musical with great bass and rhythm remote

imaging and details

I read a lot about passive preamps and thought the Creek would be a cost effective solution for me. The recurring tagline that intrigued me was that an equally good active preamp would cost 2-3 times more. As you may have guessed, the word that best describes this unit is ''transparent''. I plugged my CD player (fixed output, quite loud) directly into my amps and compared it with the Creek. Virutally no difference. However, there are issues. This was a musically involving preamp with great bass and rhythm, but the imaging and details were hazy. I then tried my basic NAD receiver as a preamp. The soundstage snapped into place, and more detailed sound emerged. On the downside, the NAD''s highs did get fatiguing and was not as musical as the Creek. I did use low capacitance ICs and my amps are purportedly mate well with passive preamps. The Creek could do a lot better in your system, saving you big bucks if it does. The remote is of great convenience. An unexpected surprise was that the Creek was able to drive my subwoofer''s high-pass filter (I listened extensively without the sub too). Try and compare before committing to this unit. Sony DVP-NS500V DVD/SACD player Antique Sound Labs Wave 8 monoblocks Polk RT35i speakers Velodyne CHT-10 sub Analysis Plus speakers cables DH Labs and Nordost interconnects

Similar Products Used:

NAD T750 receiver

Size

Very Bright and Tinney, Loss of instrument definition

I purchasd the OBH-12 because of the reviews here in Sterio Review

Boy, you guys are way wrong! I was VERY dissapointed with this preamp. I have acustats 2+2's (7ft tall speakers), Kimber Kable 4TC and two Adcom 555 II amplifiers to drive these speakers.

I purchased this preamp becuse of remote control design problem with Marantz SR-18 Home Theater system. This OBH-12 would have been the cheepest remote control solution to the Marantz problem.

When I connected the OBH-12 I immediatly noticed loss of instrument definition. The sound was tinney and sharp. The instruments blured together almost distorted...

Hence, I am back to using the Marantz Sr-18 preamp multi room capability which is not noted for any preamp strenghts. but boy it is allot cleaner and more defined than the OBH-12
Save your money... look eleswhere...

I was able to return this preamp for a full refund from Audio Advisor minus shipping)refered too in other reviews. They seem to be good folks...

Simply a transparent conduit between your source material and your amplifier.

Cheezy remote, will show you the warts on the rest of your system.

After reading many complimentary reviews of the OBH-12, I looked forward to adding it to my system. Like a lot of people, I’m caught between the demands of a HT system and a stereo system. I have a Denon AVR-1800 DD/DTS receiver, with preamp outs for the front left, right, and center channels into a Harman Kardon PA5800 amp. After tweaking my system and burning in some new cables (DB Labs BL-1 interconnects and Silver Sonic Bi-wires going to Sound Dynamics RTS-P100 fronts) I was getting happy with the sound. I was looking forward to seeing what the Creek would do with the stereo side of my system.

I plugged in a Cambridge Audio D500 CD player using the DH labs BL-1 interconnects, into the OBH-12, then, using Radio Shack Gold interconnects (I know, I know) to the left and right front channels on the HK PA5800, turned it on and….well…flat was the first word that came to mind. There WAS more attack and detail, but it all seemed in the middle. There was noticeable roll-off, both top and bottom. I wasn’t thrilled. I plugged the preamp outputs of my AVR-1800 into the Creek and played a CD my Toshiba 3109. I liked it better than a CD played on the Cambridge.

I left the preamp plugged in, and went to work the next day. I started thinking about the problems of the high and low roll off. I’m using a Monster HTS2500 power center, which tends to roll of a little. Maybe if I plugged my HK amp into a regular surge-suppressed outlet, I’d get back some of the highs and lows? At work that day, I received some new interconnects (Acoustic Research) and decided to give the Creek another shot that night.

