With amplifiers, new is not always better, particularly when comparing to Class D. I would be curious about how many of the folks saying "sell" have owned McCormack gear, and particularly how many have owned his amplifiers with full SMc upgrades.
I have a DNA-2 LAE with SMc Signature upgrades and it sounds great. I chose to keep that amplifier over a pair of Ncore, NC1200 monos. I also own a pair of high-powered conventional Class A monoblocks that are in my main system. I like the Class A amps better than the McCormack/SMc amp but both sound good. I believe there is a picture of the DNA-2 on my system page and the work quality is exceptional. You would be hard-pressed to find that quality in an amplifier today under for $10K or even much more. BTW, more than most other manufacturers, Steve has a history on his gear and he is very aware of which parts are at risk of degrading or wearing out and he will address any of those issues during the upgrade. If you like the sound of the amp now, the upgrades will improve on that. The sound will still be similar (i.e., it will not be a totally different sounding amp) but it will be more refined, with improvements in tone, treble smoothness, and maybe dimensionality, among others. BTW, I have also owned the DNA-500 and it is a very nice amplifier.
I have a DNA-2 LAE with SMc Signature upgrades and it sounds great. I chose to keep that amplifier over a pair of Ncore, NC1200 monos. I also own a pair of high-powered conventional Class A monoblocks that are in my main system. I like the Class A amps better than the McCormack/SMc amp but both sound good. I believe there is a picture of the DNA-2 on my system page and the work quality is exceptional. You would be hard-pressed to find that quality in an amplifier today under for $10K or even much more. BTW, more than most other manufacturers, Steve has a history on his gear and he is very aware of which parts are at risk of degrading or wearing out and he will address any of those issues during the upgrade. If you like the sound of the amp now, the upgrades will improve on that. The sound will still be similar (i.e., it will not be a totally different sounding amp) but it will be more refined, with improvements in tone, treble smoothness, and maybe dimensionality, among others. BTW, I have also owned the DNA-500 and it is a very nice amplifier.