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

[DonH56]

For relay circuits, I prefer solid-state relays that buffer the input. No large in-rush current or large reverse-voltage spike to mess with (or destroy) the driving circuit. SS relays come in two general flavors; a buffer before a conventional relay, meaning you still have to supply coil power from somewhere, or ones that use FET switches instead of a mechanical relay. For ether flavor you still need a 12 V line someplace; I've used a cheap wall wart.

I forgot about the little USB-12V converters; seems an easy solution.

 

[rdenney]

Question: I haven’t got a clean read on this.

I use an Adcom GFP565, which has a rated output of 2V RMS and a maximum output of 10V RMS. Unbalanced, of course. I listen to classical, jazz, and prog rock that isn’t as compressed as modern pop.

Do you guys think this would drive the NC502MP to full power? I know they have about 2.7V RMS sensitivity. My current B&K amps have a 1.6V sensitivity and 28 dB of gain, and I can’t turn it up past halfway without scaring myself (108-110 dB peaks). I like the B&Ks, but I can use them elsewhere. I’m not expecting a noticeable sound improvement, but a little less heat for a little more power would be (literally) cool. And a little less space.

Or, I might use it to run stacked Advents in a new space, but still with a classic analog preamp—could be an Adcom GFP555 or an SAE P102.

Who has experience running these Hypex amps with traditional active amps?

Rick “just curious” Denney

 

[DonH56]

Question: I haven’t got a clean read on this.

I use an Adcom GFP565, which has a rated output of 2V RMS and a maximum output of 10V RMS. Unbalanced, of course. I listen to classical, jazz, and prog rock that isn’t as compressed as modern pop.

Do you guys think this would drive the NC502MP to full power? I know they have about 2.7V RMS sensitivity. My current B&K amps have a 1.6V sensitivity and 28 dB of gain, and I can’t turn it up past halfway without scaring myself (108-110 dB peaks). I like the B&Ks, but I can use them elsewhere. I’m not expecting a noticeable sound improvement, but a little less heat for a little more power would be (literally) cool. And a little less space.

Or, I might use it to run stacked Advents in a new space, but still with a classic analog preamp—could be an Adcom GFP555 or an SAE P102.

Who has experience running these Hypex amps with traditional active amps?

Rick “just curious” Denney

10 V max is well above the required for full-scale output so you'll be fine. If it were limited to 2 V, that is about 2.6 dB less than 2.7 V, not a big loss in volume even then. But it's not so carry on.

 

[Buckeye Amps]

Taking a week vacation in June, so new orders are now ETA of June 21st (no affect on orders with ETA's already made).

 

[rdenney]

I'm never quite sure what they mean by "rated output" versus "maximum output", but I suspect it has to do with where they guarantee their specified performance. Of course, both are shown as RMS--but that is the average of the waveform itself, not of a sustained signal at that frequency. But for even remotely dynamic music, it wouldn't get above the rated output very often.

Rick "who would be buying more power for filling dynamic peaks" Denney

 

[DonH56]

Rated typically means the output level at which performance specifications are met. Maximum is usually at clipping, the absolute max it can deliver. Then it gets fuzzy when they use terms like "peak dynamic" output -- that is the max for a short duration. Usually more applicable to power amplifiers with limited power or thermal capacity -- a short burst measures higher than a longer duration test that allows the power supplies to sag and/or circuits to heat up. Etc.

 

[mattf]

Mine won't trip with 5V but there are many 5V to 12V USB converters available:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07J6NYVJV/

Does anyone know what is the required *current* to trip the relay is?

 

[Buckeye Amps]

Does anyone know what is the required *current* to trip the relay is?

9v minimum, 70mA

 

[DonH56]

9v minimum, 70mA

I lost track... That is for the external relay, not the trigger circuit in your amps? 70 mA is high for a 12 V trigger output.

 

[Buckeye Amps]

I lost track... That is for the external relay, not the trigger circuit in your amps? 70 mA is high for a 12 V trigger output.

