Buckeye PURIFI 1ET9040BA Amp Review

[Buckeye Amps]

cant wait for someone to say these amps are too sterile, analytical, flat and non musical

I made the mistake last month of reading a post on the Audiogon forums regarding Class D and their lack of "musicality". Oh boy.

 

[Audionaut]

congrats to @Buckeye Amps for building such a great amp

I always have to smile a little when I read such praise for amplifiers that use ready-made Hypex and Purifi modules, most of which are also available for DIY projects.

But yes, they are very good amplifiers, and in fact, the amplifier chapter, like the DAC chapter, has more or less exhausted the possibilities in terms of technology.

 

[Mark609]

Focus your energy on other issues like speakers, sources and more importantly, discovering great tracks to listen to rather than how to tweak down distortion by another 0.01%.

Absolutely. Comes down to a lot of chest beating rather than performance in the REAL world. Great speakers, room treatments and room correction is what good sound is about, not macho amps so much.

This would be a great subwoofer amp for DIY's except for no DSP. One reason I went with SpeakerPower amps. Rigo can program them to your liking. I got a 12 dB shelf filter starting at 50 Hz, Q of .70.....no charge.

 

[Guddu]

@Buckeye Amps
Will the stereo version GEN2 module amp be sent for review as well?

 

[DearSX]

I'm actually starting to like the Buckeye cases a little more. Its very unassuming and plain, while being next level in power and distortion and price/performance. Like a big FU to D'Agostino type amps.

 

[Kal Rubinson]

The Purifi design is amazingly efficient. They generate less heat than any other amp design which allows them to run measurably cooler. If you do have a failure it's likely repaired with a new PS or an amp module. It's nothing like the heat generated from an AVR.

Agreed. In addition, the Purifi amp module is thermally connected to the bottom plate of the amp chassis. Touching the chassis cover, which is fitted over that with machine screws, is a poor way to assess heat generation.

 

[Rottmannash]

cant wait for someone to say these amps are too sterile, analytical, flat and non musical

Maybe the Stereophile review put that argument/claim to rest.

 

[Cogito]

Hideous. Can we skip personal tastes?

Obviously, all your taste is in your mouth.

Another review thread of a Buckeye amplifier at ASR that finds its way to focusing on aesthetics.

Uff Da !

Come on... Who doesn't like good looking gear? Maybe this design appeals to those who like the Cybertruck look?

 

[Buckeye Amps]

Obviously, all your taste is in your mouth.

Come on... Who doesn't like good looking gear? Maybe this design appeals to those who like the Cybertruck look?

Based on our sales, I would make a guess that most people care a lot more about performance and value vs. aesthetics, which has always been our approach.

 

[Cogito]

Based on our sales, I would make a guess that most people care a lot more about performance and value vs. aesthetics, which has always been our approach.

There's no debate on the performance as far as I can see (Outstanding). All that performance and engineering (Via Purifi) thrown into a DIY project box. I understand that there are those folks who appreciate the "minimalist industrial" look, but at $1,300 a pop, I'd expect a bit more "polish".

 

[Buckeye Amps]

There's no debate on the performance as far as I can see (Outstanding). All that performance and engineering (Via Purifi) thrown into a DIY project box. I understand that there are those folks who appreciate the "minimalisat industrial" look, but at $1,300 a pop, I'd expect a bit more "polish".

Which is why aesthetics are subjective. I will never be able to please everyone.

 

[tineared]

Which is why aesthetics are subjective. I will never be able to please everyone.

There are folks on this forum who actually think Genelec monitors are attractive
I think they're butt-ugly
But if someone offered me a pair, I would jump on it because they are superlative at doing what they were designed to do.
Buckeye amps are nondescript. They are not ugly or beautiful. They are little black boxes.
But they are also superlative at doing what they do for a very reasonable price

 

[admiralaaron]

For those of us running multiple or large passive HT subs traditionally using "pro" amps for the power output e.g. ultimax, vbss, etc... Would there be any audible difference using this monoblock or do the bass frequencies for some reason make the high SINAD irrelevant?

 

[Mort]

There's no debate on the performance as far as I can see (Outstanding). All that performance and engineering (Via Purifi) thrown into a DIY project box. I understand that there are those folks who appreciate the "minimalist industrial" look, but at $1,300 a pop, I'd expect a bit more "polish".

You are free not to buy the best amp reviewed here because it doesn't look good enough for you. Someone might say you have your priorities backwards.

 

[martin900]

Nice and clean, sadly the placement of the speaker terminals right above the XLR isn't ideal.

 

[kyuu]

Come on... Who doesn't like good looking gear?

I don't find anything not good looking about the case. Your topping example doesn't look good to me. A lot of the things people fuss over, particularly in the audio jewelry department, are firmly in the realm of what I'd call gaudy. Something nondescript and unassuming like this is much better.

Maybe this design appeals to those who like the Cybertruck look?

The Cybertruck is much more like the typical gaudy audiophile jewelry look. Comparing this to that monstrosity to me shows a complete lack of aesthetic sense. But there's no objective base for aesthetics, so arguing about it is useless.

 

[Geert]

The case is what is it is guys. The different opinions are clear by now. To avoid heading towards a tenfold of pages about the design of the case, which is hardly interesting for a science based forum, I made this simulator that allows you to play with the different design criteria and watch the outcome:

 

[JensA]

I always have to smile a little when I read such praise for amplifiers that use ready-made Hypex and Purifi modules, most of which are also available for DIY projects.

But yes, they are very good amplifiers, and in fact, the amplifier chapter, like the DAC chapter, has more or less exhausted the possibilities in terms of technology.

I think we all know that these amplifiers would not be possible without the great Purifi modules
Nevertheless, Buckeye deserves high praise for the successful implementation of a Purifi 9040-based mono amp.
If you had read my post to the end, you would have seen that the Purifi 9040 module is essential for me, as I did not purchase my 9040s from Buckeye.

 

[Rottmannash]

There's no debate on the performance as far as I can see (Outstanding). All that performance and engineering (Via Purifi) thrown into a DIY project box. I understand that there are those folks who appreciate the "minimalist industrial" look, but at $1,300 a pop, I'd expect a bit more "polish".

Let's not forget Dylan had a custom buffer board designed for his amps. Not exactly dropping modules in a case and shipping them out. Oh, and the Micro Audio PS. I would venture to say this combo of module and PS may yield the most impressive power output these modules are capable of and at a very high resolution.

 

[RickS]

Let’s please move on from the aesthetics banter. Buckeye has made a choice and articulated his rationale. Contact him directly if you like, but further opinion posts are not productive.

Thanks!