McCormack vs. BAT

You have described my situation very accurately. Two problems, my friends are all cheap bastards and no one I know has ANY decent equipment whatsoever. The second is that , having 4 children, am trying to get as much stuff "on the cheap" as possible. The only things I would not consider buying used are a turntable and cartridge. So I don't want to go to a dealer, "use" him, then go and purchase a used product. I know what you mean-of course it is best to hear everything with your own ears and make your own decision. Unfortunately, my situation will not allow me the luxury of a full demo. I have received much misinformation from here and other sources, but for the most part, the information has been accurate and useful. So, you are correct in your assessment, but I am still willing to take a chance in order to reap some significant savings. Thank you for your advice.

Tswlsla,

If you check my last post, I recommend a couple of choices you might like. After reading your last post, however, I don't think you should buy anything at this point'; even the stuff I recommend. It's clear that you want some type of change in your system. It's also clear that you are very unsure on how to proceed. The only real reference you have at this point is your current amp. I see you trying to get as much info from other sources and then make the best educated guess you can as far as new equipment. The problem is that everyone has a different opinion as to what sounds good; as do you. I can pretty much guarantee that if you continue down your current path you will not end up with something you like. The only thing that makes sense for you at this point is to gain more experience. You MUST listen to some other equipment. If you have a good local dealer, bring your parasound in and put it next to something else so that you can form an opinion that is based on something real. If you have friends with good equipment, do the same thing. In the end, you should be able to answer most, if not all, the questions you have yourself. Its just my opinion, but until you feel comfortable using your own judgement, you should just hold off on buying anything.

Thank you for the responses, what I mean is that I want more refinement in mid and bass with them having some more umphf. There has to be a reason, that some amps cost 20K, it must be for refinement and power or refinement WITH power. That is what I am striving for. I fear the integrated setup because I am afraid it will lack power, but I am open to suggestions, can you suggest a specific model? Thank you again.

Ton Hankins makes a good point. Personally, I've always felt that the preamp is more important to get right than the amp. That's why I asked about the "power" issue as a matter of actual power or power in terms of sound quality. Given that your current amp should have more than enough power, epically with the JM Labs being very efficient, I take it you mean the latter of the 2 types.

With regards to picking an amp, I've owned a dna250 and have listened to the BAT on many ocassions, but never owned one. They are both excellent and if I were to pick just from these 2 I would get the BAT. If you have listened to both, and like the dna250 better, I would recommend something different. I felt the dna's biggest strength was in the midrange. It was very pure, clean and detailed. I thought the highs and lows were just OK but not great. In your used price range, you should be able to pick up an Ayre V5 used. This is what I currently use. Sound wise, it picks up where the dna leaves off and takes everything to a different level. It improves on the excellent mids of the dna but also brings the frequency extremes to the same level of quality of the mids. For me, its an amazing amp. For you, I would definately encourage you to listen to it first. Don't buy it just because I like it, you have to like it.

Since you mentioned the BAT, I thought of another approach you may like. BAT makes a great integrated that combines a solid state amp with your choice of a solid state preamp or 2 different tube preamps. They also offer a phono stage as well. You save money by putting 3 components in 1 box, don't have to deal with all the cables and have the piece of mind that all 3 things will work well together. You will even have the option of using another source such as a CD player, that you don't have now with your current system.

Please see my review of the McCormack DNA-250 under Product reviews.

If what your looking for is more weight and texture from the midrange down through the bass, the BAT will give you what you looking for. You can also get this by just adding one of there preamps to your system and keeping the amp you have.
I had the JC-1s and (in my system) they were a little thin to me. When adding the BAT VK-31se it put some body to the system that was missing.

When you say that you need a little more power in the mid and treb, I'm not sure as to what you mean. Your A21 should be very powerful. Are you talking actual power from the amp or, possibly, power in relation to sound quality?

A little more power in the midrange and bass is what I am looking for.

What are you looking to improve over what you have now? Kinda shooting blanks until you give some idea.

I have a phono only system. Right now I have a GCPH directly into a Parasound A21 and Focal 826W speakers. I looked at these two amps because... they have a lot of power and seem to have good reputation, but I am open to anything in their respective price ranges 2500 to 3500 used. Thank you.

Isn't McCormack Amps out of production?

I prefer the McCormack sound to the BAT sound. BAT tends to be a little darker and not as resolving. The McCormack amps are detailed with just a little midrange bloom.

Shakey

What is the rest of your system? Also, what led you to choose these 2 amps as opposed to something else? I think if you want to get the best recommendations, you will need to supply additional info as to what your tastes are.