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Buckeye Amps: New US based Hypex multichannel amplifier builder, line-up announcement!

I have NC 502 for my surround and rears, plus NC 252 for atmos heights, that probably need to be upgraded to 502s.

I am looking to replace my LCR 3 channel amp. What are the differences between 3 ch Purifi, 3 ch x500 or 4 ch 502 ?

Thanks,
The Purifi and the NCx500 have a better SNR and lower distortion, along with the NCx500 being better positioned for difficult to drive speakers (4ohm and under).

But audibly for a home theater setup, there is a high chance you would not hear a difference between the three different amps.
 
The first Anodizing with the Clear option, which is essentially the bare aluminum color (the base is Bronze)
 

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The first Anodizing with the Clear option, which is essentially the bare aluminum color (the base is Bronze)
I received this amplifier today. The fit and finish are excellent. There is a depth to the anodized finish that these pictures do not fully reveal. Thank you for offering the option of a 'bespoke' Buckeye Amplifier.

edit: If I detach the power cable, this 2-channel Hypex NC502MP amplifier weighs 5 pounds 5 ounces on my kitchen scale. I like this.
 
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I received this amplifier today. The fit and finish are excellent. There is a depth to the anodized finish that these pictures do not fully reveal. Thank you for offering the option of a 'bespoke' Buckeye Amplifier.
Did you get one of the custom finishes? If so what finish?
 
Did you get one of the custom finishes? If so what finish?
Anodized Clear top panel over Anodized Bronze bottom panel - as pictured in post # 2,185
 
The first Anodizing with the Clear option, which is essentially the bare aluminum color (the base is Bronze)
Looks VERY nice! I just watched a long interview with you on YouTube and you mentioned how you are coming up with an option to improve the cosmetics for those people who aren’t hiding their amps away in a rack. (I don’t find the amps unattractive at all, regardless.) I was thinking that it would not be very complicated to have a thick aluminum (or other metal) faceplate machined that would screw through the front of the standard enclosures—like how Conrad-Johnson does it—and then offer the faceplate as a purely cosmetic option for additional cost. I think Sutherland does something similar, too. The Buckeye Amps logo could look pretty snazzy engraved into metal. Anyway, even if the cost would be substantial given the limited run you would be ordering, I am sure it would not be a deterrent to those select few who are that concerned about cosmetics!
 
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So getting ready to order up some Buckeye amps. Knowing the formerly recommended Monoprice RCA-XLR cables are not wired correctly (google "Hypex Pin 1 Legacy Pin Problem pdf"), the search began for a proper/cost effective cable (without having to resort to DIYing them).

I searched Amazon all morning, and their offerings either had no pinout diagram at all, or they are miswired to interconnect the chassis of both devices through shield AND to the audio signal (which in turn introduces the entirely unavoidable possibility of unnecessary hum/noise).

Luckily I stumbled upon these. They are wired correctly (meeting the Hypex white paper pinout), and priced reasonably (note shipping is an unknown at this time as I have not ordered yet, nor is it known if the actual cables are built to diagram spec):

Only one way to find out I guess....
 
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I never noticed Ghent made cables as well.

He is an easy person to work with so feel free to drop him an email to confirm what you need, etc.
 
@rvsixer I ordered mine from Design a Cable UK and specified the build as Hypex instructed, but if I understood correctly, they already wire it this way as default ("we use a 2 core and screen cable, and wire the unused pin inside the XLR to the ground inside the jack").


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@rvsixer I ordered mine from Design a Cable UK and specified the build as Hypex instructed, but if I understood correctly, they already wire it this way as default ("we use a 2 core and screen cable, and wire the unused pin inside the XLR to the ground inside the jack").

Thanks for that link. I did see that manufacturer, but if I understand the description correctly they tie pin 1 back to the XLR ground case...which is exactly counter to preventing the possible noise/hum issue in ill designed inputs by tying ground to the audio signal (see the likely copyrighted article I referenced in my previous post). Also no description of the RCA end of things (or a diagram of any sort).
 
Thanks for that link. I did see that manufacturer, but if I understand the description correctly they tie pin 1 back to the XLR ground case...which is exactly counter to preventing the possible noise/hum issue in ill designed inputs by tying ground to the audio signal (see the likely copyrighted article I referenced in my previous post).
I sent them the Hypex image by e-mail and asked to be wired that way. After all it is "design a cable - custom shop", right? :) Never had hum from my AVR to my NCoreMPs.
 
Have used ‘Design a cable’ for a number of cables and always had good quality and speedy service.
Yes. Too bad the description of their RCA-XLR cable does not appear to be wired in a way that avoids all legacy pin 1 issues, and the cost is about double of Ghent's properly wired cable.
 
Even in the case of the Monoprice cables being wired incorrectly sometimes, whether it will cause an audible issue is a crap shoot.

For those who know they have a ground loop issue and are getting new cables, I would absolutely positively recommend getting a cable built to exact spec.

For those who have never had a ground loop issue and just want to try whatever cable might work, if you don’t hear a hum or loop issue, etc then the wiring with regards to grounding/pin 1 is not an issue.

Internally I wire the amps the absolute best/correct way so there is no second guessing from that respective. Past that whatever works for a customer works, obviously.
 
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