Buckeye 6 Channel Amplifier Review (2024)

This dude makes many combinations.
These prices are crazy good.
Really you might save 15%-20% if you DIY.
DIY is always a great experience, that said most folks will be happy to know these are ready made for so little $.
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...amplifier-builder-line-up-announcement.16835/

Man am I tempted, I really wanted to build my own but buying this might have to happen...
Problem is I am afraid I will get charged double when he finds out I am a Gophers fan...

stunta said:

Do any AVRs allow you to use pre-outs for a subset of channels and use the internal amps for the rest?

EDIT: thinking about this, they should I would think, but not sure if they actually do.

EDIT2: if they do support the above, will room correction filters apply to pre-outs?

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My Denon x3600 so far has allowed every combination i have tried using the internal and outboard amps as well. The X32 processing also gets applied to all.

I am running 9.2 but will soon switch over to 5.2.4 Atmos. The manual says i will need to use preouts for one of the height channels but also said this for 9.2 and it still worked.

@Buckeye Amps I will suggest you flip the entire rear panel over before you insert all the jacks, when you assemble the amplifiers.

That way, your inputs will be at the top, the heavy speaker terminals/cables are all at the bottom, the fuse, trigger are at the botton and the two switches (power/trigger are at the top. The XLRs will also be correctly installed with the push tab at the top, not upside down as they are currently installed.

As long as your panel is finished on both sides, this will be easy.

vlad335 said:

My Denon x3600 so far has allowed every combination i have tried using the internal and outboard amps as well. The X32 processing also gets applied to all.

I am running 9.2 but will soon switch over to 5.2.4 Atmos. The manual says i will need to use preouts for one of the height channels but also said this for 9.2 and it still worked.

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for 11.2 you'll need to have two externally amplified. It only amplifies 9 channels internally.

As the proud owner of a Buckeye box (serial number 2) I'm very happy with mine. All the dialogue I had with him was very pleasant, he was very accommodating to me with my plans for the project and even sent me a new replacement top with narrower vent slots at no additional cost!

I purchased a 4 channel NC252 version from him and squeezed 2 Icepower 125ASX2 boards into the case as well running them in BTL for the woofers while the Hypex units power the mids and tweets in an active XO 3 way speaker. I'm currently using a MiniDSP4x10 for the XO but expect my Okto Dac8 Pro to ship in January to replace it and will do the XO and convolution in JRiver or Roon.

These things sound great, clean and transparent. Buckeye offers many different configurations of modules and case sizes now for any need you might have - go over to his thread and get one!

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

Very good review. Just a quick question. I see two power switches on the back? Or, does one control the trigger on/off?

restorer-john said:

@Buckeye Amps I will suggest you flip the entire rear panel over before you insert all the jacks, when you assemble the amplifiers.

That way, your inputs will be at the top, the heavy speaker terminals/cables are all at the bottom, the fuse, trigger are at the botton and the two switches (power/trigger are at the top. The XLRs will also be correctly installed with the push tab at the top, not upside down as they are currently installed.

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Actually an alternative may be to use the amp upside down! The heat producing part is on the bottom and that way, it will dissipate better. And solves the issue John has to boot.

ROOSKIE said:

Really you might save 15%-20% if you DIY.

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That's only if you don't count labor, and even then you'll need to find affordable hardware suppliers... I know how these module cost.. I won't disclose them since you need an account with Hypex. Me personally, yes, I did something a bit more heavy duty, with nicer Amphenol connections and different modules, but really this is a no brainer, grab em fast before he realise his mistake...

Mikythebad said:

@Buckeye Amps did you ship your products to France ? I Can be interested.

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@Buckeye Amps will have to CE mark his amps to ship into EU.

NTK said:

@Buckeye Amps will have to CE mark his amps to ship into EU.

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If that is even half of the effort and expense of what I encountered in industrial market, probably is cost prohibitive.

NTK said:

@Buckeye Amps will have to CE mark his amps to ship into EU.

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Is that enforced with on-off shipments? I know it violates EU rules but I am wondering if they check.

wje said:

Very good review. Just a quick question. I see two power switches on the back? Or, does one control the trigger on/off?

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The switch under the trigger controls the standby on/off of the modules. It's a failsafe in case the 12v relay were to fail or someone swapped out gear that no longer had trigger capabilities.

amirm said:

Is that enforced with on-off shipments? I know it violates EU rules but I am wondering if they check.

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I've no idea how closely their customs check that. But I'd assume what the shipment contains needs to be declared on the custom forms.

amirm said:

Is that enforced with on-off shipments? I know it violates EU rules but I am wondering if they check.

