TechRadar Verdict
A modest little unit that nevertheless achieves good results with a wide range of headphones. At its best with livelier musical styles.
Pros
- +
Good value
- +
Works well
Cons
- -
Sound can seem a bit dry against rivals
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This is Creek's basic headphone amp.
It shares with the rest of the OBH range a neat design based on a length of aluminium extrusion, cut to length and faced at the front with a very smart aluminium panel.
Amp circuitry
Facilities are the usual – phono input with a phono output connected directly to it for daisychaining to the rest of the system, a volume control and single quarter-inch jack socket. The circuit is based on ICs and powered by a universal wall-wart supply.
It will deliver a fairly typical 5V into high-impedance headphones, but unusually features a high output impedance, around 200 ohms, which means its output into low-impedance cans is limited (though still capable of achieving plentiful SPLs).
In addition, the tonal balance may be subtly different from other headphone amps with some headphones.
Strong control
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Be that as it may, this is a lively little performer. It did indeed have a very slightly leaner bass with the excellent Denon AH-D7000 – and no harm done there either, since the bass of that model is just a touch on the generous side.
Both with those and with higher-impedance Beyers, its sound is detailed and also remarkably energetic, positively relishing music that features rapid changes in texture and dynamics. There is a very good sense of control and, as a result, there's also a high degree of analysis.
Just occasionally one might feel, in comparison with some other (dearer!) headphone amps, that the sound is a touch dry, but it is by any reckoning a significant upgrade on a typical CD player headphone output.