I recently purchased a pair of AKG 501s and am now looking for an amp. I've heard the Creek OBH 11 works well with them. I was wondering what the difference between the OBH11 and OBH11SE is. I undersatnd that the SE has an upgraded power supply. Is the SE simply and OBH11 with an OBH2 wall wart hooked up to it?

pretty much

No. It has a second jack, and upgraded internals. It doesn't sounds as "grainy" as the regular OBH-11 with the same power supply.

hm..sorry about that. I guess I was wrong.

I am auditioning both these amps right now.If you hear them both side-by-side using the same power supply they are indistinguishable,no matter wich power supply you use.The OBH-2 power supply should be standard with both players not just the SE.The difference it makes in sound quality is amazing.when you consider the cost of the OBH-11 and the OBH-2 power supply purchased separatly,the OBH-11SE becomes the logical choice.Consider that additional jack a free bonus.

Tuberoller, what source and cans did you use to come to these conclusions? I have an OBH-2 (came with the OBH-14) and I have tried it a few times on my OBH-11 and can't hear a difference vs. the OBH-1 power supply. Either I'm deaf or it's a system-matching kind of thing.

I have the OBH-11SE with the OBH-2 of course,but I have never heard the OBH-11 with the OBH-2. But, most people that have used the OBH-11 with the OBH-2 seem to also think that the combination is as good as with the SE.

So, I think it's worth going for the SE,since it is a "Class A" design.I got mine at: hififarm.com for only $315.

This is what I wrote back in September:

Contrary to other reports I find a standard OBH-11 with an OBH-2 power supply indistinguishable from the OBH-11se. The comparison was only a couple of days since the OBH-11se was borrowed. I do not find the OBH-11 to be bass shy even compared to my McCormack MID. In fact I find the OBH-11 to be very balanced in its frequency presentation. However these observations are most likely colored by my preferences and as always your mileage may vary.

From THIS thread.

But I also agree with tuberoller that once you end up buying the OBH-2 you haven't saved much over the se so you might as well buy that. IMHO.