Steve moved back to California awhile ago. This is his website: https://smcaudio.com/ I wasn't aware he wasn't producing new product any longer? Hope he is okay. |
The McCormack brand was sold by Steve to Conrad-Johnson long ago. Steve has continued to build and rebuild his own gear including upgrades to his amps (DNA-1, 0.5 etc) under the name SMc Audio (https://smcaudio.com/ ) and he builds a world class preamp, I'm told. My DNA-1 died after 20 years of continuous use, and I made the mistake of selling him the amp housing instead of getting him to rebuild it 3 years ago. Now, he's building a new amp in existing DNA cases using his "Gravity Base" system, which he says is the best amp he's ever built. I'm looking for a dead DNA to buy so I can get one. His amps match very well with Vandersteen speakers, btw. |
Steve is alive and well in Cali. SMcAudio is his company. He still upgrades the older McCormack's. Basically using the case and installing new boards and components. He has built DNA-1 monoblocks, Micro power amp monoblocks and upgraded a Microline Drive for me over the years. The prices are fair, and the upgrades are great. Bob |
As several have pointed out, Steve and his associate Patrick are making fantastic sounding gear as SMc Audio out in California. They are rehabbing and/or rebuilding the former McCormack gear as well as offering new designs. I have SMc monoblocks finished in 2020 that sound outstanding and you can see them on my system page. @patrickdowns , Steve talked me into the gravity bases on my monoblocks and I am certainly not disappointed. Also, as you pointed out, the VRE-1c preamp is world class. You can come close to that with his VRE-0.5, and another option is an upgraded TLC-1 (that approaches the VRE models). Mine is an upgraded TLC-1 and when I wanted to use it as a unity gain buffer and no longer as a preamp, Steve helped me figure out how to take the volume control out of the signal path by replacing it with two high quality AN Tantalum silver resistors. This is the preamp I ended up with after owning around 20 different preamps ranging from good to excellent. You can see it on my system page as well as on the SMc Audio website home page (it is the black one). IME, if you have work performed by Steve/SMc Audio, you will be very happy with both the results and the process because the customer service is also world class! They have my highest recommendation. |
mitch2 I just came back to this post. I looked at your system and SMc amp, but it doesn’t look the housing of my old McCormack DNA-1 from the 1990s. What is it? Thanks. https://ucarecdn.audiogon.com/c14d1a9e-d749-426f-a46c-30c64f440e88/-/autorotate/yes/ |
Hi Patrick The amp in the middle is a McCormack DNA-2 Limited Anniversary Edition (LAE), which was designed by David Reich of Theta. The amps on either side are Clayton M300s and the amps to the back are Lamm M1.2 Reference. Steve McCormack at SMc Audio did an all-out upgrade on the DNA-2 for me and it sounded good but not even close to the amplifiers that SMc Audio finished for me earlier this year....SMc Audio DNA-1 Ultra G20 Monoblocks, which you can see here and here. Those amplifiers have ended any need for me to look for something different. |
