Don’t buy used McCormack DNA 1990s amps

@soix 

I have a 90's .5 that I picked up a few years ago.  One of 3 amps in my rotation.  Thankfully, still working great as of a few months ago until I switched it out for my Hegel. Probably put it back in the system soon to give it a run - fingers crossed!  ;-)

The board failure is a known problem that came to my attention when talking with my repair tech a while back.  I inquired about switching out the old capacitors and doing a refresh, so to speak.  He pretty much advised against it and warned me to not be surprised if it quits on me.  Hopefully, I've got one of the hardier ones!  Like others, I've been considering sending it in for a makeover.  We'll see.

My question is: that you know of, is there any actual risk of fire, other component damage, etc?  Seems like a solder or two failing on a board wouldn't be any real threat.  But, I'm not an expert by any means.  What happened when yours failed?

Thanks     

@pkatsuleas No risk of fire that I’ve heard of.  My amp started taking longer to power on, then worked sporadically and then not at all.  Hopefully yours hangs on for a while 🤞🤞🤞.  I’d suggest not turning it on and off a lot, and if it’s in your system just leave it on 24/7.  

@soix 

Thanks.  Like I said, fingers crossed

After reading this I'm never going to buy amp that old again! The OP is correct, there are problems with the traces on the McCormack's input board that develope after a given number of years and may not be repairable unless you want to spend a ton of money on upgrades.

Hello Audiogoners,

I see that I'm late to the party here, but I thought I ought to contribute a few clarifications to this thread.

First of all, despite their advancing age, the only DNA amp we've had trouble with is the DNA-1, and ONLY the DNA-1. This is because of age-related problems with the main circuit board, and ONLY that board. I designed a new replacement board for both the DNA-1 and DNA-0.5 several years ago, and this board is both far better than the original and includes all of the circuit improvements I've developed over the years. For this reason, all upgrade work we do on these amps begins with this new circuit board and builds from there, depending on the client's wishes. This is the only path that makes sense for us, and I hope you can see this.

To be clear, this does not mean that your DNA-1 will fail – just that it becomes more likely as time goes by. But it does mean that we will not accept the risk of modifying those original circuit boards. And by the way, there are no safety issues with any of my equipment, regardless of age.

We have always supported our upgrade customers with any service that might be required, and we continue to do so. However, SMc Audio is not a general repair shop for McCormack Audio equipment. We do custom upgrade work, and we take good care of those clients. This has apparently led to the mistaken belief that we don't offer repair service at all, but this is incorrect. Any of our upgrade clients can depend on having their gear repaired as required. If people have stock McCormack gear that needs repair, I will be as helpful as I can with finding appropriate service and providing information that might be needed. Have your local repair tech get in touch with me and I will do my best to help.

Someone here added this comment: “BTW, To anyone interested. CJ will still service the DNA amps. When I asked them for the schematics I was given a quote for a full recap and a replacement of the input board.” All I can say is “good luck with that.” If you have questions about my equipment or need help with anything, PLEASE give us a call.

For various reasons, there are a few pieces that we no longer offer upgrade work on: The DNA-2, DNA-500, ALD-1 preamp, UDP-1 disc player, and any of the CD players. You are still welcome to call us with questions about any of these.

Regarding the main power switch, bypassing is an upgrade option. We feel this is a small sonic improvement if you don't mind using the AC power cord as your “switch.” It's a detail, but we put a lot of effort into improving the entire AC power path for best performance, and the details add up. In the end, it's up to you.

We do suggest leaving your equipment turned on if this is feasible. This may or may not increase the life span of your gear (tubes aside), but it absolutely gives you the best sonic performance. You get to decide if the addition to your electric bill is worth it.

We have a very good track record of making our clients happy with the work we do for them. Still, there have been those (thankfully rare) occasions when something did not turn out as expected. I will always bend over backwards to figure out the problem and make it right, but this requires some back-and-forth with the client to sort out the issue and come to a solution. This is usually successful, but it's hard to bat 1000 in this game. Soix, if we let you down with your DNA-225, I do apologize. I wish we could give it another shot.

Finally, I hope the takeaway from this would be to please contact us if you have any questions about my equipment or the upgrade process. Just give us a call...

I send my best to all and hope that your new year is off to a good start.

Steve McCormack

SMc Audio