Buckeye PURIFI 1ET9040BA Amp Review

[GWolfman]

The Buckeye 1ET9040BA tears up that rule and flushes it down the toilet.

ROFL

Looks like this one is hard to beat if you need that much wattage, especially one at a performant level.

Thanks for the review @amirm and @Buckeye Amps!

 

[beefkabob]

This is seriously end game. Four of these, a pair of M2s, and a bit of DSP.

 

[stoneeh]

What is the idle power draw on this?

 

[ROOSKIE]

The amps you cite are not in the same market segment. You do not buy a subcompact if you need to haul a camper. Oops, did the dreaded car analogy. A UPS is not a substitute for a whole house generator (even though they both provide backup power).

Your claim of "most" is dependent on the application space. Or can you offer more than an opinion to illustrate?

Seems like @honn was pointing out the amazing positive that for $200 you can buy a really great amplifier product these days.
Car analogy! Lets face it lots of folks buy F150's and never used the bed or even 4wd or buy a big poor performing amp for $10k when the aforementioned $200 Topping would be more then they actually use and possibly higher fidelity. 'Most' is one of those terms that can turn some folks off but I'd say it is easily fair to suggest that a great many buyers can stop at the Topping or at a few other similar amps tested in the past couple years that cost not a lot. For another testing option around here, I just got 2 New Fosi V3 mono amps shipped to my door for $211. Pretty awesome.
I'm still looking to replace my main system amps. I'll probably go with Buckeye.
Great state of affairs' in audio.

 

[Sal1950]

All this in a very cool running package, with features you want at a price that is hard to fathom just a few years ago.

That's a fact, what a bad-asss little amp. As an ole-school audiophile I still find it hard to believe whats been done in Class D over the last few decades.

Pic from the Buckeye site;

I've got one criticism, is it really necessary to use slide-on spade connectors just to save a few minutes over soldering? Specially on the speaker out connectors? When looking for problems in various gear I'd hate to count the number of times that problems developed there.

 

[JSmith]

Unsure why some go as far as calling the case "ugly"... looks fine to me. What does an amp need to look like?

I think the minimalist case work with just a logo would actually make some wonder what it even is, or what unusual brand it may be... lending to an air of exclusivity.

In some ways, amps don't need to be looked at or on display really anyway... isn't it about the power and performance rather than having the gear on display?

Still, I understand people have different aesthetic requirements and that is fair, especially in an expensive setup... in those cases there are other amp builders who may be more expensive, but have more "designer" enclosures.


JSmith

 

[Billy Budapest]

Excellent performance all around. Just the price is a bit hard to swallow to me.

My AVR will be just fine. I don't need more than 100wpc. It is inaudible anyway.
View attachment 501865

I don’t understand your drawing above. Is it an AI creation? I have recently found that when somebody posts a drawing/picture that doesn’t make sense, or is supposed to be humorous but isn’t, it was often created by AI. It leaves me to wonder exactly what prompts were used to generate the image.

 

[dlaloum]

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.

My 2 most recent AVR's (Integra DRX3.4, Denon X4800) have both run remarkably cool... nothing like their predecessors of 15 years ago!

But as you say, it appears that the current latest amp modules run cool, although pragmatically, when they do fail, the only answer is replacement of the entire board - component level repairs are no longer happening, and these boards are not designed to facilitate them.

 

[GS430man]

Excellent amp. Great company. Congratulations @Buckeye Amps

The Micro Audio SMPS used in this amp is not just powerful. It has active power factor correction so it is efficient with power when it's working. In both idle and standby it uses trivial levels of power.

A killer power supply, perfect for a killer amp module. Dylan's functional and useful input board and case design put this amp to the top of any monobloc shopping list.

 

[amirm]

Did you capture idle power utilization of this amplifier by any chance?

I actually wanted to do that but forgot. It has been shipped to the owner now so I can't do any more tests.

 

[daniboun]

Thank you !!!!

Finally, just what I needed, no more, no less.

