[cylanes]

Before you guys go bashing my buy...
I just wanna say they pair up well with my hd650`s.

But............the highs are a bit harsh at the moment, will they disappear after some burn-in time???

 

[JJ15k]

Opinions may differ, I believe burn in is mostly psychological so wether you learn to live with it/appreciate it or not is technically up to you! (how great is that).

 

[jreiter]

I never had the 21SE but had the OBH 11 with Grado 225s and never had any harshness problem ... they were all fine together. Haven't heard with Senns, which I just bought, and have ordered an M3 from Steve ...

 

[StevieDvd]

The bashing is usually based on the earlier and lower Creek models. Hopefully burn-in will settle the amp in and I look forward to some actual impressions of this amp once it's bedded in.

Steve

 

[JJ15k]

may someone enlighten me about the supposed quality of the creek products? I was considering some of their low end passive preamps.

 

[cylanes]

The harshness varies on which cd`s I`m listening to.

On Clapton`s Unplugged album I cannot detect anything wrong. The sound is smooth and warm. Really life-like acoustic guitars.

But a dire straits Brothers in arm, money for nothing, damn that guitar is overdrivin` like a nut.

Maybe it depends on the mastering of the album???

 

[StevieDvd]

I have the Creek CD50 Mk1 CD player and the matching A50ir amplifier. Both are good quality, solid build units, which had good press in the UK hi-fi mags when compared to others in the £500-£1000 category.

I got the CD as it was the older model (new in box) and the amp as ex-demo (as good as new) - prices that I could not match anywhere else.

Am very happy with the equipment.

Steve

 

[cylanes]

Weird....

I decided to connect the head-amp differently

First Time
CD --> Headamp --> Integrated Amp
Senns directly on headamp
causes harshness on some albums.

Second attempt

CD --> Integrated Amp --> Headamp --> Senns HD650
smooth and warm sound

can somebody explain this??

 

[JJ15k]

impedance matching issues?
Also maybe what you see most is the sonic characteristic of the last piece of the chain

 

[Rob80b]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cylanes Before you guys go bashing my buy... I just wanna see they pair up well with my hd650`s. But............the highs are a bit harsh at the moment, will they disappear after some burn-in time???

When I first got the OBH-11se RevB it took awhile to settle in,(there was also alot of Creek bashing at the time.) now the unit is very good. At first I did not see an improvement over the Marantz's output but now there is no comparison, the Creek wins hands down.
Ther OBH-21SE is a different design than the OBH11se, but rumour has it is an improvement and a better match for the Senns.

Once your warranty is out, hard-wire a bigger guage cable between the Power Suppy and the amp, I found that it brings the amp up a few notches in bass and smoothness.

I'm currently looking at a new amp but not because I'm not happy with the Creek it drives all my phones quite well.

You should be okay. Enjoy.

 

[cylanes]

After a few relaxing listening sessions with my new toy, I`m ready to write about my impressions.

Used setup
Marantz CD5001 --> Marantz PM4001OSE --> Creek OBH-21SE --> Sennheiser hd650 (stock cables)

Music
Eric Clapton - Unplugged
Norah Jones - Come Away with me
Dream Theater - Once in a lifetime

Eric Clapton - Unplugged.
This is awesome, I can hear almost detail, fingers sliding over snares and the bassplayer plucking technique. The acoustic guitar(s) sound very natural and the cymbals are not harsh.

I felt very involved in the music here, like I was there.

Norah Jones - Come Away with me
Don`t like the sound of the trebles on this one, bit harsh. But the voice of Jones is very intimate sounding.

Dream Theater - Once in a Lifetime
Who said HD650 can`t rock?? This babies rock my socks.
Very Nice instrument separation. The bass is great on this one.

The big difference with an amp is that the cans come more alive. Everything sounds more balanced and precise. No more overly sounding bass.