Creek 5350 SE, Channel Dropout

Thank you Danlib1 for the suggestion. I should have thought to do it myself before posting this question in open forum. I know Mike Creek to address this type thing on his own without using a forum like this. There's no question that Mike knows his stuff regarding both stereo and his own design ideas. mea culpa. I just sent a letter to Mike to see where it goes. I'll let everyone know when a solution becomes known.

I can only add that I hope anyone else using/owning Creek equipment has enjoyed it as much as I have mine so far. Creek components are a true bargain in affordable high end audio.

Creek responded to my request by confirming that it's a tarnish issue on the ribbon connector pins joining the pre-amp to the volume control PCB and power amplifier PCB. They suggested connecting/dis-connecting these connections several times to wipe the contact surfaces clean. I did this and followed up with a thin coating of Pro Gold on the pins before buttoning it all up.

First off, the repair worked superbly.

Secondly, the system sounded better than I had ever heard it before. I can think of several possible reasons for this but rather than try to analyze the "Why" of it, I'm simply basking in the wonderful outcome of this interesting odyssey. I listened to it for about 12 hours today and simply marvel at the improvement.

Thank you again to all of you who shared your thoughts with me on this question.

REL2

The problem has returned. It is definitely a faulty Input Selector Switch. I'll purchase one from Roy Hall, install it and report back. I think now that this has been the problem all along. Incidentally, I tried cleaning that pot (all of the pots) while I had the amp opened up for the ribbon. It's possible that I wasn't able to effectively clean it but my current conclusion is that it's simply mechanically/electrically faulty. I'll post back what I find. It may be a month or more before this comes to a conclusion on my end, I have a lot going on right now and little time to address this.

Rob

First of all, my apologies for not reporting my results after the repairs had been performed. I was personally unable to install the motorized Input Selector Switch. It was simply too involved and technically complicated. There are several rows of pins that have to be de-soldered so I wrote to Roy Hall asking for advice.
I was contacted by email a short time later by a gentleman named Mitch Singerman in Los Angeles who Creek refers for repairs on the older 5350 SE units. I spoke to him twice at length before sending him my unit. I was very impressed with his experience and technical savvy.
Indeed, the Input Selector Switch was the culprit on my unit and Mitch swapped it out. However, he will be the first to tell you that this is typically not the cause of this common 5350 SE complaint. Usually it’s the ribbon connector or some function of the ribbon connector terminations that are causing the complaint. He can only tell by testing it on his bench.
Mitch also made a few adjustments and minor repairs as well as cleaning the entire assembly before sending it back to me. I was very pleased in every respect. His charges are very reasonable.
My sense is that my 5350 SE had a problem of some kind since the day I received it (although I have to admit that it served me incredibly for many years before the channel began to drop out). The reason I say this is that after Mitch repaired the unit, it sounded very different than at any time prior to the repair. I say this only in positive and glowing ways. The bass was improved, separation was much more pinpoint and resolution had improved so much that it made me think I received a different piece of equipment than the one I had sent for repair, something much more expensive.
I got the unit back from Mitch at the end of October 2010. It’s been in use for several hours a day every day ever since and sounds fantastic. I’ve been a huge fan of this integrated for nearly a decade and anticipate many more years of enjoyment. It does some things even better than my fabulous Sansui AU-20000 Integrated (but not everything).
If anyone would like Mitch’s contact information, send me an email.