SMC audio gear

[CKKeung]

For those interested in Steve's newest mods and conversion to monoblocks (as well as custom finishes)...I did a video that may be helpful.

Hi speshal,
May we know the approximate price of a pair of these 500W monoblocks?
Thanks!

 

[speshal]

Hi speshal,
May we know the approximate price of a pair of these 500W monoblocks?
Thanks!

Roughly $7k all-in with aesthetic modifications. This includes purchasing used McCormack amps to use as the skeleton for the mono rebuilds.

If you have any other questions, just let me know. I have another friend doing the same thing right now with a pair of DNA1 and getting a preamp too.

 

[Joe Whip]

Not bad at all really, for what you get. My amp cost around $1,500 I think new in the early 90’s. I still have the receipt to check as I am writing an article for AS on it. The two upgrades cost in total about $2,700, not including the shipping. Worth every penny.

 

[speshal]

If he did the normal distributor/dealer route and used the same mark-ups %, these amps would be no less than $20k... Likely much more as I showed in the video compared to a reputable $20k amp that had a fraction of the parts cost and power.

 

[wcheng]

I had a used Mccormack dna-.5 upgraded to smc's latest and greatest with the gravity base earlier this year and am enjoying it immensely. A fantastic balance between detail and warmth. Smc's customer service is also second to none. These amps and upgrades are a huge bargain in today's marketplace.

 

[Joe Whip]

Another happy customer. If I can find one of the old pre amps used for a couple hundred, I will have that done too, just to have a backup.

 

[speshal]

Those following this thread may be interested in a video interview I recently did with Steve McCormack.

This is only part 1, but it was an hour long interview (subsequent parts to follow so subscribe on YT if you want to get notified).

We discuss everything from his beginnings at Jonas Miller Sound in Beverly Hills to his amps/preamps/tip toes invention, power distribution, a brand new vibration control product, and even a prototype for his new amp line.

If you think he's been retired or slowing down, think again. He's been busier than ever despite staying out of the limelight.

This new amp line should be killer. I've seen the pics. A long time customer gave him carte-blanche to create a cost-no-object amplifier from the ground up...no mods to existing amps. This endeavor will result in his new amp line that will be offered to the public and most certainly be applicable to "what's best".

Don't want to give away too much, but they will be north of $50k (depending on options) and feature 4 chassis monoblocks (separate power supplies). Pure silver transformers and other exotic internals are on the option list and the new chassis design is phenomenal...right up their with the best of the best in terms of aesthetics.

 

[LL21]

Very interesting! I have spoken recently with Steve about his business...was looking at his Flexconnect which is highly regarded by Gary Koh and a few other members here. I went a different direction but completely unrelated to his Flexconnect. Meanwhile, I discovered a long-standing name in audio who is responsive, knowledgeable and gracious with his time. It will be very interesting to hear more about this all-out-assault mono, 4-box amp.

 

[speshal]

Very interesting! I have spoken recently with Steve about his business...was looking at his Flexconnect which is highly regarded by Gary Koh and a few other members here. I went a different direction but completely unrelated to his Flexconnect. Meanwhile, I discovered a long-standing name in audio who is responsive, knowledgeable and gracious with his time. It will be very interesting to hear more about this all-out-assault mono, 4-box amp.

Thanks for the feedback. You'll definitely appreciate the rest of the interview. It's over an hour long and I broke it into 6 parts. If you subscribe to the channel, you should get notified of the latest episode in the series, but I'll basically upload every 3 days as I edit.

In the other parts...we cover his new amps that nobody has seen yet, so many will like that part. They look amazing and the internal parts embarrass many of the mega dollar amps right now (i.e. pure silver transformers, 4 chassis monos, etc).

We also covered his existing amp mods...especially his latest mod which has trumped all previous mods...his preamps...power conditioning...and also a brand new vibration control product.

Remember...he was the one that started it all in vibration control products with Tip Toes 30 years ago, so it's interesting that he is redefining vibration control once again with this unique product.

