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Buckeye NC252MP Stereo Amplifier Review

Rate this amplifier:

  • 1. Poor (headless panther)

    Votes: 11 3.5%
  • 2. Not terrible (postman panther)

    Votes: 21 6.8%
  • 3. Fine (happy panther)

    Votes: 179 57.7%
  • 4. Great (golfing panther)

    Votes: 99 31.9%

  • Total voters
    310
"Headroom" does not have a lot of meaning in this case if the Denon is truly limited to 1.6 Vrms maximum output, but I would guess its actual output is higher

HTH - Don

That first sentence is what I was wondering.

Thanks for links. I use that calculator all the time. I don't really need the extra power. I'm at at 101 dB. Do I need more? Probably not. Maybe with eq on some low sources/masters I'm pushing the V closer to the 1.6.
 
Will the 252 be sufficient to drive these ceiling Atmos speakers, or should I go for the 502?

ScreenHunter 259.jpg
 
I use them for my surrounds (8) with no issues. Good value for that.
 
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Will the 252 be sufficient to drive these ceiling Atmos speakers, or should I go for the 502?

View attachment 404372
I use the 252 to drive a pair of B&W AM1 outdoor speakers, which have a rated sensitivity of 86db, which is not very sensitive. They go very loud without any problems.

 
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Will the 252 be sufficient to drive these ceiling Atmos speakers, or should I go for the 502?

View attachment 404372
I now have Purifi amps powering them but when I first bought the Buckeye 252 I used it to power the Revel F208's and they were able to push the speakers to quite high sound levels. It would be difficult to determine which amp was running them unless they were both pushed to their limits then the Purifi would play cleaner at max dB.
 
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PSA: if you [accidentally] tighten the panel-mount nut too much on the binding posts, you'll find that the binding posts are actually two different pieces. The threaded part for the nut is actually a stud that is press-fit, not that strongly, into a rear-facing hole of the larger outer part of the binding post. So basically as you tighten the nut, you are pulling the stud out of the binding post, and at some point it just does the bad thing :(

I'm trying to weigh my options around:

1a) Press the stud back in and be very gentle with the nut
1b) Press the stud back in and solder the two pieces together
2) Ask Mr. BA nicely for a replacement which may or may not be free, and which might not be any better
3) Get rid of the binding posts altogether and do a homemade speakON solution

The part that bothers me the most is that there's a fine line (for me, too fine) between not enough compression to keep the right-angle tab secure, especially against a quick-disconnect terminal, and just enough tension on the stud that the whole thing fails.

I was only nosing around inside just to make sure everything was kosher, and I started wiggling the terminals around and of course I made one come loose. Not knowing that the binding post could be damaged by slight over-tightening... =\
 
Last edited:
PSA: if you [accidentally] tighten the panel-mount nut too much on the binding posts, you'll find that the binding posts are actually two different pieces. The threaded part for the nut is actually a stud that is press-fit, not that strongly, into a rear-facing hole of the larger outer part of the binding post. So basically as you tighten the nut, you are pulling the stud out of the binding post, and at some point it just does the bad thing :(

I'm trying to weigh my options around:

1a) Press the stud back in and be very gentle with the nut
1b) Press the stud back in and solder the two pieces together
2) Ask Mr. BA nicely for a replacement which may or may not be free, and which might not be any better
3) Get rid of the binding posts altogether and do a homemade speakON solution

The part that bothers me the most is that there's a fine line (for me, too fine) between not enough tension to keep the right-angle tab secure, especially against a quick-disconnect terminal, and just enough tension that the whole thing fails.

I was only nosing around inside just to make sure everything was kosher, and I started wiggling the terminals around and of course I made one come loose. Not knowing that the binding post could be damaged by slight over-tightening... =\
Sending out replacement binding posts will not cost anything.

We no longer use this binding post (but have plenty of extras on hand). The press fit nature was a delicate dance of tightening to spec but not over tightening...and one of the reasons we upgraded to "higher quality" posts at a higher price (which wasn't passed on to customers of course).
 
Sending out replacement binding posts will not cost anything.

We no longer use this binding post (but have plenty of extras on hand). The press fit nature was a delicate dance of tightening to spec but not over tightening...and one of the reasons we upgraded to "higher quality" posts at a higher price (which wasn't passed on to customers of course).
Thanks for the quick response!

No need to send anything, I just hammered the stud back in and all should be well (at least for now).
 
Does anyone have an opinion as to whether I would hear any kind of sonic improvement by replacing my current amplifier, a Crown XLS 1502, with an amp that uses this same module, the Hypex NCore NC252MP?

The amp in question is the IOM Ultra, and I use the WiiM Ultra as my source/preamp. https://internetofmusic.nl/product/iom-ultra/

1736724529924.png


Aside from it looking cool, I was hoping for a sound improvement. My speakers are the Soundfield Audio M1V2, which use the Tang Band W6-2313 6" coaxial driver for the mids and highs (and an active 8" subwoofer on the bottom). The Tang Bands have a nominal impedance of 4 ohms.
 
Does anyone have an opinion as to whether I would hear any kind of sonic improvement by replacing my current amplifier, a Crown XLS 1502, with an amp that uses this same module, the Hypex NCore NC252MP?

The amp in question is the IOM Ultra, and I use the WiiM Ultra as my source/preamp. https://internetofmusic.nl/product/iom-ultra/

View attachment 420649

Aside from it looking cool, I was hoping for a sound improvement. My speakers are the Soundfield Audio M1V2, which use the Tang Band W6-2313 6" coaxial driver for the mids and highs (and an active 8" subwoofer on the bottom). The Tang Bands have a nominal impedance of 4 ohms.
I can’t speak to whether it would be an improvement or not since I don’t know anything about your current amp, but I can say that I absolutely love my IOM Ultra! I got them to do one for me with both, XLR and RCA inputs.

IMG_5410.jpeg

IMG_5409.jpeg


-Ed
 
Does anyone have an opinion as to whether I would hear any kind of sonic improvement by replacing my current amplifier, a Crown XLS 1502, with an amp that uses this same module, the Hypex NCore NC252MP?

The amp in question is the IOM Ultra, and I use the WiiM Ultra as my source/preamp. https://internetofmusic.nl/product/iom-ultra/

View attachment 420649

Aside from it looking cool, I was hoping for a sound improvement. My speakers are the Soundfield Audio M1V2, which use the Tang Band W6-2313 6" coaxial driver for the mids and highs (and an active 8" subwoofer on the bottom). The Tang Bands have a nominal impedance of 4 ohms.
Instead of posting about buying a different amp in this dedicated review thread, it may be better to start your own thread to ask.

Amir has reviewed the Crown XLS 1502 so you could compare measured data: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...-and-measurements-of-crown-xls-1502-amp.6062/

The Crown has more power but higher noise (more hiss).
 
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