Checkout two choices

AUDIOPHONICS LPA-S450ET Power Amplifier Stereo Purifi 1ET6525SA

We're proud to present the Audiophonics LPA-S450ET, a Class D stereo power amplifier based on two Purifi 1ET6525SA modules. Electronically similar to the HPA-S450ET, this version is housed in a more compact case...

www.audiophonics.fr

AUDIOPHONICS HPA-S450ET Power Amplifier Purifi 1ET6525SA

The Audiophonics HPA-S450ET power amplifier is based on a Class D architecture, using a pair of Purifi 1ET6525SA amplification modules, a Hypex SMPS1200A400 power supply and an Audiophonics custom buffer stage...

www.audiophonics.fr

 

[Sir Sanders Zingmore]

Can anyone explain to me how “negative headroom” happens

Peak power is about 12% less than max power.
This seems like quite a lot and quite curious (at least to me to me).
@amirm , @Buckeye Amps , do you know why this might happen?

 

[delta76]

I don’t understand your drawing above. Is it an AI creation? I have recently found that when somebody posts a drawing/picture that doesn’t make sense, or is supposed to be humorous but isn’t, it was often created by AI. It leaves me to wonder exactly what prompts were used to generate the image.

It is a popular meme, has been on internet for 10+ years. Not AI

 

[Billy Budapest]

It is a popular meme, has been on internet for 10+ years. Not AI

What is it? I am familiar with a lot of memes but not this one. Give me a name and I will look it up on Know Your Meme.

 

[amirm]

@amirm , @Buckeye Amps , do you know why this might happen?

It is some dynamic behavior relative to how measurements are made. The signal is a burst and AP attempts to raise and lower its level to achieve 1% THD. Some mechanism in the amp, its protection circuit or the power supply is fighting this algorithm resulting in slightly lower power levels. Usually the are very close but here is a bit more.

 

[JSmith]

What is it?

Crying Wojak Mask meme.


JSmith

 

[YSDR]

Interesting that module signal input is via ribbon cable.

This means there is a chance that this amp could be even better with a proper, balanced signal cabling.

 

[RickS]

Seems like @honn was pointing out the amazing positive that for $200 you can buy a really great amplifier product these days.
Car analogy! Lets face it lots of folks buy F150's and never used the bed or even 4wd or buy a big poor performing amp for $10k when the aforementioned $200 Topping would be more then they actually use and possibly higher fidelity. 'Most' is one of those terms that can turn some folks off but I'd say it is easily fair to suggest that a great many buyers can stop at the Topping or at a few other similar amps tested in the past couple years that cost not a lot. For another testing option around here, I just got 2 New Fosi V3 mono amps shipped to my door for $211. Pretty awesome.
I'm still looking to replace my main system amps. I'll probably go with Buckeye.
Great state of affairs' in audio.

Maybe, but was not the only one to post this amplifier overgeneralization. Please excuse me if am nitpicking on this a bit, but we try our best to be objective and helpful here. There are many other threads that often ask how much amplifier power do I need?

The thoughtful answer is the one that fits your power needs based on your speaker, room size, and listening preferences. Add in something that fits your budget, features and is reliable too and the fact is the answer is actually a bit more complex. Overall, would agree that there are great values being achieved in amplifiers. However, does not mean we are even close to a one size for all (or most) amplifier imo. As with other audio products, there are still other potential other demographics that differentiate as well.

The best amplifier for someone in North America may not be the best one for someone in the EU or elsewhere. Enough said, as I hopefully have made my point.

 

[yo!]

Technically a wonderful amplifier!
Only complain at this price is the housing, I would expect at least a more massive frontplate and a LED that's not only pinned behind a hole.

 

[kyuu]

This means there is a chance that this amp could be even better with a proper, balanced signal cabling.

The connection on the board is IDC, which is made to be used with ribbon cable, I believe. It would be difficult if not impossible to procure a different sort of cable that can mate with an IDC.

Why the IDC connection was chosen for use on the boards is something you'd have to ask whoever designed them.

While I agree that a ribbon cable is not really appropriate for use inside an audio amp like this, the cabling and general assembly are well laid out and we can see from the results that it's a non-issue here. Noise and distortion are below any conceivable audible threshold, even if you're using some obscenely sensitive speakers.