Creek OBH-11 Test Results (OBH-1 vs. Elpac)

[fewtch]

Thanks Matt (I'd forgotten about that thread, looks like I posted a few times to it myself). I'm sure Elpac (and probably Mouser) is selling tons of them already, given all the DIYers recommending this specific supply with their amps. Could be why Allied Electronics was sold out when I checked.

I think the fact that Creek is selling cheap wall warts for use with a phono stage (in particular) is inexcusable. These amps have a big job to do amplifying a tiny signal, and the potential for injection of noise and RFI into the system is rampant. It's unbelievable that Creek would supply the OBH-1 with *anything* audio related, as it's become abundantly clear that it's a complete piece of crap. I wouldn't use it to power an electric toothbrush, let alone a phono stage.

P.S. to everyone -- I added an addendum to the original post (top of thread), which imho is worth noting.

 

[King of Pangaea]

I have an OBH-11 with the wall wart that came with it.  Got this several years ago  around 2009 or 2010 from Audio Advisor for $225.  It has the Creek name on it and Model M23-4101-11.  24V 150Ma output.
 
Is this much better than the OB-1 or is it the OB-1?  The part #  (WM080), referred to on Mouser is currently listed as discontinued.  Do I have an improved power supply over the one panned here some years ago, this is 2013, or was Creek still putting out the same wall wart with the OBH-11 in 2009/10?
 
I just happened across these posts, I notice many are from Europe and S. America, different Volts AC220 , 50Hz.  Does this advice apply to units bought here in the USA?
 
My OMB-11 sounds better than my Burson HA160D with Senns HD600 and 800.
 
Can I see any improvement, is it possible?
 
Appreciate any input

 

[Citizen Kan]

The Creek OBH-11 has come with 3 power supplies. The original OBH-1, an unregulated supply, the OBH-2, a large linear regulated supply and currently the OBH-Uni, a universal switching unit which comes with an array of plug socket adapters for worldwide use. This last power supply was introduced when the OBH-11 was cosmetically redesigned and manufactured in China and not the UK.  I recently bought a used OBH-11 which the seller supplied to me with a no-name unregulated power supply/transformer. Not being too happy with how this might affect the amplifier, I looked on the web and found all the stuff about the Elpac WM080-1950-760 as a high performance alternative to the OBH-1 and OBH-2. I found as other late comers, that this unit is no longer available. Looking for something else, I found that Jameco had a linear regulated 24VDC, 500mA output wall wart with the required 2.1 X 5.5 mm input plug. I bought this and it still seems to work very well after ~ 4 months of use. I can't attest to it's sonic characteristics other than to say it sounds good to me and introduces no noise when my CD player is paused and the volume control on the OBH-11 turned to maximum. Incidentally, after I bought the Jameco power supply, I found that someone writing a couple of articles on Audiogon about power supplys referred to getting this specific Jameco unit as an OK alternative for non techies like myself. I should add that the Jameco unit I have is part # 174861 and not the part # given in the Audiogon article (174879), which has the wrong size plug for the OBH-11 but is otherwise identical. I might add that there is a switching power supply with plug adapters also available on the Jameco site (part # 2082345) with uncannily similar output characteristics (24 VDC, 630 mA) to the OBH-Uni. I don't know the switching frequency, harmonic interference (blah) of this and whether they differ from the OBH-Uni but it sells for $11 whereas the OBH-Uni by itself seems to be going for ~ $40-70 on the web.
I hope that this is of some help and I should add that I'm not associated with Jameco in any way - incidentally, I think their shipping charges are on the high side ($10 for the $15 linear regulated supply described above).

 

[King of Pangaea]

Thanks a lot for your info.  I shall look into this.  Maybe no improvement, maybe something audible gained, but for a few bucks I can't go too wrong.  As I said, the Creek sounds better than my Burson with Senns, and this is a cheaper option than buying a Grace M903.

 

[cjc]

Anybody seen this? Is it a good alternative to the discontinued Elpac?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/PSU-24V-DC...e=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649