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McCormack DNA-500

Is the DNA-500 rather warm sounding or is it qualified as neutral and very detailed. I am leery of harsh high frequencies.

Thank you.
mlaurend
cmach
197 posts
 
I'm not sure I would call the DNA 500 warm sounding but
its not cold or clinical sounding either. I really enjoyed
mine. It had great control and still sounded musical. I
found the 500 to be very responsive to power cords. Every
cord I tried made a difference. My personal favorite was
a PAD Dominus.

Good luck
mtdking
157 posts
 
If you find the Conrad Johnson fatiguing you got problems. That is the finest solid state amp on the planet. The Conrad 350 is a much better amp than the Mccormack DNA-500. Good Luck....
mdconnelly
133 posts
 
I agree that if the CJ350 didn't do it for you, neither will the DNA-500. Did you try the CJ in your system? What are your components & cables? I know my DNA-500 easily conveys upstream changes so I suspect the culprit is likely hiding there.
mlaurend OP
2 posts
 
I have an Accuphase DP-78 fed directly into the amp. My speakers are Sonus Faber Electa Amator. Cables are Audioquest Colorado and Volcano. It sounds very good with the CJ MF2500. I found the Premier 350 to have a bigger stage with much more details and more authority. It sounded very good on excellent recordings. But I find the MF2500 to be smoother, albeit less informative.
noble100's avatar
noble100
2,419 posts
 
Mlauren,

The amps you've used and mentioneded are all very good to excellent amps. They're very unlikely to be the source of any harshness. Ever consider adding a tubed preamp into the mix? They normally tame harshness and may solve your issue of fatigue. Good units won't sacrifice the details either. Plus, you could tailor the sound you want by the preamp as well as the tubes you use. Good luck
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