Buckeye Nc502mp Review (6 Channel Amplifer)

[solderdude]

6x600W from a socket is standard in my country and many other countries around the world. 230V/16A.

Indeed.
When playing music even with 6x600W peaks the average drawn current would be far, far below the 16A average.

 

[pma]

Yes it would be usually OK in countries with 230V single phase network, depending on the circuit breaker used in the plug net. I have some doubts about countries with 100V (Japan) or 120V(USA). We can often see that John Atkinson cannot reach the rated power in his tests due to mains voltage drop. And the PSU and the amp does not have 100% efficiency, just a small mention. 6x600W would be output power, not input power ....

NEMA 5-15 grounded (Type B)[edit]​

NEMA 5-15 plug, left. "Decora"-style duplex socket, with orientation as specified in NECA 130-2010, centre. Ordinary duplex socket, with orientation typically found, right. Photos are different scale – parallel blades are on 1/2-inch (12.7 mm) centres.
The NEMA 5-15 plug has two flat parallel blades like NEMA 1-15, and a ground (earth) pin.[39] It is rated 15 A at 125 volts. The ground pin is longer than the line and neutral blades, so the device is grounded before the power is connected. Both current-carrying blades on grounding plugs are normally narrow, since the ground pin enforces polarity. The National Electrical Contractors Association's National Electrical Installation Standards (NECA 130-2010) recommends that sockets are mounted with the ground hole up so that a falling object makes first contact with the ground pin.

This socket is recommended in IEC standard 60906-2 for 120-volt 60 Hz installations.

In many areas,[where?] tamper-resistant sockets are now required in new residential construction, with shutters to prevent contact by objects inserted into the socket.[40]

In stage lighting, this connector is sometimes known as PBG for Parallel Blade with Ground, Edison or Hubbell, the name of a common manufacturer.[41]

So 15A per 125V plug.

And NC502 2 channel SMPS consumption

One more comment: 2 x 600W is NOT a rated power by the manufacturer.

 

[solderdude]

Yes it has about 82% efficiency in 4ohm so 600W (measured by Amir) out = 730W drawn power per channel.

So the answer to your question What means “6 times 600 watts”?? is 4.4kW of drawn power !

 

[Tks]

Is this for some home theater setups? That power looks off the charts high.

This amp seems really nice. Though those upside down connectors are weird. It wouldn't be so bad if they weren't locking (never understood the need for locking connectors in a home setup, but I guess folks like it?).

I presume the cost is under $2K for this?

 

[antcollinet]

Is this for some home theater setups? That power looks off the charts high.

This amp seems really nice. Though those upside down connectors are weird. It wouldn't be so bad if they weren't locking (never understood the need for locking connectors in a home setup, but I guess folks like it?).

I presume the cost is under $2K for this?

Listed as $1649 here:

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

Hypex NC502MP Power Specs (1kHz, THD = 1%): - 450w @ 2ohm (per channel, peak) - 500w @ 4ohm (per channel, peak) - 350w @ 8ohm (per channel, peak) Hypex NC252MP Power Specs (1kHz, THD = 1%): - 180w @ 2ohm (per channel, peak) - 250w @ 4ohm (per channel, peak) - 150w @ 8ohm (per channel, peak) XL...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[Matias]

A shame about the power supply noise. Maybe adding extra shielding to the cables would fix that?

Also in the US users could have 240V phase + phase installed in a receptacle just for the amp.

 

[Walter]

Whatever voltage used, this or any similar amp is probably going to need its own circuit if it will be played at anywhere near max capacity for any length of time. I've lost count of how many places (across several countries) I have lived where it was not possible to have all (or sometimes even just 2) of the air conditioners and water heaters operating at the same time.

 

[Matias]

Spoiler for the teardown.

 

[McFly]

As an electrician, I’d be pretty surprised if someone actually managed to trip a house breaker with one of these, but there’s firsts for everything.

As for the amplifier, these things are the bees knees. I use a 6 channel one he made for me that’s 2x500, 2x250 and 2x125 for my active 3 way fronts and it works perfectly and silently. No class AB transformer hum, no weight, much less heat, no power supply harmonics spraying across the FFT graphs, no hiss, no complaints.

