RLD-1 Are you experienced?


I recently purchased a McCormack RLD-1 & DNA-1. My previous set up was a Musical Fidelity CD-PRE24 and Adcom GFA-555 with B&W CDM9NT's & Velodyne FSX-12. When I swapped in the RLD-1 WOW! Even with the Adcom! The DNA-1 was not quite as dramatic an improvement to my ears (good power cord should help). This makes me wonder! Could I still get a decent return on preamp investment? SMCaudio upgrade or put it in the bedroom with the Adcom and move on? Max upgade & used RLD-1 = +/- $2400 (no phono).

Some things I love about RLD-1:(from my limited perspective)

sounds more believable at a lower apparent volumes and you can push the volume pretty hard before it starts to fall apart
effortless presentation - never seems strained
soundstage/imaging quite good
bottom end extended and tighter
mids smooth and lifelike
top end good detail but not too crispy
involves me
and how 'bout that volume contol

Any thoughts?

Thanks oh so much!
dueler
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!
I can't believe that you think a different power cord will make a difference.
Aggielaw thanks for the info!
Rwwear I don't know if a "better" ac cord wll improve the preformance of my dna-1 as I have never tried any experimenting myself. I take it you have and are not impressed?
Anybody else have any thoughts on pre options?

Thanks
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!