2. amps-preamps
  3. 195315-206466

Buckeye Amps musicality? Not measurements, musicality....

Hey Everyone.... question, I am contemplating the Buckeye Amps 9040 Purifi monoblocks. I am, at the same time, considering the Musical Fidelity M6x 250.5 (5 channel) all of this in an effort to run my LCR up front. (Arendal 1723 THX Monitors)  - everything I read from Dylan at Buckeye and hear from his interviews in YouTube videos all surrounds measurements. Let's assume that every amp, in particular these two options, measure incredibly well. I get that.

But I also get that amp measurements are only a piece of how an amp ACTUALLY SOUNDS in the real world with my room and my speakers.  Which is why its a red flag that Buckeye hides behind measurements as the end-all-be-all of buying an amplifier. If measurements were the absolute end of the discussion, there wouldn't have been a Class A or A/B amp sold in the last 5 years. I get that the Purifi stuff measures well, incredibly well, but to never say anything in public forums or in public interviews about how your amps actually sound or how musical they are compounds and continues the notion that while Class D measures insanely well, they sound cold, brittle, analytical, bright, shout'y and too forward. Class D or no Class D, it boils down to the amp designers' actual implementation of the technology in how it sounds, e.g. the input stage, the output stage, the signal path, etc.

So what I'm looking for I suppose is owners of exceptional Class A/B amps (like Musical Fidelity, Parasound, Rotel et al) who have made that leap of faith to the Purifi Buckeye either 7040 or 9040 modules and how your experience has been.....  ??  Thanks immensely! 

audiotruth
samureyex's avatar
samureyex
269 posts
 

@kofibaffour I find him lacking in experience directly from the things he say.

"all op-amps when implemented properly sound identical"

"all amplifiers engineered properly would sound true-to-source"

"Measurements tell the absolute truth"

These are things knowledgeable engineers do not say. Also he has no background in engineering. He studied biology. He's merely a DIY assembler of Hypex and Purifi amplifiers.

Power supply is very important to the sound quality of an amplifier. Of course he would never mention such a thing.

samureyex's avatar
samureyex
269 posts
 

@audiotruth He's extremely dismissive of a lot of things. Some people have been unpleased with the casing and had suggested him ways to improve it, he told them his products aren't for them.

But he did say hos products are selling extremely well so I guess he doesn't have to please a fee outliers.

ericrhodes1's avatar
ericrhodes1
59 posts
 

@samureyex he makes them to a price  point. Better cases can be had elsewhere for a premium. If I were using his amps for surround channels in a closet, I'd be fine with them. 

slaw's avatar
slaw
23,673 posts
 

+1 @kerrybh .

You won't know till you hear them in your own system.

I bought a pair of Merrill Audio Veritas a year ago. These are now a ten year old design. I love them. They check many boxes.

mapman's avatar
mapman
22,964 posts
 

I was going to go with VTV but ended up buying Class D Audio.  Reason being I would have gone with the most "straight line" vtv opamp option anyhow and Class D audio offerred a brand new GaN based product that is also "straight line" in nature plus also even smaller and less expensive.  The Class D audio Gan amp has worked out perfectly...best sounding amp I have owned and I’ve owned a lot over the years.   I’ve found dynamics and detail to be  their most unique sonic attributes,plus seem able to drive even the most challenging loads very well  .

More to discover