Everything about it

None

This amplifier has to be heard to be believed. I bought it a few days ago from "Sounds Like Music" in NW Phoenix (worth the drive - these are good people to do business with, and I feel better about keeping my business with local dealers rather than over the net).

At first, it was 'way too bright. Then I ran the burn-in track from the Stereophile CD #3 for 24 hours. That made a substantial difference. Listening to recordings I've had for 15 years that I've heard a gazillion times, I'm hearing detail I didn't even know was there. The bass, the highs, all incredible. And the mids are simply spectacular. HDCD CDs almost jump out at you, and Chesky recordings make you feel like the musicians are in your home. This is a small investment that everyone who loves music ought to treat themselves to.

Similar Products Used:

Carver, Denon, B&K, Harman Kardon

I bought the Creek OBH-11 and AKG K301 headphones for my
portable cd player. The sound changed from very poor to simply
spectacular.
The OBH-11 is versatile, it's solidly built, the sound is sweet and
real; CAN$250, a wise buy!

Quality construction. Good sound.

None I can see.

I purchased this unheard and unseen through the net.
My new preamp does not have headphone jack. I went over various reviews and it was the Musical Fidelity xcans or this one. I really did not want tubes for long term reliability reasons...don't want to change any.

I have used this for a few days now. I am quite happy with it. Sound is not harsh, but smooth and mellow. Good detail.

For the price, it's a good deal. The Xcans were $70 more, and the "Little" amp from Headroom was more expensive, and I think I preferred Creek's reputation.

Recommended.

Similar Products Used:

None

Excellent clarity without too much detail. Excellent bass definition and overall tonality. Mechanical and musical simplicity.

None I've noticed so far. Maybe that it's a little light in the pants from the standpoint of its thin aluminum construction. But for 199.00, you want lead shielding?

The most involving headphone amp I've tried. I received the X-CansV2 as a gift (my request!) and thought I would be in triode heaven. No such luck. It just kept sounding a bit harsh-- maybe more than a few days break-in was needed. Then I received, on loan from a friend, the Headroom amp. Much better. Very smooth but detailed with great bass and a volume control that felt sexy. The Creek arrived and I gave it a day to warm up. Also a sexy feeling volume control-- always a good sign. Then Schubert's Die Schone Mullerin (or however you spell it) with Fritz Wunderlich. Wonderful. And NO extra noise-- hissing etc. The Creek seems to be just slightly more edgy than the Headroom (which is a thousand bucks!) through my CAL DX-1 CD player with Goertz triode quartz silver interconnects. But it was maybe a bit more involving and punchy. That we can even compare these two at all despite an 800 dollar price difference is a tribute to the Creek's greatness. I have sent back the X-Cans and I had to give back the Headroom amp to my friend. But I am keeping the Creek. 48 hours to break-in-- then a GREAT product with all types of music I have tried. By the way, I have used both my own Sennheiser HD 600's with it and a loaner pair of AKG 501's. I believe I prefer the Sennheisers, though sometimes I use the 501's when I don't want so much detail. I think the edge goes to the 600's though for voices etc. They sound more present.

Similar Products Used:

Maxed Out Home Headroom, X-CansV2.

quiet, detail, price

analytical, cool

the system:
nOrh CD-1>>JPS Labs superconductor+>>OBH-11/MG-Head>>Sennheiser HD-600



This is a good amp for those on a budget. It does not shine in any one area. At higher volumes the sound becomes bright and harsh. The volume control is VERY sensitive. RCA jacks do not accomodate beefy interconnects. It sounds best with classical at moderate volumes. Bass could use some more accuracy... esp. with rock. Also with rock, the Creek seems to exagerate the sibilances on poorly recorded CDs. The MG Head is a much more forgiving amp... sounding smooth with just about everything. For a little more money the MG Head has much better sound.

Similar Products Used:

ASL MG Head DT

Dead Quiet,small size, very acurate.

Too acurate on bad CD recordings.