I replaced the Radio Shack Gold cables with the Acoustic Research interconnects, plugged the HK amp into a regular (Tripp-Lite) surge protected outlet. Boom! The highs and lows were back, without losing the attack and detail! As has been reported, female vocals are much improved, and everything is more transparent. It stills sounds like the midrange is a tad overpowering, but I’m beginning to think this is because my ear became acclimated to a lack of midrange. Now all I have to do is figure out how to integrate the somewhat cheezy remote into my growing collection…

So this review is part endorsement and part cautionary tale. I guess the best way to describe this little preamp is that it is a ‘truth teller’, and you’d better make sure that EVERY related component, from the outlets to the cable connections, are up to the job. It forced this inexperienced audio enthusiast to pay attention to the rest of his equipment, and, as a result, I’m getting better sound (probably a lot better when I upgrade my amp and interconnects). As has been said, the remote is pretty
tacky, and the unit itself seems to interact with almost every remote I have, but as a ‘bang for the buck’ piece of audio equipment, this one is hard to beat.

Similar Products Used:

Harman Kardon PT2500

Does exactly what it's supposed to do--virtually nothing, allows you to hear your source components without any distortion

Sources can't be switched without remote, only 3 inputs, relationship between remote and the pre-amp is very abstract

The McCormack DNA amps are well-suited to passive pre-amps, and if you have good-sounding source equipment and speakers, passive is the way to go. The only thing that has given me equal clarity and dynamics is plugging my DAC directly into the amp, but then I can't use my turntable (very important) or tuner. The Creek allows me to use all three without affecting the signal. So even though it's a very uninspiring piece of equipment, it's a great investment. As far as I know, more expensive passive preamps will give you a better appearance and built quality, but no other real advantages. The remote seems to be a universal remote for all Creek products, so when you press an input button, it's anybody's guess what will happen. Other than that, no real complaints.

Similar Products Used:

Bryston B60 (as a pre-amp--same as a BP20), an old Adcom pre-amp/tuner, no pre-amp at all

It's a transparent goddess; it's teeny weeny.

N/A

Such a deal. Lenny, go out and grab one. This is one piece of sweet sheel metal and electronics. There is really no sound to this guy and the separation is > 82 db.

I purchased one because I travel quite a bit and would rather take real HiFi on the road rather than a boom box. This unit is VERY small apx. 2 1/2" w x 1 1/4 h x 3" d, so you can carry it anywhere and you'd want to after you listened to it.

It has the added bonus of having a remote which operates a servo-motor inside this box, so the loudness control is always in sync with the remote. The remote, however, is not terribly well thought out and looks as though it were borrowed from another (other) units. Don't let this deter you from considering this fine pre-amplifier.

This is everyman's gateway into the Hi-End world of audio or a great way to start a system.

Similar Products Used:

Sonic Frontiers SFL-1, Audible Illusions Mod 3, Nikko Beta 2

Size,Transparent Sound

None have shown up yet

This is wonderful! When I first took it out of the box I could not believe how small it was. The sound out of the box was extra bright. After about a two hour break in period,it seemed to disapear! Wonderful sound! I use this with 2 NAD 2155[bridged],NAD cd player,Thorens Turntable,Music Fidelity LP-X and '80s vintage Boston Acoustics A-150's. Warn,detailed sound.

Similar Products Used:

Haffler 110

Completely open soundstage, completely transparent, but only if paired with the correct components. Great little piece overall.

You need to pair it with the correct components (see below). Components not the absolute best in the world, but that's being very picky.

This is a very neat little device that can do it's job amazingly well. I really like it.

It can give you: It is very effecive in giving the listener a huge sound stage and nothing added to the sound. No extra coloration. It puts out what the CD player (or other source) puts into it.

However, I found that it did need to be matched to components correctly. There are numerous bits of advice for making this amp sound good, as passive pre-amps simply are not good for every system.

1. The ratio of amplifier impedance to source impedance needs to be as high as possible. I initially bought this to put between a Myryad CD player and a McIntosh MC-2205 power amp. The Myryad has 240 Ohms of impedance which evidently was too high against the 100k Ohms of the McIntosh. It honestly sounded like there was a fair amount of feedback coming from the speakers sometimes, and it really lacked any bass extension. I also had to turn the volumn pot past the half way mark on the Creek to get much sound. I heard that tube amps have insanely high impedance levels, so I put the Creek into another system, between my Rotel CD player and Eico monoblocks. It sounds incredible now. It has opened up the soundstage (more than the AGI 511 did before) and really seems transparent. It seems to pass along the music with much less effort than in the previous set up.

