Creek

DomT

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There doesn’t seem to be a Creek thread, which is a surprise, so I shall start.

Am using a Creek OBH-22 in pure passive mode ie not using the mains adapter and had the chance to use it in my Innuos, Luxman, Audio Research and ATC rig.

I had brought it to the UK as I didn’t have a preamp in Portugal to compare it to. I put this in the place of the Audio Research SP17 and it didn’t embarrass itself and was actually very good in a revealing system. Given the huge price difference between the Creek and Audio Research the Creek is better value for money. There isn’t a lot of point talking about the difference in these preamps as they are different propositions.

It’s a great preamp and I thoroughly recommend it. David Price did a write up of it and this encouraged me to give it a try.
https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/zstereo.co.uk/2014/08/16/creek-obh-22-3/amp/
 
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Steveh

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I hadn't noticed the absence of a Creek thread. Iconic UK brand.. My first (ad)venture into pre-power was with the Creek P43/A52SE combination which was superb. The P43 was a passive pre-amp and the A52SE was rated at 80wpc. I bought a second A52SE and bridged them both to give 250 wpc. monoblocks.
I kept these for several years and actually had them when I joined the wam in 2005. I replaced the Creek kit with a Chord pre/power and wouldn't use any other amplifier now.
http://www.sonic.net/~marcs/creek/a52.html
 
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Nifkin

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There is a Creek thread, you know: https://www.hifiwigwam.com/forum/threads/creek.99515/#post-2092315

Last reply there was back in August.

It's funny how Creek don't have much of a profile on the WAM. After using Arcam amps for many years I auditioned loads of other brands and just couldn't find something that yielded sound-for-pound value, until I got my hands on a Creek Evolution 100A, which is an excellent amp: transparent, warm-side-of-neutral, digs out plenty of detail and has real finesse, control and power at 110w with a massive transformer. Much much more dynamic than any Arcam amp I've heard.

I've wondered why Creek amps aren't more highly rated around these parts, and I reckon it's because of the sleek and stealthy almost "lifestyle tech" look of their more recent efforts, whereas many hifi buffs like big boxes, valves and anything that looks vaguely like it belongs in a mad professor's laboratory from a James Whale film 😋
 

StingRay

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There is a Creek thread, you know: https://www.hifiwigwam.com/forum/threads/creek.99515/#post-2092315

Last reply there was back in August.

It's funny how Creek don't have much of a profile on the WAM. After using Arcam amps for many years I auditioned loads of other brands and just couldn't find something that yielded sound-for-pound value, until I got my hands on a Creek Evolution 100A, which is an excellent amp: transparent, warm-side-of-neutral, digs out plenty of detail and has real finesse, control and power at 110w with a massive transformer. Much much more dynamic than any Arcam amp I've heard.

I've wondered why Creek amps aren't more highly rated around these parts, and I reckon it's because of the sleek and stealthy almost "lifestyle tech" look of their more recent efforts, whereas many hifi buffs like big boxes, valves and anything that looks vaguely like it belongs in a mad professor's laboratory from a James Whale film 😋
It could be the lack of dealers, I found demoing Creek gear, very difficult because of so few dealers. I did like the 50A, thought it was far superior to the Arcam A19. Never tried the 100A. I may have bought the Creek, if I did not go down the active route. I used to like the early Arcams.
 
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Brown Bottle

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I used to use a Creek Evo amp and CD Player. They both failed in under 5 years of ownership. They went well with my Epos M5 speakers but when I upgraded the speakers to Proac Studio 150s the amp was found wanting, loose bass and sibilance being the main problem.

Always liked the Creek Destiny amp but unfortunately couldn’t afford it.

Cheers BB
 

Nifkin

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I used to use a Creek Evo amp and CD Player. They both failed in under 5 years of ownership. They went well with my Epos M5 speakers but when I upgraded the speakers to Proac Studio 150s the amp was found wanting, loose bass and sibilance being the main problem.

Always liked the Creek Destiny amp but unfortunately couldn’t afford it.

Cheers BB
Well that's that then.

Mods, close this thread please 🤣

(I'm sure we'll start another Creek thread again next year 🤫)
 

DomT

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There is a Creek thread, you know: https://www.hifiwigwam.com/forum/threads/creek.99515/#post-2092315

Last reply there was back in August.

It's funny how Creek don't have much of a profile on the WAM. After using Arcam amps for many years I auditioned loads of other brands and just couldn't find something that yielded sound-for-pound value, until I got my hands on a Creek Evolution 100A, which is an excellent amp: transparent, warm-side-of-neutral, digs out plenty of detail and has real finesse, control and power at 110w with a massive transformer. Much much more dynamic than any Arcam amp I've heard.

I've wondered why Creek amps aren't more highly rated around these parts, and I reckon it's because of the sleek and stealthy almost "lifestyle tech" look of their more recent efforts, whereas many hifi buffs like big boxes, valves and anything that looks vaguely like it belongs in a mad professor's laboratory from a James Whale film 😋
Thanks for the link. I was sure that there had to be one and clicked through 16 pages of owners forum pages but couldn’t find it.
 

Brown Bottle

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Well that's that then.

Mods, close this thread please 🤣

(I'm sure we'll start another Creek thread again next year 🤫)
Not quite sure what your problem is? I thought it was a thread to discuss ownership of Creek products. I'm sorry I had a negative experience, as long as you're happy hey!

Cheers BB
 

hiacedrifter

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There doesn’t seem to be a Creek thread, which is a surprise, so I shall start.

Am using a Creek OBH-22 in pure passive mode ie not using the mains adapter and had the chance to use it in my Innuos, Luxman, Audio Research and ATC rig.

I had brought it to the UK as I didn’t have a preamp in Portugal to compare it to. I put this in the place of the Audio Research SP17 and it didn’t embarrass itself and was actually very good in a revealing system. Given the huge price difference between the Creek and Audio Research the Creek is better value for money. There isn’t a lot of point talking about the difference in these preamps as they are different propositions.

It’s a great preamp and I thoroughly recommend it. David Price did a write up of it and this encouraged me to give it a try.
https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/zstereo.co.uk/2014/08/16/creek-obh-22-3/amp/
I had a creek obh22... My only complaint was the weight of 3 pairs of interconnects in the back made it do wheelies!

When you unplug the power can you still switch between the 2 inputs?
 

DomT

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Village near Nottingham.
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Dom
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I had a creek obh22... My only complaint was the weight of 3 pairs of interconnects in the back made it do wheelies!

When you unplug the power can you still switch between the 2 inputs?
I believe that only input 1 works without power but am away from home right now so cannot check.

And placing a weight on top would be a good idea if using multiple heavy cables. I am using Atlas cables on one input and there is no issue at all.
 

hiacedrifter

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I believe that only input 1 works without power but am away from home right now so cannot check.

And placing a weight on top would be a good idea if using multiple heavy cables. I am using Atlas cables on one input and there is no issue at all.

Cheers. I sold my OBH22 a while back, so don't worry too much. Great little amp though. I also had a Creek integrated amp last year as a stop gap. Lovely sounding despite only being a couple of hundred quid second hand.
 

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