Selling McCormack Upgraded Gear

I think Blkadr may be the closest to the issue --

Perceptions -- which alone is not the key.

It is the nature of the industry and those of us involved to trade up and build and trade up to reach that "ideal" system. The problem is that the market is not static and the ideal moves a lot faster than we do or most of us can. And, mods are not viewed as the normal route to the ideal. Nor, can or do many of us stop and just listen to the music at any given point in time, meaning accept what we have.

Mods are percevied to be personal, not mainstream. Hence, if you did it for yourself, it is not the same degree of self-satifcation for someone else as buying a new-used more expensive stock name brand piece. Buying a modded piece is not 100% satisfying, there are moments of post-purchase doubt and the need to move to the next "safer" piece.

The fact that McCormack mods carry a warratee is a signal that this is, in essence, a stock piece. But, there is still a perception/ego gap that this is not being bridged.

Finally, the current and prevalent retail philosophy and driving force behind consumerism is to buy....something new. Retailers, car, apparel, real estate, etc. do not want us to be satisfied or only satisfied for a defined period after the purchase.

Here ends, audio psychology 101.

Cellorover:
Any loss of satisfaction for not being the one who has the mods done would likely be offset, for example, by scoring DNA-1 Rev A monoblocks for $2600 or some similar bargain.

For those who have taken a couple of minutes to actually read what is available on SMcAudio.com regarding the comparison of stock vs. modded, there should be no misconception that there is anything "flawed" with the stock gear. Stock amps are great sounding and great values, but they were built to fit a certain price point which requires a limit on the cost of components. You could also look at it another way. The DNA design is so superior, they are able to perform better, with very good components, than many more expensive amps. There are even higher levels achieved by utilizing the best components, but it comes with a price. Whether you are having the mods done or buying used, you are getting a great value.

My guess is the lack of exposure (pro reviews) and / or inability to audition first makes buying and selling modified gear, committing to have something modified more difficult.

Albeit SMc reputation as an accomplished modder and positive comments from loyal followers on Agon, SMcs’ hot rods don’t seem to get too much attention from the other BBS or pro reviews. FWIW, formal magazine reviews do help to put things in the limelight - i.e. Modwrights’ Sony.

The commercial models (std, deluxe) were built with price constraints, but the inability to audition the revisions (A, B, C, Gold, Carbon Wire) makes pulling the trigger more of a “leap of faith”. Sure, you can read about the differences, but unless you can hear it for yourself…you really don’t know what it sounds like.

I’m not questioning SMcs’ quality or value…I just think it needs more exposure. Perhaps putting the “crème de la crème” stuff on tour (hint, hint) or a directory of hot rod owners willing to demo to others would help.

The fact of the matter is that any gear on Audiogon lately is a tough sell, especially anything priced over twelve hundred dollars. You want to blame something, look at the economy. People are hanging on to their money. Gas prices are up & job security is uncertain. This does not diminish the fact that these upgrades are a superb improvement over the stock versions & well worth the money. Keep in mind that the stock versions are already well loved by many for what they do right. How many audio engineers do you know that care about the average audiophile & stay connected. I sold my McCormack amps for tube gear but when I see a McCormack amp up for sale I still drool over the ad especially the ones with the revisions.

Interestingly, an older-modded DNA-1 Rev. A was sold this week on a'gon for $1050!! I don't think the ad lasted an hour. On the other hand, the DNA-2 Rev. A+ and B amps are still on the market after quite some time, contributing to probably both PHD's theory and the previous theory that you can only expect to get about 50% of the new price and 25% of your mod investment back on resale.