commitment to the customer as well as to excellence of product.
Well, this "review" was not the paragon of audio journalism I had envisioned, but you get the point--if you have a DNA-225, you owe it to your ears to get Steve to modify it. I haven't heard anything, SS or tube, for under $15k as satisfying. An unqualified triumph.