opinions on the Creek 4330 integrated amp?

Posted by Dale McGregor [IP: 207.230.237.138] on April 14, 1999 at 19:06:03
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In Reply to: opinions on the Creek 4330 integrated amp? posted by Tony Park on December 08, 1998 at 20:34:16:

I listened to this amp (actually, the 4330SE version, with an extra 10 watts/side) last month. It was played through a pair of small Epos monitors, on proper speaker stands, with decent Wireworld (but budget) cabling, with the Creek CD player as a source.

Fantastic sound! I was so impressed with its musicality (Dick Hyman's "Swing" CD and Patricia Barber's "Modern Cool") that I took it home to try with my CD player and speakers. I've a Marantz CD 63SE and Vandersteen 1B's with appropriate stands/cabling. Yes, it's a "budget" system - note my last name!

The sound is phenomenal. Vocals and acoustic instruments are very realistically conveyed - french horns are "to die for". I like to listen to music at "you are there" levels, and this little amplifier supplies the music with an effortlessness that defies its size and power rating. Thankfully (for my neighbours) most of my music is acoustic instrumentation; I only have one White Zombie album and have never been a fan of raucous rock/rap/punk etc. Still, it's easy to go overboard on the volume - the mid-range and highs that used to compress into a searing blare of noise, stay separate and distinct even when the volume level is beyond "reasonable".

I haven't tried the NAD 314 with my other components, so I can't offer an opinion re any comparison.

My original amplifier (which is still in use in the piano studio) is an old model Luxman. It still serves us well, but its 45 watt/channel rating simply isn't comparable to the Creek 4330 - and the control of bass and hard transients exhibited by the Creek simply wasn't there with the Luxman. Nor does the sound become fatiguing, as it did with the Luxman, when you listen to music at volumes that it would be produced in real life.

What more can I say? Give the amplifier a listen. I hope that it fits with your system as well as it does mine.

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