[cavedave]

Just for some of you who might have a Creek OBH-11 laying around do your self a favor and send it to Big Sky Audio for there upgrade you will not be sorry.
Just got my back and i can say best 100$ i have ever spent in this hobby.
Rick does wonders with the Creek and truly turns it in to a giant killer.
I have tried the Creek 21SE and i believe the OBH-11 with the upgrade they offer
way out performs it. Oh well talk about turning a frog into a prince. Just thought i would share seeing how so many have talked about the Creek OBH-11 like a dog.
All i can say is this dog is a bad dog now.

 

[VT Skier]

I haven't and was considering it, but was afraid it would be putting lipstick on a pig given the reviews the amp has gotten here. What parts are upgraded? And have you also changed the power supply? Mine still has the original cheap wall wart.

 

[lextek]

Good to know. Had that amp many years ago.

 

[cavedave]

Quote:

Originally Posted by VT Skier /img/forum/go_quote.gif I haven't and was considering it, but was afraid it would be putting lipstick on a pig given the reviews the amp has gotten here. What parts are upgraded? And have you also changed the power supply? Mine still has the original cheap wall wart.

This is more then a little lip stick. I have had a Creek OBH-11 for many years first amp i got. I have others to but always kept this one around and yes it has the OBH-2 for a power supply. I dont know just what they did to it and dont really care i do know the diffrence is a big one. I am running it with HD-600s and it has no problem with the senns at all. I do not mean it makes them loud even though that is not a problem they flat sound good. Like i say well worth the money. The bass is very good and the highs are very detalied and not bright or sharp sounding. This is more like a complete face lift then a little lip stick.

 

[quimbo]

I just got my Creek OBH-11 back from an upgrade.  I have had this amp for at least 10 years and it was OK.  This upgrade is exactly as described above, bass is very good and the highs are very detailed and not bright or sharp sounding.

 

[jszydloski]

I sent my Creek OBH-11 in to Big Sky Audio for the Mod.  Unlike a lot of people, I thought the Creek was pretty good to begin with.  This Mod will knock your socks off. I used to think about upgrading constantly, but I can't imagine switching to another headphone amp now.  I just wish I could get my expensive integrated amp and british monitors to sound this good.  Well worth the money. 

 

[martinsmithson]

How much did that MOD cost you?
 
Martin

 

[ccklone]

Hey Now,
 
I picked up a brand new OBH-11 off the FS for 65 bucks and did the DIY replacement of all 7 capacitors with Nichicon Muse and Elna Silmac, with a Brown Dog Adapter and dual AD797B opamps and the Elpac PS. I probably have all of 100 bucks in this unit. I really like how it sounds. I have 3 headphone outs in the bedroom and I keep plugging into this one with my MB Quartz 300 ohm QP805HS.
 
It sounds way above the 100 bucks I have in it. Nice punchy bass, extended highs, the gain is a bit higher now because of the AD797B opamps, but the volume pot is a quality one so there is no imbalance at lower levels. This was my first DIY project removing caps off a pcb and it wasn't that difficult. There are some good instructions on Head-Fi to do this mod. I didn't have a solder sucker, I do now, but I used solder wick braid and it worked just fine. It is a very good headphone amp when upgraded.
 
--
Finest kind,
Chris

 

[Big Sky Audio]

Replacing 7 electrolytic capacitors is just a start with an audio upgrade. The actual audio upgrade modification changes/adds up to 25 parts depending upon the circuit board revision. Thorough listening tests with a wide variety of different music has shown the OPA2604 to be an excellent all around performer. The Elpac power supply is certainly better than the OBH-1 or OBH-Uni unregulated supplies but the OBH-2 is worth finding as it can be upgraded with better parts also.

 

[Tim Maestas]

So would this amp be worth $130 if I can't also afford the upgrade? Or is there better choices out there for me?

 

[husafreak]

I have been listening to the OBH-21SE for forever it seems, through HD600's. Honestly I avoided it , always going with my speaker rig unless no choice. But I thought that was just the way headphones sounded. Anyway I got some closed back phones (NAD VISO HP50) and was surprised how much more musical and together the sound was. Not to mention the healthy tuneful bass and drums! So I started researching to find why which convinced me the Creek amp was not great (to say the least) and led me to purchase a Garage1217 Ember II. Well now I am in Head Fi heaven But I would still like to have a solid state headphone amp and now I see the Creek's are being modified by Big Sky Audio. The price is up to $159 now and getting close to the cost of some pretty well reviewed components. Has anyone done the mod recently? I wonder how competitive the modded OBH21-SE would be in 2016. Thanks!

 

[husafreak]

Never mind Big Sky said they don't mod the -21SE it is a very different amp than the -11SE.

 

[TubeFreek]

Won a OBH-11 on eBay for $43 bucks but without power supply. Any suggestions on what and where to get one. Thanks in advance for your wisdom and experience.
This is my first delve into a dedicated head phone amp.

 

[husafreak]

It should be pretty easy to get the specs for the power supply but then you have to find he right plug. I say contact Creek.