Perhaps I am one of those the original poster was thinking of when he mentioned those who hype the McCormack amps.
Keep in mind that in the case of McCormack DNA-x model amps, because of Steve McCormack's revisions to these amps, one must look at their potential performance benefits as well as their actual.
I can only say that of the 6 or so amps I've owned as well as any system I've ever listened to elsewhere, none of those even comes close to the DNA-2 Revision A amp. And that includes my previous DNA-2 LAE amp which was rated by Peter Moncrief of IAR as the best solid state amp and by a wide margin a few years ago.
Of course there are other amps that are just as good or better than the DNA-2 Rev. A, but I will speculate that it is only but a few.
The DNA-2 Revision A is simply unlike any tube or solid-state amp I've ever heard. It's actually like the very best of both.
Last summer a columnist/reviewer who also attends numerous shows in Canada and the US came to my home to evaluate my system. Since some of his comments during and immediately after the listening session might be interpreted as 'hype', I'll just quote his shortest comment: "This amp is a keeper!"
And his last email prior to his arrival stated that he would stay for a maximum of 2 hours of which I paid him for his time. However he ended up staying for 3 hours. The 3rd hour I did not pay for.
Oh, and the well-respected individual I bought this amp from here on Agon, replaced the DNA-2 Rev. A with one DNA 0.5 Rev. A Gold simply because he did not need this kind of power for his highly rated Vandersteen Model 5 speakers which have their own built-in woofer amp. And he wanted a smaller lighter amp. Also, he stated that the DNA 0.5 Rev A Gold sonics were near identical to the DNA-2 Rev A except for the power differences.
There! How's that for hype? And I could have said a lot more.
-IMO
