Don’t buy used McCormack DNA 1990s amps
This is a public service announcement. There are some yahoos on other sites selling 1990s McCormack DNA amps, sometimes at ridiculous prices. While they’re great amps, and I happily owned a DNA 0.5 RevA for 20 years, they’re all gonna fatally fail. Why? Because their input board is at the end of its useful life, and when it fails your amp is dead and not repairable by anyone — not even SMcAudio. It’s a boat anchor. The only option is to sell it for scraps or get an SMcAudio upgrade that’ll cost around $2000. Given my love of my amp I chose to do full upgrades given what else I could’ve gotten for the same same price and just got it back and will forward thoughts if anyone cares. But the purpose of this post is to warn off any prospective buyers of a circa 1990s DNA amp that it’ll fatally fail soon, so unless you get a great price and plan on doing the SMcAudio upgrades just avoid these amps on the used market. You’ve been warned.
@stevemcx You guys recently upgraded my DNA 0.5 and did not let me down in any way whatsoever — not sure who the unhappy DNA 225 is but definitely not me. I was surprised to learn the input board hasn’t been an issue with the DNA 0.5 and was under the impression that was an issue with virtually all your amps from the 1990s era. I’m honestly a bit confused here. |
Sorry Soix - my mistake. It was someone else who was dissatisfied with his DNA-225 upgrade. I still wish we could have another go at sorting that out for him. The original DNA amps all date to the '90s, with a few final pieces of the DNA-1 and 0.5 being built in the Virginia factory after the company was purchased by the Conrad-Johnson Design Group. All of those products are well-aged at this point (somewhat like myself) and showing some age-related problems (somewhat like myself). But the DNA-1 circuit board was the main issue, with weakness in the through-hole plating that often created intermittent problems - truly frustrating to service. This is what prompted me to design the new-and-improved main board. Patrick has corrected me about the DNA-1 not being the ONLY problematic board, as we have seen similar failures in the DNA-0.5 in recent years. Still, the DNA-1 main board was the more difficult problem. The end result is the same - all upgrade work on these amps starts with the new circuit board, and this gives these amps a new lease on life. To be clear, you are correct - working on any of the '90s era products can be difficult because of the risk of heat damage causing de-lamination of the pads and traces. A good technician can minimize the risk and repair the damage, but switching to a new board eliminates these issues. I'm glad to know that you are enjoying your upgraded DNA-0.5 - do let us know if you have any questions or need anything further.
Steve McCormack |
@stevemcx Just to confirm, do the DNA-1 and the DNA-1 DELUXE share the same boards? Thanks for all your info on this!
db |
Bummer; I had been in vague discussions with Patrick regarding upgrading my DNA500. Never really got any specific prices. Probably mostly my fault for not pursuing. Anybody know of anyone else doing work on these amps. Maybe it's better to move on to another brand like Pass Labs etc. that's currently in production. Love the DNA500. Still sounds great. I have it paired with CJ Gat. Good match. Has not given me any trouble. Leave it on all the time as the relay switch is sketchy.
|
Photodusty - Yes, the circuit boards are the same in the DNA-1 Standard & Deluxe. The difference was in the higher-performance / more-expensive parts used in key circuit locations in the Deluxe model. This included resistors, capacitors, diodes, wire, and connectors.
The new main board I designed as a replacement upgrade (called the "R3 board") fits both the DNA-1 & DNA-0.5 amps.
Pereza - I'm glad to hear that you're enjoying your DNA-500 - it's a fine amp. The reason we don't offer upgrades for it any more has nothing to do with its circuit boards or any reliability issue - it's just so big and heavy that it becomes a major pain to work on and thus costs a lot more than we feel makes sense. I hope you will continue to enjoy it.
Steve McCormack |
