McCormack DNA 500 or Cary CAD MB 500?

I have owned both and either will work fine. Cary is a little warmer-full bodied, McCormack may have more slam and may be a touch quieter. Both are great options at the used price. Other considerations are single stereo amp vs. monoblocks, and the lowish 10K ohm input impedance of the McCormack which limits you to preamps with output impedance not rising above about 500 ohm (IMO) or about 1000 ohm in the opinion of some others.

Mitch2, What do you mean by the DNA 500 have more slam and quieter? Does this mean that it can handle a tougher load than Cary? The Salons are pretty hard to drive 86db sensitivity.
What preamp were you using with McCormack?
Thanks!

IME they should both easily have the juice to drive your 86dB Salons, assuming they have a somewhat uniform impedance vs. frequency, and don't dip much below 4ohms. My McCormack drove 87 and 90 dB speakers but I only had the higher 90dB speakers when I owned the Cary. I personally liked the sound of the Cary amps a bit better and if I were in the market, their new SA500.1 monos would be on my shortlist. The McCormack and Cary are both very nice amps but I remember the McCormack being a real beast with regards to bass slam. Still, I liked the musicality and slightly fat bass of the Cary amps. I tried quite a few preamps with the McCormack and enjoyed a Tom Evans Vibe with Pulse, which has a very low output impedance. With tubes, VTL 5.5 sounded good, SF Line 3SE just ok, and Aesthetix Calypso not as good. The Cary's have a higher imput impedance and can accomodate a wider range of tube preamps and the Lamm LL2 Deluxe and CAT SL2 Ultimate both sounded quite good.

Mitch2 I settled with the Cary mono's, i should have them by Thursday or Friday next week. My preamp is not a full balance. When you had them. Did you run them balance or single ended? Is balance the best set up for them? Thank you!!

I tried both. Single-ended sounded just fine. Let us know how you like them.

I've tried a number of amps for my Magnepan 3.6's; the Cary 500's won-out. They are excellent IMO. Power to spare, they do not break a sweat driving the 3.6's in my 17.5 x 26 room... Very highly recommended!!!

Let us know how you like them on the Revels.