McCormack DNA 0.5 vs. Parasound HCA 2003

Hello Irish Tim -

The DNA-0.5 does a fine job with most speakers in most situations, but it does have its limits. Your comments offer some useful clues as to what the problem might be, and it is possible that the DNA-0.5 does not have enough power in this instance. As you stated, "They do not sound bright at low or moderate listening levels." I know from long experience that the DNA-0.5 drives the 3As well up to moderate levels, but the 3As are considerably more demanding than the model 2s or 1Cs. I suspect that the "brightness" you hear is actually overload or clipping distortion, and moving to a higher-powered amp will probably alleviate this. The problem may turn-out to be finding a more powerful amp that you both like sonically and can afford. I wish you the best with your search. I will add that it is possible to upgrade your DNA-0.5 with a much larger power transformer which significantly increases its current delivery and its ability to drive more difficult speakers. Please contact me if you would like further information.

Best regards,

Steve McCormack
SMc Audio

Well thank you very much for your responses and I am thrilled that Steve McCormack himself sent me a note. I'll try to address everything. First of all Steve, yes please send me info on the upgrade. I'm listening to "Kind of Blue" right now at a slightly more than moderate volume level and Miles and even Coltrane are starting to hurt my ears. Perhaps it's the silver interconnects. They're of the home-made variety from some dude on the net, but I enjoyed them with my previous speakers, Totem Tabu's for 5 years, and I would never say that that combo was bright. Speaker cables are MIT 3's, not great but ok. I listen to cd's with an Arcam 73, again not great but only $200 slightly used. I listen to albums with a CJ PV5 and that phono stage is warm and beautiful, however when I use that pre with cd's it's even brighter than the premier. I just turned the volume to moderate and Miles is still killing my ears. Again thanks for your thoughts and if you care to share more that would be great. BTW Jeb1 the drivers are the same as the 5A. Tim

Hi IrishTim

You can't message members anymore since the Audiogon website upgrade. Check out the SMc Audio website and the Contact Us tab on the left.

http://www.smcaudio.com/

Kris or Steve will get back to you quickly. I've contacted SMc this way many times with no issue.

(((They're of the home-made variety from some dude on the net,))
Try running Copper from one well known company all the way thru
Like Kimber tonik timber or Heros as interconnects
and 12 TC double Bi wire as speaker wire
It should make the other design cables sound broken.
Pull out a bubble level Do the side to side speaker level with correct spacers on the front spikes.
When you finish the side to side level adjust the tilt back with a laser a sharpie pen and a couple post it notes
make a circle where the laser lands behind your listening chair so you can nail both speakers with the same tilt back then adjust both to your liking.
put on some live music now sit on a pillow,then sit normal, then slouch down in chair when you find it sounds best add or subtract both speakers rear spacers till its best at your normal seating position.
Hope you also read the well written Vandy manual on the odd number grid position system.
PS with the older CJ PV 5 or any with non polarized AC plugs make sure you insert the AC cord into the wall both ways and take a listen and one way will sound best
then mark it as such
Best JohnnyR

Hello again Tim -

Reading your follow-up comments makes me think that the problem may not be clipping or specifically power-related after all. Apparently your LP listening via the PV5 is "warm and beautiful," and this suggests that the amp and speakers are working well together under some circumstances. My own experience tells me that this combination should work well up to moderate volume levels and even somewhat beyond. If you want to really crank it, you may still want to look into upgrading or changing the amp, but you should be able to get very satisfying sound at anything less than high SPL. So it may be that some other factors are causing your problems, and other responses here have provided some good options to look into. It still seems to me that you are reacting to distortion of some sort, or what I might call "glare." But if your LP listening is enjoyable, why are you having so much trouble with CDs? Sure, I would expect some difference, but to jump from "good" to "bad" seems odd. Some experimentation is called for, and it looks like you are on the case. Speaker setup and room treatment are fundamentally important, as others here have already suggested. Trying other cables may tell you something helpful, but if your LP sound is good, then the cables seem to be working well in some sense. You might try another CD player to give you some idea of what the Arcam is contributing. Good luck in the search, and have fun!

You can contact me via my website for more info on the upgrade options - thanks.

Best regards,

Steve McCormack
SMc Audio