New (to me) amp: McCormack DNA-125
Comments
-
I made it out of Florida alive. That's what counts the most, I guess.Man, you almost made it out alive!
-
-
Oh, I have to now
-
-
The Triple Dog Dare!
Most people just listen to music and watch movies. I EXPERIENCE them. -
Don't ever triple dog dare a guy that looks like a serial killer...
-
I keep hearing this from various people, you're gonna have to just post up a pic already.Don't ever triple dog dare a guy that looks like a serial killer...
-
I've met him......gave me the heebie-jeebies.... -
That's saying a lot from a guy that specializes in animal husbandry. -
Kerry did you order it yet?
Then you could send your current DNA-125 to SMc Audio for upgrades! -
That's saying a lot from a guy that specializes in animal husbandry.
Why do I think Russ needs to put one of these on every time he logs into this forum?
2 Channel
Polk 1.2tl's Modded with dreadnought
Musical Fidelity M6Si
North Star Intenso Dac
Auralic Aries Mini Streamer
Oppo 103
Pangea PC
Wireworld Equinox 7 interconnects
Wireworld Equinox 7 Speaker Cables and Jumpers
Backups 2.3tl, Crs+ pin/blade with stands.Monitor 5 peerless,Monitor 4 peerless,Polk R200,McCormack Dna 0.5 Deluxe McCormack Dna 1,Dared Sl 2000A,Dayens Ampino Rogue Magnum 66 pre -
That's saying a lot from a guy that specializes in animal husbandry.
Well yeah....
-
It's not on their site anymore. Someone BOUGHT IT!
-
@kharp1 was it you?!
-
Most people just listen to music and watch movies. I EXPERIENCE them.
-
@kharp1 was it you?!
No, I was seriously going to grab it and give it a listen after talking with them, but, saw a PS Audio Directstream and Memory Player that I thought I was going to buy and didn't want to tie up a grand on a test. -
oooo PS Audio! Fancy!
Probably for the best anyway. Hopefully the new owner is happy with it, or we'll see it back up on the TMR Audio site in a month.
FWIW, my new amplifier(s) don't hum at all. Literally silent... glorious.No, I was seriously going to grab it and give it a listen after talking with them, but, saw a PS Audio Directstream and Memory Player that I thought I was going to buy and didn't want to tie up a grand on a test.
-
I tried to carefully listen to the amp again, in an attempt to figure out where the hum was originating from. It does not appear to be coming from the middle front center of the unit where the power transformer is located. It was directional in the sense it seemed to be coming from the left and right sides about midway back. Maybe these things circular things that have power cords running into and out of them that are mounted to the heat sinks? Not sure what they are.
And even before the upgrades, it was a dead quiet amp.
I have an NAD 2150 I just had rebuilt with that transformer hum, and frankly it drives me nuts. The tech insists he didn't hear it when he had the amp. I would like to know what the issue is and how to fix it.
Thanks for your thoughts and for having a civil discussion with me. Regarding this particular mixer, I chose it because I've used it several times hooked up to powered monitors and I know through my own personal experience that it does not appear to color the sound.
Still, you have a point about build quality, I'm sure it was built to a budget. I've personally tried 11 different DJ mixers and could comment about each of their sound qualities. In my opinion the Tascam is extremely neutral. It does seem to have some redeeming build qualities as described in the user manual:
"The oversized power supply of the XS-8 offers plenty of headroom at the inputs and outputs.Therefore a high dynamic range and output volume is achieved, without affecting audio quality. Let's compare: Normally, standard bipolar power supply outputs are 7.5 or 9 Volt (rarely 12 Volt). An input voltage of 9 Volt must be internally spitted into +/- 4.5 Volt. In contrast, The XS-8's internal power supply outputs +/- 18 Volt which means a total 36 Volt! This difference implies a much higher audio quality with a higher output level and better dynamics."
All that being said, I'm in no way tied to using this as a preamp, it was literally just to try to give a neutral preamp/frontend so I could attempt to judge the power amp.
I can certainly hook up the Schiit Saga or even my Rane MP2014 mixer that has "Line-input to Line-output dynamic range of 113 dB (A-weighted) with vanishingly low THD+N of 0.001%"
I don't know anything about the build quality of the Tascam. I have to assume for the sake of this discussion, that a DJ mixer is not a fair comparison to a NAD integrated preamp.
In theory, I see your point. But again, for the sake of this discussion, just because it's an "all analog" design...that doesn't necessarily mean it's doing the best job of trying to maintain sonic purity as it passes through it.
I personally don't feel that taking the clean sound from your Marantz, through a DJ mixer is going to aid you in assessing the SQ of your McCormack amp.
Cables currently in use is Kimber Kable Tonik from the Marantz to the preamp and Audioquest King Cobra from the preamp to the power amp.
Becoming slightly concerned that others have said that their McCormack amps run quiet and mine has this slight hum emanating from the chassis.
