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Classe 101 vs. McCormack DNA125: opinions?

A local dealer let me bring home a Classe CA-101 today to try with my B&W 603 S3s. It is a nice amp, refined, transparent and dynamic. But to my surprise the bass is a big disappointment, in that there is very little low end weight. It nearly sounds as though the Classe begins to roll off at 120 hz. Others have mentioned to me this lightweight presentation, but I had to hear it for myself. In any event, next on my consideration list is the McCormack DNA 125. Could anyone comment on the overall presentation of the 125, and more importantly, has anyone compared these 2 amps?

TIA

Neil
lneilb

Showing 1 response by sean

sean
6,231 posts
 
Cinematic Systems hit it on the head. The smaller Classe' amps are all anemic sounding when it comes to bottom end. The bigger models ( 200 / 201 & up ) are noticeably better in this respect. This is a no brainer in terms of selecting the McCormack. Then again, you already had a very solid amp with the S500. With a few parts upgrades, you would have had an amp to last you till the end of time. Sean
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