Don’t buy used McCormack DNA 1990s amps

All this talk about sales agents. Where the hell did you contact this person? Is that a big secret? You aren't doing your credibility any favors.

And I still don't understand why you are harping on the lack of balanced inputs. That's not the criteria by which high end amplifiers are judged.

Finally, the price you reference doesn't seem to be commensurate with prices on upgraded McCormack amps. I think someone tried to scam you and it sounds like you perceived it to be genuine. 

Full disclosure, I own an Smc GT-24 with all the bells and whistles, including a new chasis and  custom faceplate. It is a fantastic sounding amp and no, it doesn't have balanced inputs.

Ozzy,

Let me put it this way, when I asked Pat about how much it would cost to upgrade to balanced inputs and an external power supply, he stated that he could not discuss pricing with me and I had to go through this agent. That alone made me feel there was a lack of transparency in the transaction, and frankly, it makes me wonder why SMC would agree to that. 

I will agree with you that $10.5k was far beyond anything I’ve ever seen charged for this refurbished amp. I would hope SMC knows what their agents are charging and reign in any excessive pricing. That’s the purpose of this post, to make sure buyers are made aware this type of experience could happen to them. This is compounded by the lack of information on the products and the brand, as well as the lack of a credible dealer network to obtain firsthand information.

As far as balanced inputs, I have invested in good balanced cables and have terrible EMI problems, so it’s a must for me. I would expect this feature on any amp in the $10k range.

This is the first time I have ever heard of sMC having an agent. I bought my amp as a GT-20 back in July and when I decided I wanted to upgrade it, I picked up the phone and called Pat. We had several conversations and emails over the next few days about what I wanted and what they would do. He sent me an invoice and I shipped the amp out. Are you saying this process has drastically changed in the course of a few months?

I can't speak for SMC.  I can only relay my own personal experience as accurately as possible. 

@fishagedone

"If it’s so great, go buy it Mitch and post pictures of the amazing chassis and value."

I did just that. Beat out a pair of Lamm M1.2 Reference monoblocks and a pair of Clayton M300 Class A monoblocks in my system, all of which I owned at the same time. Pictures of my amps are on the home page of SMc Audio’s website, the black monoblocks.

To your other question, I don’t generally care what people like or don’t like but when I read about good people being maligned for silly reasons that seem to make no sense then, yes, I may challange that. You don’t want to pay the price, you don’t feel comfortable with refurbished equipment, you want balanced inputs, and you saw a similar amp advertised for less money so, sure, the SMc amp wasn’t for you, I get that. I also understand the frustration of dealing with a pushy sales person. However, what I don’t understand is why that should reflect so negatively on SMc Audio. You didn’t buy anything or lose any money so, in the absence of actual damages, your level of negativity seems disproportionate, IMO of course.