Mccormack DNA125 or Belles 150A Hot Rod

Zaikesman, right on. I've owned the 125 and completely agree with you. A very accurate description of the amp.
It is a very neutral amp for the price.

I recently sold my DNA-125 and upgraded to DNA-225 due to the fact that the 225 is a better driving force for my B&W N803s, although I never felt the DNA-125 was lacking, I figured I'll go for the 225 then have it revised by Steve McCormack. I drove the speakers with a stock DNA-225 for about a month and in its stock form it's an awesome amp. I found it to be just a touch smoother and a bit more seductive sounding than the DNA-125. So I guess I have to disagree with some people saying that the 125 and 225 sound identical. But that's another topic.

But now my DNA-225 is in the SMc shop getting worked on - I'm getting the Gold Rev + ARC2 on it.
Can't wait to get it back.

Ozzy62 -

Yes, the stock DNA-2 comes with a very large Plitron toroid.

Best regards,

Steve McCormack
www.SMcAudio.com

Thanks for the input Mr.Steve--. My comments speak only to the Belles as I have never owned a Mc. amp. The hot rod is a great starter amp. Runs cool-- However my advice is to pick up a used 150a Reference. Still a pretty cheap price and IMO class A on the cheap. PS, I never see/read about David helping his end-users.

Will the DNA125 or the Belles 150 be sufficient to drive the Kappas? I might be wrong, but with the Kappas, the MKI and perhaps the MKIIs, more watts with a large and powerful hi current supply is a must with the amp to be used. The higher the number gets in the Kappa sequence, the worser it gets.

Once I wrote an email back and forth about the possible strength of the DNA 225 and according to my recollection, the 225 is capable of driving ANY speaker out there, but then there were questions about the possibility of my speakers, the Kappa 9s, that dip to 1 ohm, whether the DNA 225 can handle that sort of load.

I might be wrong, but I would look at the Hi current design of both of the amps in question and go for the one which has the most robust power supply.

The Passion 400 supposedly will supply you with gobs of power, but it is very expensive.

The DNA 2 seems much more capable, but it all comes to what sort of music you listen to as well as the loudness you would expect from the amp.

The DNA-125 will drive most difficult, low-impedance speakers very well in normal-size rooms. A friend of mine uses the DNA-125 to drive his Apogee Stage speakers and it does a fine job. It will also do a good job of driving the Kappas, although it may be argued that the DNA-225 would be a better choice if the room is very large. You are correct, of course, that the DNA-2 is "more capable." It is a much larger, more expensive amp (out of production for several years, now) that will deliver 300W per ch into 8 Ohms.

Best regards,

Steve McCormack
www.SMcAudio.com