Buckeye 3 Channel Purifi Amp Review

[Buckeye Amps]

I don't mind the criticism on looks. I've said and maintained from day one: if cosmetics are important to you, my offerings are not for you.

WAF is a priority for some. Same reason some people will pay x amount for a great looking sub vs. y amount for something like a PSA or Rythmik that performs just as good or better.

 

[PeteL]

I hope to live to a time where audio boxes would not be considered aesthetically, and considered more like every house light switches. Just a device that works and no one cares how it looks like. Industry is moving into that direction bit by bit…

As long as you have a way to hide it.

 

[TimF]

I think I could live with that rise in distortion, but could not live with such ugliness.

You likely would prefer one more banana shaped.

 

[Chrispy]

I voted great in any case, knowing the quality of the modules and Dylan's promise to correct. I hope the correction is economically viable for him. I was considering my next (if any) amps to be possibly Buckeye and they definitely stay as a top contender for me.

 

[xaxxon]

Well it looks like garage DIY and definitely not as $1.5k product should. Voted for POOR.
Peachtree amp is right next to it to compare

Am I reading it wrong? The peachtree distortion looks just as bad, albeit in a different shape. At 1 watt it's almost 20db worse. And of course that's only 2-channel.

And the peachtree isn't going to get that performance fixed.

 

[AndreaT]

I am the happy owner of a two channel Hypex based (252MP I believe) Buckeye. I played it for the past 2 yrs in a secondary system of my home. Flawless performance. I am relieved it will not be part of a recall. Innovators do run into occasional mishaps, each one of them. I believe it speaks volumes to the honesty and glasnost of ASR and Dylan that so much has been discussed in the posts. It seems the buffer design/implementation might be the culprit of the rise in distortion past 10 W. I am curious to learn more, and my support for Buckeye has improved observing how the problem has been handled so far.

 

[EJ3]

Some of us don't place a high priority on cosmetics, but on value. I don't look at my equipment-I listen to what it produces.

What AMIRM wrote about the case on my NAD 2200 he reviewed (and I feel as you do, although, if it must be seen, then, to fit my wife's WAF, it must at least be clean & neat): "No, you don't get a fancy case here and sheet metal is strictly budget category. But you are not going to sit on the amp. The guts are where it matters and NAD 2200 delivers".

 

[TonyJZX]

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i think that for the money, no one can really have a go at how NAD has done their construction on this unit... its no better or worse than anyone at even twice the price

 

[Sokel]

Am I reading it wrong? The peachtree distortion looks just as bad, albeit in a different shape. At 1 watt it's almost 20db worse. And of course that's only 2-channel.

And the peachtree isn't going to get that performance fixed.

Although not comparable as the peachtree has way more power,at 50 watts Buckeye is already worst and things don't get nicer going up.
(note that peachtree also suffers by it's "audiophile" buffer just not as much as this one).

Also module's price is about half if we want to talk honesty.
(I wouldn't advise someone to get the peachtree of course,there are others with 1200as2 costing way less)

 

[Anthony T]

I don’t think I miss understood. Here is the post where the expression is clearly referred to the NAIM case.

DJSR’s post stated amplifiers, not NAP 250 specifically, you introduced that caveat and run with it. I posted a picture showing differences in casework flimsiness and you again ignored that. Enjoy your little fit of pique, you look fab!

 

[PeteL]

I hope to live to a time where audio boxes would not be considered aesthetically, and considered more like every house light switches. Just a device that works and no one cares how it looks like. Industry is moving into that direction bit by bit…

At the same time, not sure it’s a good exemple. Light switches are flush mounted to the wall, with it’s gut enclosed in it, all the wiring from and to it are hidden inside the wall, so I would not say tha « no one cares what It looks like ». Indeed some of the audio industry is heading there but not this. When someone is as dedicated in going that route for audio equipment, Well he has a lot of money to spend and he certainly care how it looks like.

 

[Feyire]

Finally, here is the new power on/off noise test:
View attachment 251915

There is no pop on noise. There is one while turning off but levels are 0.5 millivolts which should not be an issue. While on, there is a regular pattern of noise. Wonder if it is due to internal microprocessor timer or something like it. Above is with 45 kHz bandwidth by the way. It goes down with 22 kHz.