 

[Joe Whip]

In case you are interested....

https://audiophilestyle.com/ca/reviews/smc-audio-mccormack-dna-1-upgrade-experience-r948/

 

[LL21]

Looking forward to reading more about it. Thanks for taking the time!

 

[speshal]

Just released part 2 of the video interview with Steve. This one focuses on his preamp designs from all the way back in the 80s until now. It's fascinating to hear the evolution of his designs and experience with both active and passive preamps.

I think many people don't even know he's doing cost-no-object preamps currently that include Panzerholz chassis, silver transformers and other things that make the internals of comparably priced preamps look cheap.

For those interested in the other parts, I will release 1 every 3 days. You can subscribe and click the bell to get notifications, but if you don't use YouTube much, here is a breakout of the parts of the interview and topics.

Part 1 - Steve's background and experience prior to building his own gear (released)
Part 2 - Steve's endeavors with preamps from the 1980s to present day (released)
Part 3 - Steve's amplifier building history as well as modification services to keep legacy designs SOTA (release date 10-9-20)
Part 4 - Steve's newest latest mods and brand new amplifier line for cost-no-object customers (release date 10-12-20)
Part 5 - Discussion on power delivery and power conditioners as well as his power distributor and grounding (release date 10-15-20)
Part 6 - Vibration control including his latest UFO product - the first vibration control product he's released since inventing the tweak with Tip Toes. (release date 10-18-20)

I'll try to remember and post links here for those that don't use YouTube much.

 

[speshal]

Part 3 for those interested...we discuss his more well known legacy amps and the modification/upgrade process. I can't emphasize enough how much more fun and "highend" it is to have something customized to your needs/budget and working with the head designer directly...versus...buying a premade product off an assembly line with dealer/distributor markup added on top.

 

[speshal]

In part 4 of my interview, Steve shares pics almost nobody has seen of the new designs and how this new endeavor transpired.

We also talk about his latest mod to legacy DNA amps that trumps virtually all of his previous modifications. Long-time customers of his mods will definitely find this video interesting.

Lots of fun anecdotal stories...including working with David Berning and Rick Brown of HIFIOne...which led to his latest mods.

 

[speshal]

In part 5, we cover power delivery and his power distributor which is next on my list to try.

 

[speshal]

Here's the final video of the interview with Steve...some interesting thoughts on vibration control from the guy who created this tweak many years ago.

Stay tuned for my next video which I just filmed yesterday about the installation of a half million dollar system - MBL Extremes.

 

[Joe Whip]

Enjoyed the videos. Thanks.

 

[speshal]

Just did a video with Steve and one of his customers (a good friend of mine) who just received a custom pair of monos from SMcAudio.

These weren't totally "cost-no-object", but it was a very healthy budget that allowed Steve to apply whatever was needed for optimal performance.

Even the aesthetics were custom tailored to match the speakers - MBL 101e.

Steve claims are these are the best amplifiers he's done to-date, and my friend seems to agree as far as benchmarking them with what he's heard.

Btw..as alluded to in the video... Steve does have a $100k build in the pipeline where things are truly cost-no-object and would retail well north of $200k in a typical distributor/dealer model.

I'll try to get info on that as it progresses and completes.

 

[Thieliste]

Just did a video with Steve and one of his customers (a good friend of mine) who just received a custom pair of monos from SMcAudio.

These weren't totally "cost-no-object", but it was a very healthy budget that allowed Steve to apply whatever was needed for optimal performance.

Even the aesthetics were custom tailored to match the speakers - MBL 101e.

Steve claims are these are the best amplifiers he's done to-date, and my friend seems to agree as far as benchmarking them with what he's heard.

Btw..as alluded to in the video... Steve does have a $100k build in the pipeline where things are truly cost-no-object and would retail well north of $200k in a typical distributor/dealer model.

I'll try to get info on that as it progresses and completes.

Is it possible to know the price of Doug's monos ?

 

[speshal]

Is it possible to know the price of Doug's monos ?

I don't know exactly. He made a deal that included a custom preamp too which has just been completed. I'll have a video soon.

It was very reasonable for the performance and customization... Well less than dealer and distributor markup pricing.

If you call Steve directly I'm sure he will tell you.