Thanks for the power related upgrades that could be done, certainly worth considering.That can be a variety of things. You could have an impedance mismatch going on, a poor quality cable in the mix. That DJ mixer certainly isn't helpful.
Regarding the noise issue, something isn't right if the amp has a hum to it. These amps run quiet, and don't produce transformer hum or hiss in the tweeters. Either something is screwy with the circuit it's plugged into, or the amp itself.
A good non current limiting power conditioner could help as your in an apartment and limited to what you can do. You could also change the wall socket to a hospital grade at least, if that's possible.
Haha, I was actually thinking something similar to myself and felt like I was going crazy about not hearing the difference. I was like "Well I could save a lot of money, I'll just stick with the NAD. Might as well just sell all my fancy ICs and go back to Monoprice cables since I can't tell the difference!"
I agree that it's possible that the amp might need some upkeep. Thanks for the tip about leaving it on, I noticed it gets only slightly warm.
It's the stock power cord with a molded non-removable ground pin. I don't have access to one of those cool Pangea ones with the removable ground.I tend to agree with Tony here, there is considerable difference between the NAD sound and McCormack. No offense to anyone, but, sone people don't hear differences and you may be one of those people. I wish I was at times.
Hum could be related to a couple of things...transformer going bad, though I doubt it. I think, THINK, the McCormack uses a pretty good torroid, so I'd start looking elsewhere first, like grounding issues. Take the ground lug off the amp cord first and see if that eliminates all, or part, of the hum.
I'd just leave the McCormack on all the time, it'll draw practically nothing while idle and won't build up heat.
Hm, interesting, another experience that points to the fact that mine should be silent while powered on.
Have to agree with others here, I have two McCormack's (one is 11Steve's formerly) and both are silent running
Tony, I got it here: http://tmraudio.com/components/power-amplifiers/mccormack-dna-125-stereo-power-amplifier/Where did you buy the amp from ?
I agree that they are thermal protection relays that will activate and shut the power supply down if the amp gets too hot.. This can happen if the dc offset is to high out of balance and positive and negative sides of the transistors are not equal. i notice the DC offset and Bias adjustment with the two blue adjusters on the back of the amp at each side. -
I tried to carefully listen to the amp again, in an attempt to figure out where the hum was originating from. It does not appear to be coming from the middle front center of the unit where the power transformer is located. It was directional in the sense it seemed to be coming from the left and right sides about midway back. Maybe these things circular things that have power cords running into and out of them that are mounted to the heat sinks? Not sure what they are.And even before the upgrades, it was a dead quiet amp.
I have an NAD 2150 I just had rebuilt with that transformer hum, and frankly it drives me nuts. The tech insists he didn't hear it when he had the amp. I would like to know what the issue is and how to fix it.
Thanks for your thoughts and for having a civil discussion with me. Regarding this particular mixer, I chose it because I've used it several times hooked up to powered monitors and I know through my own personal experience that it does not appear to color the sound.
Still, you have a point about build quality, I'm sure it was built to a budget. I've personally tried 11 different DJ mixers and could comment about each of their sound qualities. In my opinion the Tascam is extremely neutral. It does seem to have some redeeming build qualities as described in the user manual:
"The oversized power supply of the XS-8 offers plenty of headroom at the inputs and outputs.Therefore a high dynamic range and output volume is achieved, without affecting audio quality. Let's compare: Normally, standard bipolar power supply outputs are 7.5 or 9 Volt (rarely 12 Volt). An input voltage of 9 Volt must be internally spitted into +/- 4.5 Volt. In contrast, The XS-8's internal power supply outputs +/- 18 Volt which means a total 36 Volt! This difference implies a much higher audio quality with a higher output level and better dynamics."
All that being said, I'm in no way tied to using this as a preamp, it was literally just to try to give a neutral preamp/frontend so I could attempt to judge the power amp.
I can certainly hook up the Schiit Saga or even my Rane MP2014 mixer that has "Line-input to Line-output dynamic range of 113 dB (A-weighted) with vanishingly low THD+N of 0.001%"
I don't know anything about the build quality of the Tascam. I have to assume for the sake of this discussion, that a DJ mixer is not a fair comparison to a NAD integrated preamp.
In theory, I see your point. But again, for the sake of this discussion, just because it's an "all analog" design...that doesn't necessarily mean it's doing the best job of trying to maintain sonic purity as it passes through it.
I personally don't feel that taking the clean sound from your Marantz, through a DJ mixer is going to aid you in assessing the SQ of your McCormack amp.
Cables currently in use is Kimber Kable Tonik from the Marantz to the preamp and Audioquest King Cobra from the preamp to the power amp.
Becoming slightly concerned that others have said that their McCormack amps run quiet and mine has this slight hum emanating from the chassis.