Is this the "switching noise" that some people claim to be able to hear when the amplifier is idle and they put their ear directly up to their speaker's tweeter?

@restorer-john, any insights on this?

 

[Multicore]

Some of us don't place a high priority on cosmetics, but on value. I don't look at my equipment-I listen to what it produces.

I'm even worse. I get embarrassed by gear that looks like it's trying to look like fancy, audiophile HiFi. Guilt by association. I was pleased in August to get rid of the Musical Fidelity amp and replace it with our new Buckeye, with its Heathkit-power-supply looks. We use it every day and ... it works.

 

[Bachemar]

At the same time, not sure it’s a good exemple. Light switches are flush mounted to the wall, with it’s gut enclosed in it, all the wiring from and to it are hidden inside the wall, so I would not say tha « no one cares what It looks like ». Indeed some of the audio industry is heading there but not this. When someone is as dedicated in going that route for audio equipment, Well he has a lot of money to spend and he certainly care how it looks like.

I think, that’s exactly the point. Right now the audio industry is largely a “fashion” industry in disguise. It’s Audio Jewelry and prices are mostly determined by looks, and not performance.

As we move into a world of SOTA being available in powered (even wireless) speakers, desktop/dongle dacs, streaming boxes able to decode HT audio formats, and music streaming driven from the phone (Roon etc) there’s no reason for any audio equipment to be visible except for the speakers - and still be an Audiophile/state of the art system.

If we can shrink the receiver/processor down to an hdmi -> multi channel digital audio interface - we’re almost already there from a technical standpoint

 

[pablolie]

I do like a nice industrial design and built quality, but it must stay functional. There's a lot of over-designed stuff out there, which looks silly, distracts and in several cases hampers operation when it goes form over function. I l rated it "fine" given the fact the measurements don't look horrible to me, but also because this manufacturer has the guts to post in this forum and promises to deliver on the full promise of Purifi performance - that shows the commitment to customers that many high end brands in audio sadly lack: they are quick to claim user error/idiocy...

 

[dscottj]

My wife and daughter are garbage loving chaos goblins who collect tchotchkes in a way that is definitely not hoarding we do not hoard how dare you say that to us. It's sitting behind a group of cat-related nicknacks 2 rows deep. If you didn't know what it was you'd assume it was a stand I set my prepro on to boost it so the remote would work.

I appreciate if the component is pretty, but I'll go for performance over looks every. single. time.

 

[AudioKC]

At the same time, not sure it’s a good exemple. Light switches are flush mounted to the wall, with it’s gut enclosed in it, all the wiring from and to it are hidden inside the wall, so I would not say tha « no one cares what It looks like ». Indeed some of the audio industry is heading there but not this. When someone is as dedicated in going that route for audio equipment, Well he has a lot of money to spend and he certainly care how it looks like.

Point is that in houses for 10M and houses for 100K in the US light switches commonly the same. Ugly and functional. No-one cares how it looks like.

 

[AudioKC]

Well it looks like garage DIY and definitely not as $1.5k product should. Voted for POOR.
Peachtree amp is right next to it to compare

Did you do your homework? One module price on the market. x3 that price and you got already over 1K.

These types of amps sold not for aesthetic, but rather for measurements and performance.

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[bkatbamna]

As with everything else, people can make a choice as far as looks. When I was in college, my 15th floor dorm overlooked Lake Michigan. We had a dorm length window overlooking the lake and for maybe a week, it was a novelty and the other people that lived in our dorm suite would come over and look out of the window on to the lake. After a month, even I stopped looking and it was just something that was there.

 

[xaxxon]

Although not comparable as the peachtree has way more power,at 50 watts Buckeye is already worst and things don't get nicer going up.
(note that peachtree also suffers by it's "audiophile" buffer just not as much as this one).

Also module's price is about half if we want to talk honesty.
(I wouldn't advise someone to get the peachtree of course,there are others with 1200as2 costing way less)

My point was that the peachtree isn't somehow a shining example of how to do it right.

And, as I said, the peachtree isn't getting fixed. They're "proud" of that performance.