 

[Matias]

For anyone interested here is my custom multichannel amp that I ordered from Apollon (EU).

Apollon NCMP6200 multichannel NCore MP amplifier

Just received this beauty today! I am very happy! :) Based on Hypex NCore MP modules and Modushop case just like I wanted. 2 x NC502MP + 1 x NC252MP = 4 x 500W + 2 x 250W in 4 ohms. @Apollon Audio congrats on another beautiful amplifier. http://www.apollonaudio.com/

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[Walter]

As an electrician, I’d be pretty surprised if someone actually managed to trip a house breaker with one of these, but there’s firsts for everything.

As for the amplifier, these things are the bees knees. I use a 6 channel one he made for me that’s 2x500, 2x250 and 2x125 for my active 3 way fronts and it works perfectly and silently. No class AB transformer hum, no weight, much less heat, no power supply harmonics spraying across the FFT graphs, no hiss, no complaints.

In older houses with the original wiring and no dedicated circuit? The house I grew up in was built around 1960. In the 1970s, just using the room air conditioner would often trip the breaker (or, originally, blow the external fuse on the outside of the house, which caused my dad to curse a lot if it was raining or he was sleeping) during a Texas summer. There is no way this amp could have run off the same circuit when the A/C was on. We eventually added multiple air cons and switched the fuse box to a breaker box and had another circuit added. That included one that was 240v for the big AC in the living room, I believe. Then blow dryers became popular and we occasionally started blowing breakers again...

 

[maty]

Buckeye

Apollon

Greater distance and stranded cables

 

[McFly]

In older houses with the original wiring and no dedicated circuit?

Yup. Even them. So long as you don’t listen to sine waves or test the amp into load banks, I think you’d be fine.

If you ran 6 subwoofers you might get the fuse warm. That’d be how you’d do it if you were gonna do it.

 

[Tks]

Yup. Even them. So long as you don’t listen to sine waves or test the amp into load banks, I think you’d be fine.

If you ran 6 subwoofers you might get the fuse warm. That’d be how you’d do it if you were gonna do it.

Im out here scared of leaving a Rice Cooker and Electric Kettle on in the same 2 port outlet lol

 

[Raindog123]

BTW, In our house - 2 year old, built to latest US codes - all “normal” house breakers are 15A. The ones feeding GFCI outlets (kitchen counters, garage) are 20A. (Plus a few higher-current “specialty” ones - air, car charger, washer/dryer, …)

 

[RickS]

The upside down XLR jack is not all that bad. On some of my Ghent cases, I have done this as the XLRs are so close to the banana jacks, it is easier to get to the release tab if it is upside down.

The signal wiring does look like it could be a bit better routed. Not sure it is flexible or long enough to do so. Getting it further away from the coils would likely yield better measurements (but unlikely much better sound quality). The power supply noise may take a bit more testing to find root cause, but is more of a minor issue.

Buckeye's willingness to address issues and open customer support are where he outshines the competition. Expect he will continue to do so AND help find ways to keep us healthy so we keep buying his amps!

 

[EJ3]

I will say that CLASS D finally has a bit more than cursory attention from me now.
To further things: if the specs get closer to the lower powered CLASS D MODUALS...
Also the availability of 'soft' clipping, clipping indicators & meters as options would be nice.
The price would likely be higher but for the first time I would become willing to spend on CLASS D.
Because it would then become worth it to me.

 

[Labjr]

Is there an option for a bit nicer enclosure?

 

[Buckeye Amps]

Regarding the upside down XLR connectors:

You'll see in any of the tear downs I use screw (solderless) XLR connectors. If I orient the connectors properly it makes it extremely difficult to insert the wires.

I have been trying to be mindful of the XLR and speaker wiring crossing over the coils but I can obviously do better.

 

[Buckeye Amps]

Is there an option for a bit nicer enclosure?

Not really. It is one of the trade offs for the lower pricing. I'll never claim to have cases comparable to the other brands so I understand for some people it is a make or break consideration.