RLD-1 Are you experienced?

Dueler,

Opinions on power cords vary. I have not heard a difference between the stock power cords and after-market power cords on any of my equipment (my RLD-1 is mated with a DNA-0.5 Rev. A for what it's worth.) Many people believe they hear a difference. If you want to try different cords, you can find some from DIY'ers for less than $100 and experiment. I did that by purchasing a "Basic Powercord" from Roy Locke (username: Audiophile8) for about $50. You might buy a cord for each device that accepts after-market cords to have the best chance of hearing a difference.

Good luck on your audio journey!

That seems to be the consensus of (McCormack-upgraded gear) owners. I just shipped my RLD-1 off to Steve yesterday, and time is d r a g g i n g now as I anxiously await its return!

You may be a man in the perfect situation. There has been a Platinum Revision RLD-1 listed on A'gon for two (maybe three) consecutive months. The seller was asking $2600 for it without phono board, $3000 with phono board. I recently initiated a thread about resale value of McCormack modded gear (thread was actually about resale value of any modded gear) and the answer I got back was a seller can expect to get only 25% of his modification investment back. My recommendation: contact a'gon staff and see if they can find the ad. I think it dropped off only in the last couple of weeks and the seller gave up relisting it. Contact him, get the condition of the unit, then adjust the mean price from the Audio Bluebook accordingly; add 25% of $1400 (the Platinum Revision cost) and offer him that plus shipping.

There's an ad somewhere on a'gon from a dealer who will pay up to 80% of the retail price of your McCormack piece and apply it toward the purchase of some other piece. Although it would cost you more money short-term, you could sell the McCormack and buy an upgrade in some other part of your system. I don't remember the details/restrictions on the offer, but it's worth your while to try to find it.

If that doesn't work out, you can sell your stock RLD-1 here, as reasonable sellers rarely have trouble selling them here.

One final option: upgrade your own unit. You will lose money on the resale - assuming you ever sell your RLD-1, but you'll get the SMCaudio warranty and great service from Steve McCormack. Note he has a backlog, though: I contacted him in February about upgrading mine and it doesn't go out to him until April 11. You can find a couple of glowing reviews by Platinum Revision RLD-1 owners on here if you want an idea of what the upgrades do for the stock unit.

Good luck!

Dueler,
One other thought that isn't necessarily responsive to your question: talk to Steve McCormack via telephone and get his thoughts on upgrade paths if you go that route. Specifically, ask him whether he recommends upgrading one device at a time or both simultaneously for best interim satisfaction. For example, would he recommend getting the platinum revision for the RLD-1 and leaving the DNA-1 in stock form (or vice versa) until you can afford to upgrade it as well, or getting the silver or gold revision to the RLD-1 and getting Revision C or B of the DNA-1 at the same time and upgrading the units together incrementally?

I'd be a little concerned that the stock form of the pre or amp would significantly limit the upgraded version of the other piece. Since I have a stock RLD-1 now with a Rev. A amp and the RLD-1 will be upgraded in a couple weeks, I'll be able to opine on that soon. Steve will have an immediate answer for you, though.