Belles 350a or Mccormack DNA -1 Deluxe?

Never heard the Belles but his designs are universally praised. Owned the McCormack and it was an excellent piece. Only comment I can add to those above, is that Steve McCormack is still active in providing support and upgrades to his designs through SmcAudio.com. He and his technician (Curt, maybe?) are readily accessible to respond to questions and provide honest, un-biased advice. The DNA amps are very good and exceptional bang for the buck. When upgraded, they are quite remarkable, world class products.

If going McCormack I'd highly recommend holding out for one that already has one of Steve's A or gold revisions. When buying used the premium is not that much and you get a much superior amp. Best of luck.

+1 soix

I'm having a DNA 125 modified right now by Steve.

I also own a monoblock .5 and a stereo .5 that have Rev A platinum mods.

I have used other amps in my 20+ years, but his are a no brainer. Once you buy one, you can have it for life because he constantly comes up with new mods/upgrades/etc as technology allows.

I don't care what's in these "new" $20k amps being sold. They aren't going to have better parts than what you get via his upgrades. Plus, you can tailor the amp upgrade to your exact budget.

You also never have to worry about where to get it serviced or if XYZ repair shop knows what they are doing. You can send it to the designer himself.

I thought my Rev A platinums were the best SS amp I've heard, but those were done over 7 years ago. My new one is supposed to be even better than that.

As good as Belles or any other brand may be in stock form, you're not going to be able to get this upside.

The only time I wouldn't recommend a McCormack amp is if your system needs the tube coloration/flavor.

Also, they will drive almost any speaker well, so the most important thing is to focus on your source component mating. I would avoid any cheap sources because one thing I notice over the years is just how big a difference the source makes when you have a truly neutral and transparent amp.

It's an extremely liquid, dynamic, and practically flawless amp with a good source. If you try to throw in sources with cheap op-amps or other inferior designs, then you will hear exactly what is flawed upstream.

I remember years ago taking over 23 amps home and ending up with a Belles amp driving Maggies/Apogee
Also a belles dealer
JohnnyR