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CE is a self declaration, it is not audited or externally tested, It is however mandatory to supply documentation demonstrating that you comply to the specifications if asked by import authorities. In this case the modules and power supply is already produced by an European manufacturer of enough stature to go trough all this. There is litterraly nothing else in the box. I say that with no legal expertise, but what I would do would be to order some decals with the CE logo, stick em on there, and ship. I would think that if they don't like this lousy justification, then ask some papers from Hypex, and if it still not enough or Hypex won't, I would hope they would just return it back to me. But yes, they won't open every boxes.

PeteL said:

grab em fast before he realise his mistake...

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Oh don't worry. I won't be raising prices unless costs actually go up (EUR to USD changes drastically, etc). I actually lowered my prices two weeks ago intentionally. I know I could be making more but as long as this still remains a good hobby to relax at night (I find the building relaxing) nothing will be changing.

This actually all started when a member on AVS said that if someone could offer a 6ch Hypex amp for $1000 it would be a heck of a product. Not quite at $1000....but pretty close all things considered.

Thanks for doing this review. I am considering HypeX Ncore 502MP vs 252MP.

Advice sought: My system:

I currently have 7.2.4 system primarily used for multichannel music listening (SACD, DVD Audio, Blu-ray Audio, R2R etc).

I currently use a Denon AVR-X7200WA for decoding/preamp via 5 analog outs to an Arcam AVR600 AVR used as a 5 channel amp for my main 5 speakers (B&W 802D, B&W HTM1 fronts, B&W 804D2 sides). The Denon drives my 6 focal speakers (2 x rears and 4 x in-ceiling). I have also two subs.

The 5 x B&W speakers all go down to 3 ohms around 100Hz to around 1kHz. The Arcam gives better bass and mids over the Denon. It was my old AVR prior the the Denon and I used it when I added the 4 ceiling channels a year ago.

I recently purchased 2 x HypeX NC1200 based amps. One stereo (2 x SMPS) and one 3 channel to replace the Arcam. This was based on a user’s experience with same B&W speakers as a stereo pair. NC1200 was the recommendation after user had tried many amp combos, from high end to HypeX. These have are not yet shipped so no comment yet on performance but I’m expecting an improvement with the new amps (less THD, better power/dynamics, better handling of low impedance speakers and better power supplies, user experience).

I‘m thinking if all goes as planned my next upgrade would be to replace the Denon amplification with 6 channels of HypeX NCore, but due to budget using the mains powered MP series, I‘m thinking probably NC502MPs. Then longer term, get a new AV processor then sell the Denon.

My 5 main B&Ws are all rated between 500W, 250W & 200W (fronts, centre & sides). My rear pair & 4 ceilings are rated 150W. (Actually all these ‘ratings’ are recommended amplifier power).

The question is: Should I get a NC502 or NC252 Ncore amplifiers?

Edit: The room:

PeteL said:

CE is a self declaration, it is not audited or externally tested, It is however mandatory to supply documentation demonstrating that you comply to the specifications if asked by import authorities. In this case the modules and power supply is already produced by an European manufacturer of enough stature to go trough all this. There is literally nothing else in the box. I say that with no legal expertise, but what I would do would be to order some decals with the CE logo, stick em on there, and ship. I would think that if they don't like this lousy justification, then ask some papers from Hypex, and if it still not enough or Hypex won't, I would hope they would just return it back to me. But yes, they won't open every boxes.

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Am not sure I would be comfortable with your approach but my experience is within a risk-averse major corporation. There are some other considerations like the non-Hypex trigger board and whether the amp requires any special disposal due to use of leaded solder or other hazardous materials.

That said, if I were a competitive EU Hypex OEM, I might just anonymously mention to customs that I heard that this US supplier's amps are fraudulently claiming CE conformance. Am not an expert on CE marking for consumer electronics, but do have some experience with trading regions using certs as barrier to entry.

Rick Sykora said:

Am not sure I would be comfortable with your approach but my experience is within a risk-averse major corporation. There are some other considerations like the non-Hypex trigger board and whether the amp requires any special disposal due to use of leaded solder or other hazardous materials.

That said, if I were a competitive EU Hypex OEM, I might just anonymously mention to customs that I heard that this US supplier's amps are fraudulently claiming CE conformance. Am not an expert on CE marking for consumer electronics, but do have some experience with trading regions using certs as barrier to entry.

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I certainly was not talking about fraudulently claiming conformance, I'm saying that with a very high level of confort claim that this product is compliant. You are not legally obliged, for CE, not FCC, to hire a test lab. The high cost of the CE marking, really, is to get the certificates from all the part manufacturers, In this case it should have already been done. then make sure that cabling and soldering is ROHS compliant. The triggers are part of the Hypex design.
Again, it's a self declaration, of course don't stick this sticker if you are not certain it comply.