McCormack dna-1 upgrade or no

I really like the combo

The question I haven't seen an answer to is, what about the sound of your system would you like to improve by changing amplifiers and/or speakers?  IMO, McCormack amps sounded good in stock form.  Your Revision A Gold should have improved on the stock amp considerably. 

However, McCormack upgrades are not for everyone.  They do cost money, so the question you have to ask  yourself is, "what could I purchase new or used for the same all-in cost?"  In addition, the upgrades take time.  Steve and Patrick do their best but they have a lot of customers and the process is staged, with some of the work relying on others to complete, like powder-coating chassis, ordering key parts like the low-noise transformers they use, ordering custom faceplates, and other steps in the process.  Finally, those who say you will lose much of the upgrade cost on resale are mostly correct, which means you should do everything you can to figure out what you want and whether the upgraded McCormack amplifier is likely to provide it.  If you don't like the sound of your McCormack amp now, an upgraded version is probably not going to be much better for you.  However, if you already like the house sound but want improved refinement, lower noise, improved high frequency clarity, improved bass definition, and more depth/dimensionality, then the upgrades should push you further towards your goal.  Some options can have a significant impact on the level of improvement, such as going from a single amplifer to monoblocks or installing the much larger low-noise transformers in the DNA 0.5s.

As expensive as my upgraded SMc monos were, they provide sound quality from my system that I had previously not achieved at anywhere near the price, including monoblocks from well-regarded manufacturers priced at about $17K (new) for the Claytons (upon their last issue) and about $34K (new) for the Lamm amps (current pricing).  Some might even say the SMc amplifiers are a bargain.

Steve McCormack and Patrick at SMc Audio have upgraded a pair of my DNA-1s, a large DNA-2, and a TLC-1 preamplifier that is very close to what you get from his highly regarded VRE-1.  In short, the upgraded preamp and DNA-1 monos are very, very good sonically, IMO.  I compared the preamp to around 20 other preamps, a couple of which were north of $10K and I have not found anything that sounds as enjoyable to me based on tone, body, clarity, and dynamics.  Same with the DNA-1 monos.  While those monos may not be the very best at any one thing, they are quite good across the board with the end result having excellent tone, body, clarity, dynamics, and drive, and no noticeable shortcomings which, IMO, is a rare and welcome attribute.   

Regarding upgrades, all they need now to create an upgraded amp is a unit that has intact chassis and heat fins, because they can replace virtually every other part of the amplifier in their new builds, including the boards.  The amp you send them doesn't even need to work.  If you can sell your amp for a little more because it is a Gold revision, you may consider selling your amp, buying a DNA-1 that has not been upgraded or that may not currently work, and using the delta between those transactions on the upgrades.   

I suggest researching the current state of the upgrades further on their website where there are some youtube video interviews with Steve.  I recommend looking at videos 3 and 4 for more info about the amplifiers.  You should also check out the new amplifiers they are offering.  I am very happy with my upgraded amplifiers (pictured below) and IMO they sound overall better in my system than the Clayton M300 Class A monoblocks and the Lamm M1.2 Reference monoblocks I owned previously.