I had a DNA 1 for about 2 years and it is a good amp.However it is not as refined or detailed as the Krell KSA 250 not even by a small margin and not as liquid or sweet as any of the Aleph series amps from Pass Labs. My suggestion would be to look for a used Plinius SA 100, similar in sound to the McCormick but much more refined ,Pass labs or a Krell KSA 250. These three amps have deeper sound staging than the DNA. I ve always found the DNA to be rahter forward in there presentation. All three of these amps are very versatile and flexible with a wide range of speakers I haved used them on Ribbons, Hibrids and Cone speakers with excellent results.
Amp upgrade recommendations
I am considering having a pair of DNA 0.5s upgraded to Rev A and converted to monoblocks to run balanced off of my BAT VK3i, which is driven by a CAL CL-10/Classe' DAC also running balanced. Speakers are Vandersteen 3Asigs. Or I could sell the amps and buy something else. The mono-block conversion and upgrade is $1800; amps would yield about $1400-1500.00 (one is already Rev B) if I sold them. Any thoughts on which route might be better? I do not want to get involved with a tube power amp. Thanks for your ideas.