Is the McCormack DNA .5 that great?

There are a lot of proud owners of these amps (myself included, so caveat emptor). Here's some opinionated facts about them:
- They are very competitive with amps costing 2-3x more.
- They mate well with most preamp types, tubes, SS and passive - and so integrate will with most existing systems.
- They have enought drive to power most speakers (100W into 8 ohms, 200 W into 4 ohms).
- They operate for the first few watts in class A (A-B thereafter), which is where you do 95% of your listening, so sound very smooth and unstrained.
- They are upgradeable by Steve McCormack himself. These mods can bring the amp to new levels of performance which very few products can beat. That's the real bang for the buck.
- Steve mates the science of amp design (layout, design, etc.) with the art (parts selection and voicing) better than most.
- The service and reputation are great.
- You can get one used for about $500-600 and get it upgraded later - or buy a Rev A already done and never need another amp again, unless you need to go tubed.

I'm tying to be honest and avoid the over-hype that you've seen elsewhere. Yes, they are very good amps that can be modded to be very great amps. The best ... what does that mean anyway?

Enjoy,
Bob

I used to own a DNA 0.5 and thought very highly of it. The only reason that I sold it was due to getting more into tube amps. Aside from that, IMO the DNA 0.5 is very hard to beat in the sub $2K price range. It had bettered every other SS amp that I had heard in the sub $2K range. I really enjoyed the one that I used to have and would highly recommend buying one, if you're looking for a goood SS amp.

I used to own a .5 and a DNA-1. I thought the .5 was a great little amp. However, I think there are better amps out there. For instance, I would recommend a Pass X-150 over the .5 or the DNA 1. Having said that, if you can get one for 500-600 on Audiogion, I think that is a good deal. I would note, however, that the .5 has some limitations. For example, you will not have a balanced connection option which for me is pretty important.

Good luck.