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McCormack DNA-1 upgrades by McCormack of Virginia

Has anyone out there heard the upgrade that McCormack of Virginia (aka CJ) makes to the DNA-1 or DNA-1 dlx? I have read a lot of great things about Steve's mods to his own original DNA units and the later series he designed for McC VA, but can find almost nothing about McC VA's mods to the original DNAs. From what little I can find the mod is called the "R1" and they claim it can make a DNA-1 more like a DNA-225, fitting a new main PCB into the DNA-1 and reworking the output pc boards. Would love any input from anyone that has direct experience with these upgrades.

I am peronally trying to decide which McCormack path to take, original DNAs versus the new units, upgrades versus monoblocking, etc. and am trying to gather as much data as possible on the various options. I have talked to Steve a bit about some other topics (I know it is always best to talk to him directly per the other threads) but I know he is swamped at CES right now so I didn't want to bother him. Thanks all!

My current system: Rotel RB1080, Tube Audio Design TADAC, Rega Planet 2000 (transport for the DAC) Chario Academy 1 monitors, Signal Cable ICs and PCs connecting everything, with a Topaz Line 2 power conditioner. Also have an Acurus RL11 preamp but this was taken out of service when I got the TADAC as I now run balanced lines from the tube section of the DAC directly to the amp. The TADAC is a really great little piece of gear by the way.
mscott58

Showing 3 responses by luigi_secchi00

luigi_secchi00
11 posts
 
I was going to say: oh, well, you don't need to buy a DNA 225, a DNA 125 is more than enough. But now I read that those chario are 81.5 dB sensitive and they're a nominal 8 ohm!

So the natural question is: would you consider buying more efficient speakers? Personally I would... If not, you really need a DNA1/225

I own a DNA 0.5 upgraded to revB. In your case a DNA1 revB would be a good value IF YOU FIND IT USED. DO NOT BUY A USED DNA1 and upgrade it to revB.
luigi_secchi00
11 posts
 
Mscott58,

yes, upgrading the DNA-1 is a bad idea because of the resell value. I made this very mistake myself, with my DNA 0.5!

I do like the DNA 0.5 revB. It has great timing and musicality, very good imaging, and great timbre. The only small issue is that it does not have the absolutely grain-free sound of TOP amplifier. However, consider that I do not use any AC filtration, which might make the mccormack grain-free. And to put things in perspective, the sound of my old Classe' Seventy was much harsher than that of the DNA.

Oh, given that the Chario are 85 dBs sensitive I guess the DNA0.5/125 should work fine.

About the Chario: what is it that you like about them? If you like the sound of 2-ways mini-monitors, you'll be delighted with a pair of Tannoy coaxial speakers... With those small drivers something tells me that the Chario distort a lot, albeit you won't hear that as distortion (been there, done that!). Just to make sure, I checked the Stereophile review, and, as I suspected, they don't measure the distortion...
This is meant as constructive "criticism", in no way I want to question your choice of the Chario.
luigi_secchi00
11 posts
 
From what I can see, in Italy Chario is considered to be better than Sonus Faber – by COMPETENT people.

What I wanted to get to with my comments is just that people sometime are overly concerned with their electronics but the problem lies in their speakers. And I say this because I made precisely this mistake...

Once I heard guy dismissing an amp because said amp had 0.2% THD. And many people would agree with him.. But do you know how much THD typical HI-FI speakers have? 5-10% (no, it's not a typo...).

That said, if you love the Charios by all means enjoy them!
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