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

Showing 5 responses by samureyex

samureyex's avatar
samureyex
268 posts
 

@audiotruth The reason Buckeye doesn't talk about his amplifier sound is because, and I quote this is coming from him all his amplifiers are "true to source". A straight wire with amplification. What about other amplifiers like the AHB2? Well they are also "true to source" and thus sound completely identical. 

That is his claim, whether they sound identical or true-to-source or not, I cannot report. 

Personally I find him very lacking in knowledge. Saying things like "all op-amps sound identical when implemented properly" and "measurements tell the absolute truth". 

samureyex's avatar
samureyex
268 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.

samureyex's avatar
samureyex
268 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
268 posts
 

Another thing, my class D was undeniably smooth which is a fabulous trait but it wasn’t smooth and airy/supple like a nice class A or tube. It was smooth and rigid like marble. I believe some describe this as sounding glossy which is terrible for piano.

samureyex's avatar
samureyex
268 posts
 

@ericrhodes1 I agree with the lack of soul. It felt lifeless which is a very hard thing to explain. The time when I had the class D I kept telling myself tonight I will really give it a chance, but everytime I just want to turn off the music and do something else.

It was smooth but microdynamics was lacking. The beautiful shift of tone which makes vocals sound convincing was not there for me. Subpar layering. It wasn’t transparent and see-through like my other amp, it gave the illusion of being clear with 1 instrument but the whole picture was foggy.

I don’t think all class D are created equal, even in 2025. I still think power supply has a lot to say regardless of the topology. When it comes to class D, I’m more interested in Atmasphere, AGD Audion, and maybe even Starkrimson.

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