No that's for the internal relay for the standard 12v trigger setup.

 

[MakeMineVinyl]

No that's for the internal relay for the standard 12v trigger setup.

I have to agree with the previous post: 70mA is quite a bit of a current requirement for a trigger signal from upstream gear. If I were designing the circuit, I'd try to bring that down to something more reasonable, probably using an optoisolator.

 

[Buckeye Amps]

For a most AVR's it's reasonable (the Denon 3700 provides up to 150mA) but recently with some DACs there has been issues with not enough power. I've been keeping my eye on a design to bring it down that is easy to implement. Unfortunately I'm swamped keeping orders on ETA so it's an ongoing endeavor.

 

[MakeMineVinyl]

For a most AVR's it's reasonable (the Denon 3700 provides up to 150mA) but recently with some DACs there has been issues with not enough power. I've been keeping my eye on a design to bring it down that is easy to implement. Unfortunately I'm swamped keeping orders on ETA so it's an ongoing endeavor.

I'd use a 5V coil relay which is powered from the standby supply of the amplifier module (that's capable of 1A), and interface the relay to the outside world with an optoisolator. Exceptionally low current draw from the upstream trigger and very wide trigger voltage tolerance.

 

[mattf]

I have to agree with the previous post: 70mA is quite a bit of a current requirement for a trigger signal from upstream gear. If I were designing the circuit, I'd try to bring that down to something more reasonable, probably using an optoisolator.

I'm hoping to trigger this from a raspberry pi; I was first going to do with USB power, but then learned that for the Pi, the whole bus is either on or off; there's no port-separate powering. (I could get a hub, but then I need another power supply, another plug, etc.) So now I am hoping to just do it via GPIO, but those don't have much current (a DC->DC voltage booster is certainly possible, but I don't know how much power the relay needs; I'll have to see when my amp arrives).

 

[MakeMineVinyl]

I'd use a 5V coil relay which is powered from the standby supply of the amplifier module (that's capable of 1A), and interface the relay to the outside world with an optoisolator. Exceptionally low current draw from the upstream trigger and very wide trigger voltage tolerance.

Or just a solid state relay which has an optoisolated input.

This is a 5V coil relay with 15A contacts: https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/omron-electronics-inc-emc-div/G5CA-1A-TP-E-DC5/1815575

 

[DonH56]

My previous AVR was limited to 50 mA, and the AVP was 100 mA. Not sure what the limit is on my current repeater, but I am driving several trigger inputs in parallel. I am going to have to look into building something to provide more current and buffer that trigger. I need to drive four subs, three power amps, and a wireless link circuit. Each draws under 10 mA except for the Buckeye Amp. I did not realize it was so high.

 

[Rottmannash]

My previous AVR was limited to 50 mA, and the AVP was 100 mA. Not sure what the limit is on my current repeater, but I am driving several trigger inputs in parallel. I am going to have to look into building something to provide more current and buffer that trigger. I need to drive four subs, three power amps, and a wireless link circuit. Each draws under 10 mA except for the Buckeye Amp. I did not realize it was so high.

I couldn't trigger the Buckeye with my D70 DAC but the Onkyo TX RZ 810 drives it w/o problem.

 

[Buckeye Amps]

https://emotiva.com/products/et-3

For those who have a lot of devices to trigger

 

[DonH56]

https://emotiva.com/products/et-3

For those who have a lot of devices to trigger

I have one of those but was also using triggers from the AVP since I had a number of sinks. I checked with Emotiva and the ET-3 is rated at 150 mA/output so I should be OK but I need to check how I have paralleled the outputs. I don't really want anything else on a 70 mA load. Most of my sinks only draw a few mA so I didn't think about having to source that much.

For margin, only one amp should be on any given trigger output.

 

[Buckeye Amps]

My HTP-1 is rated at 200mA max between the four trigger outs. I have it triggering two of my amps and at times a third when I test certain configurations and no issues.