Alternative choice for NAD 370

I have had both the Creek 5350SE and the NAD 370. To start of with I feel as though the Creek is overated, it's ok and doesn't offend in any particular area but is in the end rather lifeless. The build quality is nothing to write home about and in the end to me it seemed rather overpriced, I prefer the Audio Refinement Complete.

The NAD is quite a beast with an amazing amount of power, I believe the Stereophile measurements had it at 178W into 8ohms. It lacks the upper end politeness of the Creek but is able to breath a lot more life into the music and the dynamics are wonderful. It can be had any number of places for $549 and is quite a steal at this price. In the past I have not been much of a fan of NAD's rather murky sound but this unit is quite a surprise and unmatchable at any close to its price.

You should consider adding a tube preamp to your existing NAD. This will make a remarkable difference to the sound for a reasonable cost. Try the Bottlehead foreplay kit if your not sure as it only runs $149.00. I have tried the foreplay through an NAD 340 and the results were outstanding.
Cheers, Steve.

the 370 will be much better than the above combination