Not many things to add except I have noticed just how bad some of my older CDs really sound with this amp. On the other hand good cds sound excellent. Im hopeing that when the next,and better format comes into play I can really take advantage of this amps ability to amplifi without adding much in the wy of colloration to the sound like some of my tube based amps.

Price, quality, no noise

Pop sound on power on.

I bought the OBH-11 last friday. It comes with its power supply and I also bought the OBH-2 anyway which is the same as the one used by the OBH-11SE and is much bigger. My plan is to try the OBH-11 for a few weeks. By then the retailer will have received the OBH-11SE and I will be able to compare and switch if it's worth it.

My first impressions are

1) At the store (noisy) using their high-end ($1500) Creek CD player and my own Sennheiser HD-600:

I compared the two power supplies but heard no difference even on very dynamic passages. The bass extension seemed to be the same but somewhat smaller from what I get from my home setup (see below).

I became worried when I turned the volume on the OBH-11 to the max and heard a hissing sound but it turned out it came from the CD player (!).

The OBH-11 proved indeed VERY quiet seemingly adding no noise of its own. The S/N ratio specs in the manual (which is the same for the OBH-11 and OBH-11SE) say ">70 dB" for both amps which seems a very conservative figure.

It does make a small pop in the headphones (as the manual says) when it's turned on and a breathing noise when it's turned off.

Using my headphones (300 Ohms and 97dB SPL at 1 kHz with a load rating of 0.2mW) the ouput is powerful enough to be almost painful with the knob in the vertical position (half course).

2) At home (quiet) using my MSB Link DAC and again my HD-600:

I like it very much with either power supply. I listened to jazz, classical and rock and the OBH-11 is dynamic, has good bass extension and clean but not harsh highs.

The power supplies? Well that's not so obvious. It is very difficult to make a good comparison: you have to listen to one A-B loop extract at a given volume, stop, lower the volume, switch off the amp, disconect the supply, reconnect the other one, switch back on, return to the exact same volume setting, restart the CD and listen and compare with your "brain buffer" which, by then, is starting to fade. It's very easy to fool yourself into believing that it sounds better with one of them but in a blind A/B test I would not be able to tell which one with all the switching involved... ;-)

In summary let's just say that if there is a difference between the two power supplies it is very subtle to say the least. Maybe if my house voltage varied widely the OBH-2, being regulated and more filtered, would be better equipped to absorb the variations. Yeah, that's it, maybe...

I recommend the OBH-11 with either power supply. It's a nice little amp with an attractive price which makes it a great value. When I get the chance to listen to its larger brother, the OBH-11SE, in a few weeks I will give you my impressions.

Nemo

Price, quality, no noise, full bass, nice highs

Makes a small pop when turned on

I bought the OBH-11 last friday. It comes with its power supply and I also bought the OBH-2 anyway which is the same as the one used by the OBH-11SE and is much bigger. My plan is to try the OBH-11 for a few weeks. By then the retailer will have received the OBH-11SE and I will be able to compare and switch if it's worth it.

My first impressions are

1) At the store (noisy) using their high-end ($1500) Creek CD player and my own Sennheiser HD-600:

I compared the two power supplies but heard no difference even on very dynamic passages. The bass extension seemed to be the same but somewhat smaller from what I get from my home setup (see below).

I became worried when I turned the volume on the OBH-11 to the max and heard a hissing sound but it turned out it came from the CD player (!).

The OBH-11 proved indeed VERY quiet seemingly adding no noise of its own. The S/N ratio specs in the manual (which is the same for the OBH-11 and OBH-11SE) say ">70 dB" for both amps which seems a very conservative figure.

It does make a small pop in the headphones (as the manual says) when it's turned on and a breathing noise when it's turned off.

Using my headphones (300 Ohms and 97dB SPL at 1 kHz with a load rating of 0.2mW) the ouput is powerful enough to be almost painful with the knob in the vertical position (half course).

