Opinions of Creek Integrated 5350se


Please tell me what you know and think of the Creek 5350se.

I listen to a very wide variety of music - anything from Black Sabbath to Loreena McKennitt to Beethoven to Rap and over to techno. All over the map, as you can see. I like having an open, airy sound with a sense of presence. I like my sound to be tight and have good pace. I also like to have a good amount of bass (not boomy, however). I auditioned the Creek with its matching cd player and a pair of Epos speakers (M12, i think). I liked the sound and the bass was quite good, but not quite enough for my liking. That combo was very revealing and quite to my liking, but again, i restate that the bass wasn't quite enough. I also listened to a Naim system with Neat speakers and THAT system was a few notches punchier with lower range bass. It had a very lively sound that had me tapping my foot in no time, but again, there was something about it which made me have to question whether or not I would want something like that at home. And again with the Naim system, the bass was not as low as i would have liked (although it was very, VERY controlled).

Is it possible that I'm not ready for that level of performance?

I'm planning on using the Creek with a pair of NHT 2.5i's and a Rotel RCD 971 cd player.

These speakers and cd player might be replaced eventually.
Currently, I'm using a Nakamichi AV10 receiver, but I feel it is without a doubt the bottleneck of my system (and i do realize that the systems i mentioned above are MUCH higher resolution than what i have.

In a nutshell, I'm wondering if the creek would be good with the 2.5i's and the rotel. Would a naim nait 5 drive the 2.5i's?

Ok, i'm done with my ramblings...

thanks in advance.

Stephen
loose
I have the Creek with Vienna Acoustics Mozarts and a Rega Planet 2000 CDP, and couldn't be happier, but it took some time getting the cables right.
I had a Creek 4140s2 (circa 91') that had very open and agressive bass, however my impression of the newer Creeks (heard one around 99') is that they sound VERY GOOD but the presentation is a little smooth and polite, especialy in the bass. A friend of mine also had the same impression of a newer Creek in a completely different store.

So, based on the fact that the three of us seem to agree, I dont think the newer Creeks (although they ARE quite nice) are for your tastes. Just my opinion.

Great CDP, dont change it. That's one of the best of all the Rotels IMHO.

You might want to try the Nait 5 (?) however I agree with Jeff regarding cable & system matching. The speaker wire that works best in one combo can sound dreadfull in another, although I'm not an engineer and I have no idea why this cable interaction occurs.

The Musical Fidelity A3 integrated might have more teeth and give you what you're looking for but thats based more on my experience w/recent MF stuff; I havent heard the A3 in particular.

Does Mission still make amps? They were rumored to have good timing and a fairly energetic presentation.
Stephan,

Please post how your search goes. I have a similiar setup, basically the step down setup from yours... I listen to an equally diverse range of music and am also looking to upgrade... Was also considering the Creek!!!

My setup:
Nakamichi AV-8 receiver
Marantz (Ah Tjoebs '99) CD player
Marantz 4200 DVD
NHT 1.5 speakers
NHT 10' subwoofer with external NHT 125W sub amp. This sub really works well with diverse music, the volume control on the sub amp is very useful for matching the amount of bass needed for the various types of music I listen to.
Kimber Kable 8tc speaker wire
Nordost Blue Heaven from CD to receiver

I really want to know how your auditioning goes and what you decide on going with?!?

Steve
NHTs are not the most efficient speakers on the planet...but they do have good bass...largely due to their sealed enslosure designs...as far as an amp...I would agree with some posts...the Creek is not a "rocker/rap" type of amp...for a less "refined" but more dynamic amp...the NAD c370 might be your ticket...about the same price too..
nooo, I will not go the NAD route...It is only about as good sounding as the Nak AV10 i'm currently using...the last thing i want to do is move laterally. Sure the NAD will sound different than the Nakamichi, but it certainly won't elevate the overall system performance.

As far as the same price as the Creek 5350se, I don't think so. The Creek is more expensive,without a doubt.

Perhaps the Creek is not the best match either, but my search continues...

Looking at the Primare a20. Not sure how this will perform with the speakers, but it can't hurt to try.

By the way, i've put off buying an integrated for a while - instead, i have upgraded my source with the addition of an MSB Link DACIII. I figure that I might as well start at the source in order to realize the full potential of any amp i choose...

(and let me tell you, the addition of that DAC makes a HUGE difference)

Stephen