McCormack DNA-750 good?

articdeth

Funny because I had replied to a post and sent an email about my experience with Odyssey
a long time ago. I had shared my overall dissatisfaction with the quality and service and after that went with McCormack gear. It was a big upgrade but I think at the time you were amped up with getting Klaus gear.
That being said, I had better luck with McCormack stuff and later with Parasound amps which I own now.
I think Parasound is where I will stay, since i get ZERO background noise and Curl provides great value considering his talent.
Happy Listening....

had these amps about a year now, I'm still impressed! with them.
best amps I've ever heard.  Energy rc-70's fully broken in and sound stunning, very rich, full detailed sound, absolutely no harsh, shrill highs at all, I'm in love!!!! Every note is full of soul, heart, flawless presentation to my ears.
 Also spoke with dan Babineau a couple more times, turns out these amps were his, and he did the all Teflon upgrades, as well as hybrid Teflon caps in the output something or other, he said they are probably not broken in yet, he recommended several hundred hours, as far as the amps use before I had them, there wasn't much, as the couple that bought them, were going through a separation, and the use was almost none. I'm happy!!!! So happy, an essiantally new pair for DNA 750's. Give or take a hundred or so hours on the new capacitors etc etc. 
  sigh, I can now relax with my amazing sound system, and know I have the very best.  The amps are just amazing! Would not trade them for anything, and I do plan on McCormack upgrading them n another 15 years, if they still do them down the road. 

Im happy

anyone wanna buy emotiva xpa-1 mono-blocks? Less than 300 hours, generous guesstimate. 
First gen limited edition ones. Post for info or contact me. 
They are flawless!

Jeffrey Behr does have a nice system, full of different gear.

Well, my Dna 750's are amazing and perfect.  
I talked with Dan babineau on the phone about how I came to acquire his old amps, we had quite a nice long audio discussion , a stand up knowledgeable man!!

he confirmed these amps had the ultra upgrade by CJ before they stopped offering it. The all Teflon capacitor upgrade is what I have, I called the old owner, the woman who sold me, her husband purchased these amps and used for a year, lightly. Good news!

they were not really not broken in all that much, so I have some top shelf amps to say the least! I broke them in for months with a new pair of Energy rc-70's, which also were broken in for quite a while. 

I h ave about 175--ish hrs I think on the system, not broken n yet, and it is so smoooooth, airy, just beautiful sounding. Acoustic guitar is simply there and breathtaking, vocals, and mercyful fate is on par with Kim singing in my room!!! Just stunning!

i am using the Sanders preamp, and any bass complaints I had are gone, either I am used to the setup now, or the CD player, cables and break in are part of the sound I now hear. 

I hope olé these last me 20 years or more. I am happy with them ! 

Cheers, I have music to "hear".

 

If I had the money I would Ray them as well. 

 As mentioned it took me just under 5 years of saving every damn dime I could get. And I still ended Up buying used amps, but I think I bought the right ones, Conrad Johnson makes great stuff, and they are upgrade able by McCormack himself.  I will be buying the new NAD 515 bee cd player, and some cables by g rover huffman. 

I also need need to get my odyssey amps upgraded to kismet as well, I'm saving for that now, shouldn't take as long to get the Odysseus upgraded, not as much money, like making the huge purchase of the McCormack 750's.   I'm hoping this all works well, the bass of the sanders pre is still a little held back, I'll hook up a sub(cheap one) when I get a hundo. 

Told you they are very good. Another are new Ampzilla. Had mono's, just great. Just bought Son of Ampzilla mk2. Make my Quad 2805 sound beautiful. $3500 retail just a steal.

Huh, I just found out, after reading the name on the amp boxes, these were owned by Dan Babineau.  Didn't he run the power surge/conditioner company???

Well there you go. I won't be selling mine for a long time either. Now check out Fidelizer pro add that, and you will have sonic improvements.

These were purchased pretty much sight unseen a couple weeks back, I wanted to get thoughts from people on them.
They arrived about 5 days ago, all I can say is I will never let these leave my house, maybe upgraded, these are my reference amps, and I highly doubt there is better, even if I do spend much more on pass labs class a stuff, the point of dismissing return would apply. These McCormack/Conrad Johnson amps are just amazing. From low volume listening, to the ability and aggression of a charging rhino shi*ting glass, these amps are absolutely amazing.

Detail, relaxed, etc etc, I can go on, but you get the picture. I am done for a long time with looking for the perfect amp. !!! Sigh

Buy them! 2009 is not old, you can always resell if you don't really like. Is it a hassle, yes, but most of the time listening first is not a realistic option. Go for it.

Since you asked, I suggest you not rely on "everyone's eyes" when making your amplifier choice but rather rely on your ears. I suggest you listen closely to the 750s before you purchase a pair. I have no doubt they are powerful but they also do not have the universal reputation for musicality of the older McCormack amplifiers (e.g., DNA-0.5, 1, 2, 125 and 225 and 500). I would listen to any of those you can in order to gain perspective and to form an opinion.

Money IS the object. I would buy used. Which is why I'm looking at the McCormack monos. Still considering them. Are they worth a purchase in everyone's eyes? Or wait? Buy something better.........is there better?

I'll probably purchase t hem, they are in flawless condition. Only concern, is they are from 2009, and getting old, no warranty left.

I don't know whether they are on par with Mac or Pass labs I have not heard those amps, but I do know that pass labs is in a league of its own. If money is no object then go for the best.

Are these on par with pass labs, Macintosh , etc etc. ? Or, are these not in the same league?

From what I have researched/heard, these are right on par with the big pass & Mcintosh, I just wanted to get other opinions, and as many as possible.

Hello:

I own a pair of these amps. All I can really say about them is that they sound very good from top to bottom.

They do have a lot bite.
They do not run hot like Class A amps.
They have lots of power and will drive any kind of speaker.
The reason I purchased them is because my speakers are Aerial 7bs and require a good amount of current.

They are large and heavy 65 lbs. each.

If your speakers are difficult to drive these will do the job. There are lots of different amps out there to choose from it is a matter of preference. Mitch2 is correct they were designed by Conrad Johnson.

Upgrades are done by Steve McCormack starting at $1000 to $10000 per amp.

I spoke with Steve about how much difference in sound quality from stock to upgrade. Unless your willing to spend at least 2000 and up there is no significant difference.

Your question are they on par with reference amps, depends what you classify as reference amps. Like I said they are very good amps.

Why did you sell your pair?

You did not like them? Reliability issues? Poor sound quality?

If you could have another pair for a descent price, would you purchase them? I am trying to find out as much about them as possible.

I am looking for a superb pair of reference amplifiers. Would these be on par with reference amps?? Thank you

I owned them. Very good sound. No noise turn on or off. Beautiful stage. No SS hash. They were sold for 5k pair at the end, great bargain.

My understanding is that the DNA-750 is not a Steve McCormack design, but was designed by folks at C-J after Steve was no longer affiliated.
Google Jeffrey Behr over on AAsylum and you can see some great pictures showing how he upgraded his amps. He seemed to really like the results.
I know Steve has upgraded at least one pair and I see he has them listed on his SMc website as amps that he will upgrade.
As far as the sonic level that can be achieved, I have no idea.
However, his upgrades of vintage McCormack gear, DNA-0.5,1,2,125,225 and 500 are outstanding.
Maybe others can weigh in on how the 750s sound in their stock form.
Regarding reviews, just an observation that may have no bearing but, I believe reviewers often hear stuff before they decide to review it. It seems really good sounding products often receive a proportionally larger number of reviews.