Thanks for the power related upgrades that could be done, certainly worth considering.That can be a variety of things. You could have an impedance mismatch going on, a poor quality cable in the mix. That DJ mixer certainly isn't helpful.
Regarding the noise issue, something isn't right if the amp has a hum to it. These amps run quiet, and don't produce transformer hum or hiss in the tweeters. Either something is screwy with the circuit it's plugged into, or the amp itself.
A good non current limiting power conditioner could help as your in an apartment and limited to what you can do. You could also change the wall socket to a hospital grade at least, if that's possible.
Haha, I was actually thinking something similar to myself and felt like I was going crazy about not hearing the difference. I was like "Well I could save a lot of money, I'll just stick with the NAD. Might as well just sell all my fancy ICs and go back to Monoprice cables since I can't tell the difference!"
I agree that it's possible that the amp might need some upkeep. Thanks for the tip about leaving it on, I noticed it gets only slightly warm.
It's the stock power cord with a molded non-removable ground pin. I don't have access to one of those cool Pangea ones with the removable ground.I tend to agree with Tony here, there is considerable difference between the NAD sound and McCormack. No offense to anyone, but, sone people don't hear differences and you may be one of those people. I wish I was at times.
Hum could be related to a couple of things...transformer going bad, though I doubt it. I think, THINK, the McCormack uses a pretty good torroid, so I'd start looking elsewhere first, like grounding issues. Take the ground lug off the amp cord first and see if that eliminates all, or part, of the hum.
I'd just leave the McCormack on all the time, it'll draw practically nothing while idle and won't build up heat.
Hm, interesting, another experience that points to the fact that mine should be silent while powered on.Have to agree with others here, I have two McCormack's (one is 11Steve's formerly) and both are silent running
Tony, I got it here: http://tmraudio.com/components/power-amplifiers/mccormack-dna-125-stereo-power-amplifier/Where did you buy the amp from ?
I agree that they are thermal protection relays that will activate and shut the power supply down if the amp gets too hot.. This can happen if the dc offset is to high out of balance and positive and negative sides of the transistors are not equal. i notice the DC offset and Bias adjustment with the two blue adjusters on the back of the amp at each side.
if you have very sensitive speakers a little hiss can be normal. I have the Mc Cormac DNA125 and it hums slightly when my ear is right against the case. Sounds like normal amount of transformer hum to me. In fact compared to some Naim stuff a lot less. My speakers are silent though.. They are Magnepan LRS with a REL X7 Sub. Which by the way the McCormac sounds great using the High Outputs from the sub.There is a hum originating from the actual amplifier itself when it is powered on.
There is a slight white noise/hiss originating from the tweeters of the speakers when the amplifier is powered on.motorhead43026 wrote: »I am missing something here. Is it a hum through the speakers or a hum from the actual transformer? -
I wonder if giving the transformer a fresh bath of tarnish/shellac would have helped. I have a DNA-125 that runs quiet, but then a 225 will the hum ailment."This may not matter to you, but it does to me for various reasons, many of them illogical or irrational, but the vinyl hobby is not really logical or rational..." - member on Vinyl Engine
"Sometimes I do what I want to do. The rest of the time, I do what I have to." - Cicero, in Gladiator
Regarding collectibles: "It's not who gets it. It's who gets stuck with it." - Jimmy Fallon -
I wonder if giving the transformer a fresh bath of tarnish/shellac would have helped. I have a DNA-125 that runs quiet, but then a 225 will the hum ailment.
I've seen the same with the Carver TFM transformers. Some really hum on start up but then dissipate. Others do have a slight hum but never above barely noticeable. You got to get pretty close to a tweeter to notice. -
Why not send it to McCormack and have a going over.
One of the reasons I buy preowned gear.
Allows me a cushion just in case. -
Cool post bro, welcome to 5 years ago.
-
I called SMc Audio awhile back regarding the hum in my DNA-225, and had a long conversation with a helpful guy named Patrick(?). He gave me all kinds of things to try before resorting to sending in my unit for servicing. Nothing worked, and I still have the amp...really need to do something with it."This may not matter to you, but it does to me for various reasons, many of them illogical or irrational, but the vinyl hobby is not really logical or rational..." - member on Vinyl Engine
"Sometimes I do what I want to do. The rest of the time, I do what I have to." - Cicero, in Gladiator
Regarding collectibles: "It's not who gets it. It's who gets stuck with it." - Jimmy Fallon -
I called SMc Audio awhile back regarding the hum in my DNA-225, and had a long conversation with a helpful guy named Patrick(?). He gave me all kinds of things to try before resorting to sending in my unit for servicing. Nothing worked, and I still have the amp...really need to do something with it.
Try the for sale section, you never know. -
Sucks to hear the hum's still there. That would bother me a ship-ton and I would need it gone.
That should be dead quiet. McCormack builds great amps.
https://youtu.be/jxjk9ooCmPI
