McCormack DNA .5 vs 1, after revisions...

I have owned a couple .5 deluxes. My guess is...yes, the 1 silver will sound much better than a stock .5. As good as the .5 is, it's power is limited.

I own a McCormack DNA-0.5 and a DNA-1 rev A+. The DNA-0.5 is a great sounding amp at its price point, but it does have its limitations. It has good bass response, sweet highs, and is very easy to listen to, but can run out of gas with complex orchestral passages at high volumes. Kris at SMC-Audio said the DNA-0.5 is most likely limited by its smaller transformer. The stock DNA-1 has a larger transformer, but have also heard that the stock DNA-0.5 sounds smoother.

I bought an early 2000 version of the DNA-1 rev A and thought it was voiced to sound like a tube amp. It was very smooth, almost too smooth, but its bass response seemed rolled off and not as dynamic as the stock DNA-0.5. I have to qualify that there was a problem with the regulator circuit, but the amp played fine as the circuit was automatically bypassed; however, I don't think this impacted the sonic signature. I sent the DNA-1 rev A back to SMC-audio, and Kris repaired the regulator circuit and followed his recommendation to bring it up to the latest mod. Since it was an older rev A, it had mods that improved the sound, but ones that are no longer implemented in the standard upgrade - so, I'm calling it a rev A+. Kris thought that the stock transformer was fine and recommended other mods rather than upgrading to the Plitron transformer, and changed the feedback to improve the bass response. The amp now sounds really good and surpasses the stock DNA-0.5 in every way.

If you are going to upgrade an amp, I'd recommend you find either a stock DNA-1 or an already modded DNA-1 that can be brought up to spec. This will be give you more power and you won't necessarily have to upgrade the transformer like you would with a DNA-0.5. Also, pay careful attention to the shipping instructions on the SMC-audio website and double box the amp using as much bubble wrap as will fit.

Thanks for your insightsTbromgard and Jebel. Jebel, thanks for taking the time for such a helpful reply; it's replies like that that really make me feel like I found an answer to an important question. I'll look for a stock DNA-1 soon.

Jim

Hi Jim

Have you spoken to Kris Jeter or even Steve @ SMc Audio? They are both very honest and can answer your questions about the DNA .5 and DNA 1 after revision.

Also nice post Jebe1. Thanks for sharing all that info. I have had the stock and Deluxe DNA-1 a long with a DNA .5 Deluxe and my preference sound was the DNA .5 Deluxe. Luckily my room is smaller and speakers are pretty efficient.

I've owned both stock and SMc-modded 0.5s and 1s. If you can get by w the lower power rating of the 0.5, I think that it's a no brainer. O.5. If you can tell us the room size, speaker, relative volume and musical preference, we can probably help but I agree totally w Jedinite24. Give SMc a call. You'll almost certainly get Chris or Steve himself on the line and they will most likely be able to advise you in a definitive fashion. Of course, if you say 4 ohm speakers in a 20 x 30 x 8.5' room, reproducing orchestral music at lifelike levels, then I think you can guess what the answer is.