2) At home (quiet) using my MSB Link DAC and again my HD-600:

I like it very much with either power supply. I listened to jazz, classical and rock and the OBH-11 is dynamic, has good bass extension and clean but not harsh highs.

The power supplies? Well that's not so obvious. It is very difficult to make a good comparison: you have to listen to one A-B loop extract at a given volume, stop, lower the volume, switch off the amp, disconect the supply, reconnect the other one, switch back on, return to the exact same volume setting, restart the CD and listen and compare with your "brain buffer" which, by then, is starting to fade. It's very easy to fool yourself into believing that it sounds better with one of them but in a blind A/B test I would not be able to tell which one with all the switching involved... ;-)

In summary let's just say that if there is a difference between the two power supplies it is very subtle to say the least. Maybe if my house voltage varied widely the OBH-2, being regulated and more filtered, would be better equipped to absorb the variations. Yeah, that's it, maybe...

I recommend the OBH-11 with either power supply. It's a nice little amp with an attractive price which makes it a great value. When I get the chance to listen to its larger brother, the OBH-11SE, in a few weeks I will give you my impressions.

Nemo

Now this is what hi-fi is all about! Gadgetry, tweaks, and filling in the gaps. I auditioned a pair of Grado SR-125s with the Creek providing the boost. I ended up buying both.
World of difference. Whether you're in an apartment with thin walls, or you enjoy shutting out the world for awhile, this Creek really provides a nice bit of oomph to your headphone listening.

Hi-fi components are generally too spartan to include a headphone input,and most moderately priced integrated amps and reveivers don't have headphones jacks that are worth a darn; the OBH-11 fills in very nicely.

I think this item ran around $175; if you listen to headphones on a somewhat regular basis, track down a Creek dealer and give this little amp a try.

Price. Quality Construction.

Probably no warranty coverage, or future repair possibilities. Very cable dependent. Sound overrated.

The warranty card had to be sent to ENGLAND. This says to me that there is no USA coverage. Might have a problem getting this fixed.

Creek can supply a "larger" transformer/power unit to "upgrade" this unit. This means, to me, that it will sound better with bigger power supply? Then the original power supply is inadequate. Not a plus. It's a 24vdc power supply, so not commonly available as a non-Creek add on. You can special order this from Radio Shack.

Quality of construction is good. Volume control is detented and smooth. Case is well made.

Connects to tape monitor connections of preamp. There are four RCA connectors. Two to the preamp tape monitor, and two to the recording device, if used.

I found the sound is very dependent on the cables used, input and output. Cheap cables will give inferior sound.
I tried it with cheap cables and $40 Straightwire brand cables. Not that good in the sound department. I can't afford $100 cables, two of them, for connecting this unit and a recorder. I made some cables of 18 gage wire and these sound ok. I disconnect the leads to the recorder when not recording.

Headphone extention cables make a difference too. The cheap Radio Shack ones do degrade the sound. Again, I made 15' cables of 18 gage wire, and they also sound ok.

I use this with an Acurus RL11 preamp, Rotel phono preamp with MMF-5 Music Hall turnable, Rega Planet CD deck, Pioneer CD recorder, and Sony 920 Minidisc deck.

The headphones I use mainly are Sennheiser HD600's. I don't think these are a good match for the Creek. Detail and highs are muted. Low end bass is not impressive. The $$$ combination of the HD600's and Creek is $550. And the performance does not match the price. Not impressive.

The sound of the Creek is fairly laid back. Not harsh at all. Satisfactory at best. My Acurus amp with Vandersteen 2ce Signature speakers sound vastly superior to the Creek.

I also use Sony MDR7506's. These are only $100 and sound much better with the Creek than the Sennheisers. And they are outstanding for portables. The Sony MDR-V6 and V600's are NOT the same as the MDR7506's. Some say they are. No way.

For $200, the Creek is ok. I wish I had gotten the Musical Fidelity XCANS instead. I will eventually replace the Creek with these when I get the extra cash.

Similar Products Used:

Just headphone jacks in stereo equipment.