Comparing MA-6900 to the DK Design VS-1 MkII. . .

Mike, You're biased ; ) The DK may be a good amp and it may be equal to or better than the MA6900, I've never heard it, but it's hard to compete against the legacy of Mcintosh if you're drawn to Mcintosh in the first place. The Dk may draw people in for its sound quality especially for its price, but the Mcintosh will draw people in for sound quality and many others reasons too incuding its extensive feature list and styling.

hi bud,very true in the fact that i am biased but only to a point & not to a fault,ill explain.

most people tend to speak of what they know & my comments were no different.

when this amp is being compared to SET amps SET owners speak of what they know to be a quality of most SET amps that will be hard to match.

i have zero knowledge about SET amps so i cant speak about those comparisons but i have a vast knowledge about mac gear being that ive tried about 70% of that manufacturers product line from all build periods in my home.

i wasnt comparing the sound between the 2 different units & the DK amp might very well be better in that area & i will never know about that comparison unless i have it in my home to try out & the look of the gear being compared is subject to personal preferences.

my coments were not soley based on MCINTOSH gear but were generalized about comparing a new product with equipment that has proven durable & lasting over the course of many decades.

i could of went further with my examples of gear that is built to last a life time & has proven itself to do just that but the amp wasnt being compared to any other gear & my personal knowledge of other gear is very small but i know mcintosh gear in & out.

the one & only point that i was trying to make was that the durability factor really needs to come into play at some point here dosent it?

i wish the best of luck to DK design & i truly hope that they have designed a fantastic sounding product that will last a life time but more needs to be proved here other than just good sound & low pricing.

please keep in mind that my comments were based SOLEY on durability & not sound or looks.

mike.

Mike:

I think you're confusing "Build Quality" with longevity. The McIntosh is superbly built gear, and probably one of the best in the business on build quality. I HAVE heard the DK, and I have popped the top. I can tell you that the build quality on the DK is equal to the best I have seen. It's not as chunky as a McIntosh in terms of 3/4 faceplate and all, but it's built as good as anything coming out of Levinson's doors.

As far as longevity though, no one really knows, and probably no one will ever be able to take that from McIntosh.

Even though this thread has gone "cold," let me say that I had a DK VS-1 Mk II in house for about 3 weeks and then a Mac 6900 for about 5 days but not at the same time.

Based on sound alone, I was way more interested in the Mac than the DK...and by a wide margin. My DK sample could have been sub-standard with possibly something wrong with it, but I was completely disappointed in its performance. The Mac has some redeeming qualities in its sound and basically got most things right but still did not have enough going for it for me to give up my separates.

Kalan, when you say that your sample could have been sub-standard or that something may have been wrong with it, what do you mean by that?