2. I am slightly concerned about the quality of components. Generally, you can "feel" a really high quality potentiometer. It feels like you're turning the knobs on the safe at Fort Knox. This pot feels a little "light". You can tell that this was not the most expensive pot on the shelf. I question where the $325 for a new unit goes, if not to extremely high quality parts. There just isn't that much to this unit. However, that being said, it does sound excellent and the pot is nothing to sneeze at. I do think that this choice of the potentiometer works very well in this system.

Overall, if you look at the resultant sound, this pre-amp can be outstanding if you match it up with components that make everything happy (in the electrical sense). I give it 4 stars for value as I think that you could build one of these for less money with reputedly higher-quality components than the Creek contains. $325 is waaaayy cheap for a great pre-amp, but you can build it for cheaper on your own. It delivered the goods (and then some) in every sonic expectation that I required of it before I listened to this unit, therefore I give it 5 stars overall. Quite nice.

Similar Products Used:

Marantz 70's era pre-amps (3600, etc.), AGI 511 pre-amp, McIntosh C-32.

Compact, easy to use, no loss of sound quality.

Like to have my lights dim when I,m listening to my system.
Lighted volume control knob strenght bar would be a nice
feature.

Do like the product very much. There is absolutly no noise
or hiss coming from speakers when next track on CD is going to play. Fast response from remote control.
My system: 2 home build SEX tube amps 2.5 wats of power.
2 home build TQWT speakers.
1 Sharp CD player (will not bragg about
this unit)

Similar Products Used:

None. My friends told me to choose OBH-12. Smart choice!

transparency;imaging,soundstage excellent;phenomenal transients

probably requires very good source, I doubt this unit will match well with mass market crap.

SYSTEM: NAD s500 CD,Dual CS-501 with Grado Gold,Dynaco 400 series Power, Boston Acoustics 975 speakers, NHT sub-woofer.

I immediately noticed a big improvement vs. Hafler 945 preamp.
HI FREQ: cymbals have tonal qualities now, not just hi freq. hiss. Very noticeable reduction in whistling of sibilants in male and female vocals. Brass now have a pleasing and realistic bite where before the horns were "syrupy".
MID FREQ: Vocals have more "breathiness", without being whistly. Vocals now sound like they come from the lungs, rather than having a somewhat "nasal" quality. There is a "depth" to the vocals that had been masked. Piano is *much* more realistic. I can now hear the dynamics and bell tone of recorded fender rhodes (I own one) more realistically. One particular CD track ("AFRICA Never Stand Still")- a chorus with intense dynamics -would really "break up" on the dynamic peaks with the Hafler, but now sounds realistic and smooth through all levels.

LOW FREQ: Bass is excellent. The "slap" and "wap" of the attack on drums really comes through! Bass guitars now have a "string" sound on the attack, not just a thump.

ALL FREQ: There is a "speed" to the music now that is very noticeable. Much more like live music where sound dynamics attack instantly and fade without "ringing".

So far,it's the best $299 improvement I've ever had, HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Similar Products Used:

Grounded Grid tube preamp, Hafler 945 jfet preamp, Dynaco PAS 4 discrete solid state preamp

For a mere $200, you can have purer, cleaner signal than the most expensive pre-amps.

None

Budding audiophile on a shoe string budget? Let me spare you my many mistakes:

For serious music listening, all you need is a pair of magnepan MMG's ($550), an Odyssey Stratos ($1K), a Bag End sub ($1.5K), one of these (or its little brother the "10"), correct impedance interconnects, and a SACD player or upsampling player.

This $4K system will equal or exceed the performance of your neighbor's $50K high-end system.

Passive pre "amps" (like this unit) add nothing to the signal. Not even the highest-end conventional preamp can match that standard.