Don’t buy used McCormack DNA 1990s amps

Well, I just had an experience where a sales guy working with SMC audio was pressuring me into buying a refurbished Smc audio amplifier for $10.5k. It didn’t even have balanced inputs, and very little information was provided. I respectfully declined as there was no way to verify the value or features of the product. I became especially cautious when I saw a listing for the same model on Audio Mart for half price off. I would advise anyone spending more than $2k with this company to get a detailed feature list, model information, and compare prices with prior products that have sold on Audiogon.com, Audio Mart USA, or ebay. Buyer Beware taking the salesman "word for it" without doing your own third party due diligence. The salesman was very convincing and employed a high pressure sales tactic, using "scarcity" and all the same sales points mentioned in this thread. Just because a company does high end consulting work doesn’t mean anything about whether prices are fair and how they stack up against market competition. At $10.5k i could have got a new Pass Lab, Mcintosh integrated, so many good choices , how could I just buy a refurbished product without detailed market pricing information.

@fishagedone  I’m sorry, but this just doesn’t pass the smell test.  I and many people here have dealt with SMcAudio for years and they’ve been nothing but straight shooters.  Plus, as far as I know they don’t have a sales force.  This sounds like bullcrap. 

SMcAudio is a boutique brand at this point - selling high-end amps, preamps, etc.  and they also rebuild old McCormack amps.  I’ve heard nothing but great things about them. I still have an original McCormack DNA-1 Deluxe and have exchanged email with Pat about rebuilding it.  He’s never pressured or even tried to sell me — just answered my questions and was really helpful.  It’s also not crazy to have amps over $10K that aren’t balanced. Many examples out there. If you don’t want to buy it, just don’t buy it.  What if I wrote a post that Pass Labs is sketchy? The XA25 is only 25 watts per channel and isn’t even balanced and they have the nerve to charge $5.2K for it.  Barely any specs on their website and no measurements.  Buyer beware!!!   Sounds silly, right?
 

All I can say is this was my experience. Well, if you think $10.5k for a refurbished amp with decades old chassis and no balanced inputs is worth it, have at it ! I personally don’t think it’s a good value, and the same model was selling with a balanced input added for less than half on Audio Mart ! Call BS all you want but everything is 100 percent factual and I have all of the evidence and documents to support everything I am saying.

Yes, it is true they don’t have a dedicated sales force. It appears to be largely a one-man operation with helpers. I’m not going to dox anyone or speak badly about any person in particular, that’s not how I do things. I am just sharing my experience with the company and somebody who apparently works with them. I do have credible personal information that this was an authorized sales distribution channel I was working with. Look, if you had a good experience with them great, I'm just sharing my personal experience and issues that I encountered.