Received my (non-SE) OBH-11 today from another head-fi member, and plugged 'er in. My first impressions have been "I like it" all the way, from build quality to the feel of the volume knob to sound quality. I was thinking this amp might sound warm and mushy like my cheap Rolls HA43 after reading some previous threads, but it ain't so. For $100-$150, this is good sound... lots better than what I've heard from various built-in headphone jacks.

I can verify that there's zero audible hiss with the volume knob at full scale, and nothing connected to the amp.

A+ for price/performance... now that the OBH-11/SE is dropping in price, don't count it out if price is a real object (like it is with me).

Edit -- this amp doesn't have nearly as much gain with my low impedance/high sensitivity - 30ohm/106dB cans as I suspected... I've got it at around 12:00 for normal listening. Interesting... will see what's what after it's been on continuously for a couple days. Gonna have to locate a linear regulated wall wart for this baby too.

I think this particular amp is highly underated. Performs great and sounds good.

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Probably mostly because the Meta42 and Mint amps are so popular around here. My opinion of it hasn't changed a bit in the past couple days... like the guy who sold it to me said, it sounds "refined" -- treble isn't emphasized or screechy, bass is perfect and non-muddy. If I had a complaint, it would be that there's a slight "constrictedness" to the sound, a sort of "uptight" delivery that makes music sound a little distant and artificial. I've heard that quality in more expensive stuff too, so it's really not a major beef. Could be that a linear regulated wall wart will help, I've got one on the way in the mail.

Want the replacement parts list to pop in some really decent caps to make a big improvement for very little money? Just let me know and I'll post the list of caps needed for the Creek. I got them from PinkFloyd who says it made a HUGE change in its sound.

I'm not experienced enough with soldering to futz with it at this point, and if I mess up badly then the resale value is down the tubes. I think I'll probably keep it as-is, and eventually sell it as original when I feel like upgrading (Creek equipment has pretty good resale value, particularly on Ebay).

As far as PinkFloyd, I've got to diss him a little for judging this amp based primarily on the parts Creek used rather than on the basis of sound quality, or even circuit design. He kept going on about cheap parts and Creek's advertising spiel (gee, a company that hypes their products -- what else is new?), but nary a peep about how it sounded to him -- I don't think that's the way to judge equipment, and I think he has a negative attitude. The Grado RA-1 looks like a CMOY inside, but sounds transparent to a lot of people... isn't that what matters?

In case someone is interested, here's the list anyway:

ELNA Cerafine 35V 220uF x1
ELNA Cerafine 50V 47uF x1
ELNA Cerafine 25V 220uF x1
ELNA Cerafine 63V 47uF x3
ELNA Tonorex 35V 2200uF x 1


I can't solder two wires together if I had to in order to save my life, but I do have friends around that are extremely competent and willing to help out. When I wanted to add some IC sockets to my old CDP I just took it to a repair shop near me and paid them to do the work. Worth every penny.

One piece of advice, don't let Eric near your amp if you do decide to upgrade the caps. *j/k*

I admire PF for doing the work in finding this info out, and agree to some point that the amp isn't that good parts wise. Their implementation of the design is quite good BTW, and it doesn't sound too bad for it's price. The amp is causing a bit of ringing in my ears recently, so I have reduced my listening dramatically so as not to damage anything. I even sit here at the computer to work and type with headphones on so as to drown out the fan noise of my very noisy laptop.

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Now I definitely don't mean to diss you, but how much work is it to find out the parts inside something? Unscrew four screws on the faceplate and the back, take off the volume knob, and open the box. Anyone could do it, but only someone interested in parts (and complaining about Creek's advertising) more than good circuit design and sound quality would go on whining the way he did. If I had read those threads in advance I would have never bought the Creek at all, and it's only too obvious to me that for $100 used/mint condition it's well worth the money.

If the Meta42 never came along (low-volume commercial stuff can't compete price-wise with DIY), I think people would be looking at things differently.

Fewtch,

No problem. I admire him for one main reason: this amp has been around for about 5 years and so far he was the first person to dissect it and come up with the replacement parts to do some upgrading. No one else took the time nor bothered to do so. It was no super human feat he did, but he pioneered the work and was kind enough to share it with the rest of us.

And yes, for about $100 there's not a lot out there to compete with it sound wise. The next step is to a nice META42 or something at nearly twice that price.

OBTW, the Creek has been in my possession for more than 3 years now and it will probably be one of the only items to stick around. But.....it will not stick around without the caps change. A META is too much for me right now, so a few caps to smooth things out will be greatly appreciated.

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Fair enough.... I'm not sure the caps upgrade would even benefit me that much, considering the source it's connected to (a PC soundcard, albeit a good quality one) and I'm using $100 low impedance, easy to drive cans. My guess is I wouldn't notice that much of a change with this kind of equipment. With a pair of HD-580's connected to a high end system it might be a different story (but why would I still be using a low-end Creek amp then? ).

P.S. I noticed the amp for your Omega II's was built by zzz... I met him at the recent Seattle meet, nice guy and obviously knows his stuff. His weebl amp sounded pretty good too (at least until it self-aborted... ).

You're entitled to your opinion of how PF handled the situation with the Creek. I won't argue that point, but I look at it differently, that's all. And I wouldn't be too sure that the cap change won't make an improvement that is dramatic. The better the amp, the better the sound. Even a cheap source can sound goo dif amped well. That is as long as it isn't TOO unforgiving and revealing. A bad source will sound bad on a good amp. I did hook-up my Gilmore V2SE to both the main CDP and a really cheapo PCDP and it sounded very good with both. Obviously the CDP sounded a LOT better, but for a cheapo PCDP it sure sounded good, and the Gilmore is anything but forgiving.

I have an incredible amount of respect for zzz and his work. Once the amp arrives south of the border, the equator border that is, I will be putting in some rather nice words for him on the feedback forum here. I had the amp sent to another head-fi'er who told me how incredibly well thought out even teh packaging was done by Denis on the amp. His communication skills are superb, and the last test is to get my hands on the amp and see his workmanship for myself. I can't wait to get it.

I read on an older thread someone stating the OBH-11 has 'somewhat flabby bass' and 'muted treble'. Ya know, I'd basically agree with that assessment... the combination of the two is what gives it a somewhat "refined" sound and yet "constricted" at the same time. We'll see what kind of effect the Elpac power supply has on the sound.

I'm still not gonna mess with the caps myself -- if an opportunity ever comes up to have an expert do it cheap or free, I might take it. As far as myself, I'd prefer to assure the resale value if/when I decide to trade up to something else... I'm not a wealthy guy (that's an understatement) and it helps a lot to be able to dump old equipment at the best possible price when getting new equipment. I won't risk screwing it up.

Anyway, re: the sound... it's still very nice afaic, and still a lot better than what I've heard coming out of most headphone jacks. To naysayers, I'd just say 'what do you want for $100, a miracle?' At the original selling price of $200, I would say it's a bit overpriced, especially with more Meta42 choices available at that price point. I think for $200 I'd recommend a Headsave Ultra to someone instead.

Anyway, thanks again for the opinions and references as far as the caps to replace... it may never happen, but good to know about anyway.

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BTW, just for future reference... where can these caps be purchased (in the USA), do you know?

www.thlaudio.com should have all the caps you need according to zzz.

Thanks

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A la orden. (As they say here)