Buckeye Hypex NC252MP Amplifier Teardown

[Dmitri]

Damn Buckeye. I love seeing this collaboration going on here. You are flat out determined to offer the best product possible at your price point...getting opinions and information regarding potential non impactful cost savings before moving forward, as well as tips towards improving your amps QC in general.

Almost makes me want my amp to blow up so I can purchase one of yours. ; )
I for sure would be buying with confidence.

 

[Todd k]

Buckeye u r making me proud to have one of your offspring

 

[Buckeye Amps]

Was restocking a bunch of inventory today before the end of the year and came across a possible issue: I just not realized the power cords I have been including with my amps are only rated for 10A (18ga cords, 6ft).

For the smaller builds this is fine. But hypothetically a 4+ channel NC502 build or a 6+ channel NC252 build *could* draw more than 10A. Albeit not for sustained periods.

Either way, would it be best to switch out to 15A rated power cords (14ga)?

 

[Bsinger]

Look forward to speakon option! You can see an example from kjf audio's ma-01 flexible amp. Looks nice although i would put the xlr on top and speakons below. Speaker wires usually go down to the floor while amps are usually below the processor. Seems strange to cross the wires imo

 

[StefaanE]

Was restocking a bunch of inventory today before the end of the year and came across a possible issue: I just not realized the power cords I have been including with my amps are only rated for 10A (18ga cords, 6ft).

For the smaller builds this is fine. But hypothetically a 4+ channel NC502 build or a 6+ channel NC252 build *could* draw more than 10A. Albeit not for sustained periods.

Either way, would it be best to switch out to 15A rated power cords (14ga)?

Certainly, as long as they're audiophile cables .

 

[gattaca]

^^^ Yeap, there's the BYO-PC option!

For standard power cables, I've used "Stay Online" for years as "power cables" are their focus/business. SO is located on the east coast (NC). On the west coast there is "SF Cable" which I've referenced often but not actually purchased from them b/c SO is much closer for me. There are others companies who sell good quality standard cables. Most are made in China no matter where you buy them. QC is the key.

East Coast -> Stay online -> https://www.stayonline.com/all_categories.asp
West Coast -> SF Cable -> https://www.sfcable.com/

Be careful with anything sourced / electrical from eBay and Amazon. I've seen sellers say "xx AWG" but then what shows is not that or you might get good samples early on and then down the road... maybe not. Stay safe, stay alive.

 

[Buckeye Amps]

I was going to use Monoprice but thanks for the other suggestions

So to confirm: it's advised I ship 14awg power cords (15amp rated) with my more powerful amps?
Or is an 18awg cord of only 6ft length fine/safe?

 

[StefaanE]

I was going to use Monoprice but thanks for the other suggestions

So to confirm: it's advised I ship 14awg power cords (15amp rated) with my more powerful amps?
Or is an 18awg cord of only 6ft length fine/safe?

I would say that as long as the power cord is rated for the amplifier, the length is immaterial. If other people are like me (not a given, but all I've got to work with), they'll have a box of power cables of various lengths, ratings and plugs somewhere in their attic/office/man cave.
BTW, anybody wants to have some real nice parallel Sun SCSI cables? Or Centronics printer cables? Just holler .

 

[Buckeye Amps]

Thanks! I'll get some new cords for the more powerful amps and contact previous customers to make sure they change out the ones I sent before realizing this mistake.

 

[Todd k]

I bet almost everyone has a whole closet full of power cords just like me. They seem to replicate in my closet when I’m not looking lol.

 

[Labjr]

I would've thought of Monoprice too. Their 14AWG power cords seem to have good reviews.

 

[gattaca]

^^^ The supplied power cords should meet or exceed the circuit protections (fuses a/o resettable circuit breakers) installed in the device. If you wanted to minimize the skews to stock on-hand or reduce your chance of putting the wrong power cord with a wrong unit, then maybe just consider stocking only the physically larger AWG units (12 AWG/20A/Copper vs 14AWG/15A/Copper) until you need different. Having too many unique skews / parts is to track is a common problem manufacturers try to avoid. Just my .02.

 

[Buckeye Amps]

Thanks!

I just placed an order for 15A cords. Still going to use the 10A cords but they are properly labeled/separated. At least until I use them up (would rather just use them then deal with sending back to Monoprice and only getting partial refund).

I also reached out to anyone who has an amp that could draw more than 10A and informed them. Again, I will always "eat crow"/own up to a shortcoming. Safety first. Want to do this right.

 

[Labjr]

Myself, I wouldn't use an 18AWG power cord for an amplifier.

 

[Buckeye Amps]

First pic of the new wiring implementation. Takes a little extra time to work with (stripping the outer insulation and such) but it definitely adds a cleaner look.

 

[Labjr]

First pic of the new wiring implementation. Takes a little extra time to work with (stripping the outer insulation and such) but it definitely adds a cleaner look.

Looks great! That may be a good amp for the Linkwitz LX521.4 which uses a four-way active crossover.

 

[Billy Budapest]

^^^ The supplied power cords should meet or exceed the circuit protections (fuses a/o resettable circuit breakers) installed in the device. If you wanted to minimize the skews to stock on-hand or reduce your chance of putting the wrong power cord with a wrong unit, then maybe just consider stocking only the physically larger AWG units (12 AWG/20A/Copper vs 14AWG/15A/Copper) until you need different. Having too many unique skews / parts is to track is a common problem manufacturers try to avoid. Just my .02.

Not to be anal, but the term is SKU (“stock keeping unit”).

 

[Bsinger]

Looks very nice Buckeye.

Question: Why do many multichannel hypex/purifi builds have speaker connections above and inputs below? Is this a Pain in the Rack (PIR) (copyright 2021) ?

Speaker wires typically head down with amps lower than processors for cleaner cable management. Amps by nad, marrantz, acram, antham emotiva, outlaw... and every AVR place speaker outputs on the bottom if offsetting is not possible. Yet, Buckeye, VTV, Ghent cases, audiophonics. kjf audio... reverse this

 

[Buckeye Amps]

Looks very nice Buckeye.

Question: Why do many multichannel hypex/purifi builds have speaker connections above and inputs below? Is this a Pain in the Rack (PIR) (copyright 2021) ?

Speaker wires typically head down with amps lower than processors for cleaner cable management. Amps by nad, marrantz, acram, antham emotiva, outlaw... and every AVR place speaker outputs on the bottom if offsetting is not possible. Yet, Buckeye, VTV, Ghent cases, audiophonics. kjf audio... reverse this

Well mine is for ease of installation. Since I use the screw terminal Neutriks, it is a lot easier to have them on the bottom of the backplate to give me more room to work with.

 

[Buckeye Amps]

Does input sensitivity change when bridging a module? What other major specifications/characteristics change when bridging?

I am thinking of changing out my 2xNC502 personal amp for my front LCR to a 3xNC252 setup with each NC252 bridged.