Help me choose Parasound or McCormack


I have a parasound p3 which I think is great. I just bought a mccormack sst1 and dac combo. I'm looking for a good 2 channel ss amp that can be had for less than $800. I'm leaning towards the Parasound Halo a23(~500) or a McCormack dna 0.5(~650).

Thanks.
jimluu
I just bought the p3 preamp and I really like it. I heard the .5 is good, but not great without the upgrades. I can't afford the upgrades. The a23 has gotten great reviews. I honestly don't care much about getting components from the same manufacturer just for the namesake.
I had the same quandry some time back... need a good amp but don't want to spend a ton of bucks on one.

I considered several including McC, Para, BAT, and a couple of others some members named for me. Having personally owned BK 220 Ref, Krell KAV250, and a BAT VK500 w/BAT pk. in the past and used a friends Rotel 1080 for a little while too, I leaned towards another BAT going in.

Well, my paitience running short, and feeling 'new' was a real plus, aside from the break in part, I took a leap of faith and bought an Odyssey Stratos SE. it is just as all the online reviews say it is.... very good and a really solid value. It is comparable to the BAT vk500 in some respects, and superior to the Rotel and B&K units overall, bass, and top end refinement, and is simply far more musical than the easily twice the price KAV250 with nearly as great, dynamics. It also works well in either HT or audio only configurations.

I bought mine new, but they are well represented in the 'used' market too. Given the build quality, and had my paitience been greater, I'd have bought a preowned unit with no worries. At the time however, the used Odyssey pieces being offered were listed not much less than a new one so I opted for new insttead and gained some upgrades in the bargain.

Sincerely, the Odyssey is a fine amp and well worth consideration in the $1K +/- range, new. Only the VK500 was a better performer across the board, and then only by degrees in some areas.
Thanks Blindjim. I looked at the odysey, there's a pair going for $1150, but its not the SE version. What's the difference? I can't find any vk500 now. But the vk600 runs around $6k. Is the vk500 usually in the $1k range used?
Did some research, the vk500 seems incredible. But it's way beyond my budget. A 2 channel ss amp for less than $1k is about all I can afford.