McCormack DNA 125

Common' @audphile1 , 

How often do you see current modded 125s up for sale,?

@slaw Never. I’ve never seen a modded 125 or 225 ever for sale.  Frankly, I rarely see any 125 or 225 for sale so if you see one, grab it.  That’s just my opinion.  

For what it's worth, I'm a big fan of McCormack amp topology, although, I've never owned one or heard one. I have however "borrowed" Steve M.'s concept of using PS caps really close to the output fets with great success in modifying amps....It would be important to know if the 125 was used regularly. Electrolytics don't do well without sitting without juice.

@slaw honestly not on a lookout for one so can’t say. To share my experience…

At the time I owned B&W N803 driven by a DNA0.5. Upgraded to DNA-125, loved it so much and needed slightly more juice for the N803s, I sold the 125 and picked up a mint DNA-225. That amp was everything I was looking for, sound and power wise. Just totally gelled with then rest of my gear (ARC LS-15, ARC CD-3MkII). But the upgrade bug bit. I sent the 225 in for the Gold Revision. When I got it back it sounded pretty much like a different amp. Long story slim, the synergy was no longer there even after the extensive break in (300+ hrs). It just didn’t work out for me. The sound was fatiguing with heavy presence region. I actually preferred the sonics of the stock 125 over the modded 225. I ended up selling the 225 and in the process took a decent hit. The market at the time (2006) was flooded with modified McCormack amps. I saw my amp on the market few more times shortly after, changing hands.
I ended up picking up a mint Pass X250.5 locally and was back in the listening chair with a smile on my face.

So what I’m trying to say here is if one is looking for 125 to mod, go straight to 225 and just enjoy the music because that amp is truly special. Don’t bother with mods. CJ did a super fine job with DNA series amps. The 225 just makes music…bottom line. The stock 225 is one of the components in my audio journey I regret getting rid of. It was that good.

Now, YMMV and I won’t argue. Just sharing my experience.

So what I’m trying to say here is if one is looking for 125 to mod, go straight to 225 and just enjoy the music because that amp is truly special. Don’t bother with mods. CJ did a super fine job with DNA series amps. The 225 just makes music…bottom line. The stock 225 is one of the components in my audio journey I regret getting rid of. It was that good.

That’s good info and very interesting.  I’ll just add that it’s all about system synergy. IME DNA amps get much better with upgrades, not worse.  My opinion, the modded 225 was just showing more of the character of your 803s, and the fact that you like Pass amps with your speakers then would make a lot of sense.  Again, this is the first ever account I’ve heard of someone saying SMcAudio upgrades were downgrades.  Again, system synergy is everything.