2. amps-preamps
  3. 1164600285

How hot should a McCormack DNA-225 get?

I recently picked up a 6 year old one that was just factory checked. The heat sinks get pretty hot with no signal, and with music at moderate levels (feeding Infinity 8 Kappas, nominally 6 ohms) for half an hour, get almost too hot to touch! I'll call the factory and ask, but thought a voice of user experience could be more "honest." It is on a bottom shelf of a cabinet with open front and large openings in the back. At the time nothing was above it (over 2 feet of air.) The DNA-225 is replacing my 20 year old Adcom GFA-555 which would only get "hot" after a good while of cranking out some tunes.

Also, in a different room, the amp is tripping a 15-amp circuit breaker at turn on. Nothing else is on at the time. The original location may have been on a 20-amp circuit, I'll have to check.

Both these things make me wonder if the factory missed something. Ticket said they just biased some transistors. Any owner expeiences would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Mike
kartracer
stevemcx
159 posts
 
Why not? Because they add cost and complexity, and I did not feel it was necessary in the DNA-225. Larger amplifiers like the DNA-500 are a different story, and it definitely must have a soft start circuit.

Best regards,

Steve McCormack
wshuang
15 posts
 
Is DNA-500 hotter than DNA-225? Think upgrade to a DNA-500. I have a DNA-1 deluxe and it is never hot.

Thanks.
anthuan
20 posts
 
I ran my DNA500 with a pair of Andra's for extended period of time, say 8 hours and maybe more during break-in period. The amp was out in the open on a decicated amp stand without any heating issues (In fact, I was surprised how cool (temp) it was). Thank you Steve McCormack for chiving in on nearly every email, if not all. You can always count on him to participate. Simply awsome knowing that your desinger is always there to help answer your questions.
Thanks,
Anthuan
4yanx
1,576 posts
 
I'll second that, you won't find better service anywhere than Steve's. Period. And to think that this is a McCormack of Virginia product (owned by Conrad Johnson) and Steve could just defer all issues to them.

My DNA-225 runs warm, but never what I'd call hot. Such was the case before and after I had Platinum upgrades installed. As an aside, even more than replacing the 15amp breaker - try to run your 225 on a dedicated circuit, if possible. It is worth the effort.
stevemcx
159 posts
 
Under equal conditions, the DNA-500 will run cooler than the DNA-225 simply because it has a *lot* more heatsink surface area. Many DNA-500 owners have commented that it only gets warm - never hot.

SM
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