Let's get to it
It's hard to deny that the Buckeye's specifications seem to conflict with its modest physical size and weight (slightly larger than the Benchmark but considerably lighter), so I immediately chose to stress the monoblocks with organ music, just to relieve some of that cognitive dissonance. That meant starting with two of my familiars from New England: Pipes Rhode Island (16/44.1 rip from CD, Riago CD 101) and (from Massachusetts) Mendelssohn: Six Organ Sonatas, Op.65 performed by Thomas Murray (CD, Raven 390, rip originally from LP, Sheffield Town Hall S-13). I chose…
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Sidebar 1: Ultimate Class-D
There's a clear evolution in technology and performance from Hypex's original and innovative "self-oscillating" UcD through to NCore and now to the Purifi Eigentakt class-D module used in the Buckeye amplifier. The original UcD circuit married an input comparator, a power stage, and LC filter with feedback looped back between output and input "undoing" enough of the LC filter's phase shift to ensure stable operation. Loop gain was a respectable 30dB, but designer Bruno Putzeys has said this was as far as he could go and still guarantee the amp's stability.…
Sidebar 2: Specifications
Description: Monoblock power amplifier based on Purifi 1ET9040BA C500 class-D technology. Inputs: 1 XLR (balanced). Input impedance: 51k ohms. Gain: 25.5dB (High), 20.5dB (Medium), 15.5dB (Low). Input sensitivity for rated output (High, Medium, Low): 2.9V, 5.2V, 9.2V. Rated output power at 1kHz (0.1% THD): 375W into 8 ohms (25.75dBW), 750W into 4 ohms (25.75dBW), 1200W into 2 ohms (24.8dBW). Maximum output current: 40A. Power efficiency: 96%. Frequency range: 0Hz–80kHz. S/N ratio: >140dB. THD: 0.0001% (20Hz–20kHz, 400W, 4 ohms). 12V trigger in/out, Auto-Sense…
Sidebar 3: Associated Equipment
Digital sources: Custom Intel/Win11 music server running JRiver Media Center v33 and Roon 2, Merging Devices Hapi II, exaSound S88, Okto dac8 Pro D/A processors. QNAP TVS-873 NAS. Oppo Digital UDP-103 universal disc player.
Power amplifiers: Benchmark AHB2, NAD M23.
Loudspeakers: KEF Blade Two Meta with IsoAcoustics GAIA II feet.
Cables: Digital interconnects: Mogami Gold AES TD DB25-XLR snake. Analog interconnects: Mogami Gold AES TD DB25-XLR snake, Benchmark Studio&Stage XLR-XLR. Speaker cables: Blue Jeans Canare 4S11.
Accessories:…
Sidebar 4: Measurements
I performed a complete set of measurements on one of the Buckeye Purifi 1ET9040BA amplifiers. I primarily used my Audio Precision SYS2722 system, repeating some of the testing with the magazine's higher-performance APx555 system. Because class-D amplifiers emit relatively high levels of ultrasonic noise that would drive my analyzer's input into slew-rate limiting, I inserted an Audio Precision AUX-0025 passive low-pass filter between the test load and the analyzers. This filter mitigates noise above 80kHz and eliminates noise above 200kHz that would otherwise drive…
At the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show, Herman van den Dungen handed me a surprise: a brand new Kiseki Blue cartridge manufactured from new-old-stock parts. It wasn't mine to take home—only to look at, to prove it was real.
Herman van den Dungen may not be a household name even for audiophiles, but his products are: his PrimaLuna electronics are exported from the Netherlands to the US and distributed by tube connoisseur and collector Kevin Deal for PrimaLuna USA.
In the 1980s, Kiseki was legendary among audiophiles, even if their cartridges' prices were beyond the reach of most.…
Where appropriate, the Purpleheart's rich tonality was bolstered by its generous delivery of vivid instrumental textures and three-dimensionality. The cartridge didn't have a sonically unpleasant bone in its body, but when the recording did, the Kiseki gave me enough of it to communicate it effectively, though not with the full measure of possible unpleasantness. It didn't hold back the deliberate sonic horror that is Bruce Springsteen's The River, but a more revealing cartridge like the Lyra Atlas, which costs almost three times as much, lets you hear all of the reverberant, icy mess…
On Thursday, December 12, New York City’s Innovative Audio presented the North American debut of four Dynaudio loudspeakers. The event, held at the store’s Midtown location, featured presentations by Dynaudio executives John Quick and Michael Manousselis. Attendees had the opportunity to experience the sound quality and design of these new models.
Of the four Dynaudio speakers showcased, only two were entirely new: the Contour 20 Black Edition and the Confidence 20A Active two-way monitors. The flagship Confidence 50 floorstanders, while impressive, are not new to the lineup, and the…
Myriad distribution factors drive and affect the hi-fi marketplace. Ultimately, these can impact end customer purchasing choices. Recently I've written—including in the December 2024 issue—about evolving new distribution models and how the term's meaning has shifted somewhat: Some companies have been expanding (or in some cases reducing) the kinds of services traditionally provided to exporting international manufacturers.
That made me curious about how business is going for "traditional" distribution companies. That is, companies whose services typically include handling importation,…
Photos: Kenny Johnson Photography
"Give me the seduction, give me the pleasure," Ron Sutherland was nearly shouting into the phone. "I want to turn off the analytical mind and just enjoy myself!"
Sutherland speaks in the chipper Midwestern cadences of a comic character actor from the 1940s, sort of like a grown-up Eddie Bracken from The Miracle of Morgan's Creek, and I'd never heard him sound so excited. He was talking about his new phono stage, the Dos Locos, the first product he's designed collaboratively, having enlisted a group of audiophile friends who listened to and…