I've had the OBH12 for about a month now, and there's no going back to active. I've heard my share of solid state and tube preamps, and I feel this passive amp is the best I've heard so far. Only in the context of a very revealing system with a top notch preamp would I say that the OBH12 will come up a little short. But for the money this costs vs the money the big boys cost, I'd say this as close to a giant killer I've come across. Since putting this unit in my system, I don't have the upgrade itch as much as I used to, and that's worth what I spent on the preamp alone. Passives do have special system matching requirements, so make sure you have the thing properly setup and give it a fair audition in your system before passing judgement.Five stars with a bullet!!!!!

I just got one from "Audio Advisor". It took two months for it to come in because they had at least 20 units on back order ahead of mine! Yes, these things are VERY popular and rightfully so! The OBH-12 is extremely transparent and is almost a "perfect world" device (i.e. provides a convenient functionality while keeping its hands away from the audio signal).It is a purely passive device requiring power only to physically move the potentiometer (via remote control) (NO crummy op-amps here, folks!) and to switch some relays for source selection.
I do have two tiny gripes, though:
First, the remote is designed for many Creek products (not just the OBH-12).
As a result, LINE 1 and LINE 2 are labelled PHONO and TUNER and there are seven unused buttons with other various labels. In other words, I must hit PHONO to switch to my CD player and TUNER for my VCR/TV, but there are unuseable buttons labelled CD and AV. Sure, picky. But for 300 clams, it should be a bit more deluxe in that respect.
Second, the unit has no power switch. Although it doesn't draw much current, I'd still like to turn it off...sometimes. That's all, though. Otherwise, this unit is a great performer and I highly recommend it. It was definitely worth the wait!

I have long considered Metaxas systems as the most transparent system I have come across to. My Solitaire and Marquis together with Martin Logan SL3's is a very good system and well matched, I should say. I also own a Krell KAV300i and Sonus Faber Concerto Grand Piano to be able to write this short review about the Creek OBH-12. Three weeks ago, I had to send my Metaxas preamp back to the manufacturer for fine tuning so I decided to substitute the Krell preamp section to drive the Metaxas Solitaire Amp. The sound was satisfying but I knew I was missing some details on the midrange to the high frequencies band I was used to when the Marquis was with me. I tried this audioreview for some budget temporary replacement and I have come across the Creek OBH-12. To my disappointment, I could not find any supplier advertising Creek products. Here in the UK, I found out that they sell direct so I ordered one for 199 GBPounds. The Krell sounded superb on the Sonus Fabers. Its preamp was not matched probably with the Solitaire so I was lacking some details on the higher frequencies. But the Creek OBH-12 was a stunning performer. I have not realized what a passive preamp could sound until now. They do not sound a thing. A good CD player,a good amp and excellent cables are all you need.
I can hardly wait for my Marquis to arrive back and compare it with this tiny stunner of a preamplifier. Kudos to Creek!!!

I purchased this unit to fill a void in my HT setup. I have a SONY 500D DVD player with built-in DOLBY 5.1 The SONY has some line level control of centers but not fronts. The unit makes nice music with the Parasound 1203. Only one complaint, the SONY remote must operate at a similar wavelength as the CREEK's because the CREEK LED control clicks every time I use the SONY remote. Great for the price

Let's cut straight to the chase:
Value: 5 Stars with enthusiasm
In absolute terms: 4 stars

Associated equipment:

Rotel CD Player
AudioQuest Quartz interconnects
Adcom GFA-545 Amp
Spica Angelus Speakers
Kimber Kable Speaker Wire

Comparing this with my previous pre-amp, the Rotel RSP-960AX(with the Superphon Revelation II before that), this little box is extremely transparent. Detail is there in abundance, the treble fatigue is gone, the sound is just so incredibly right. The midrange is simply beautiful. The Handel Water Music on HM draws me in... fantastic.

The attacks are fast and realistic, the decays natural. Vocals are presented with an uncanny presence. Listen to celine Dion Ave Maria and hear her breath before she sings, hear the sibilance on her words. However, it does not do this with any hint of brightness or grain. Natural is the thought that keeps coming to mind.

A natural competitor would be the McCormack Micro Line Drive but at $700, nearly twice as expensive. Of course you do get a buffered output(and better build quality) but alas no remote volume control.

On the minus side, I would say there is some reduction in the extremes. I would guess a top flight active pre-amp could be better but for the price, I say that it simply cannot be beat.

The Adcom has a 24k Ohm input inpedence which is a tad low and this set up would probably work a lot better with a Bryston 3B-ST (50k Ohm) or the Audio Research 100.2. But the gain is fine with this amp.

And now to upgrade my amp(which has somewhat compressed soundstage) and speakers(which have great midrange but lack bottom end).

this tiny unit is simply incredible. for 300, this unit seems a little too much overprice by itself, but the cheapest if you wanna compare it with a lot other some quality preamps. give it a test, thanks Rehan for introducing this preamp to me.

Let the source signal go through without losing part of it or messing with it; size

Too light to stay at one place, remote control is not well-labelled, remote volume control is tricky.

This unit let more musical details come out and let me feel more "being there". It replaces my HK AVR75 and used with: MSB->Silver Bullets 4.0->OBH-12->DH Labs BL-1->Bryston 3BST->Sonus Faber Concetos.

Similar Products Used:

None (because this is the only one that's small enough to fit)

clarity, dimensionality

remote

Superb value, after replacing a yamaha (old) preamp, my 12 year old daughter said Wow, Dad, the music sounds much more real. Soundstage opens, more clear and open from bass to highest frequencies. Remote is sad, but not important for me. Purchased through Savantaudio, highly recommended dealer.
My system:

Polk rt 2000p speakers
CAL DX-2 CD Player
ADCOM GFA-2 AMP
Kenwood Tuner
Audioquest turquoise interconnects (next for upgrading)
bi-wired 4-guage hi-voltage wire(home-made speaker cables)

For the past ten years I have enjoyed KEF 104/2s with an Adcom GFA555 amp and GFP555 preamp with a Denon DCD1800 CD player for eight years and now a Denon DCD3000 for the last two.
I wanted to upgrade and spent alot of time listening to amps, preamps and speakers. In the process my brother suggested that I try hooking my CD player direct to the Adcom amp, since the Denon has variable outputs. WOW, what a difference in inner detail, accuracy and smoothness. I sold the Adcom amp and preamp and purchased a Bryston 4BST amp and continued with the CD direct approach. If it is in any way true that your system is only as good as the weakest link, I think the weakest link in mine was the Adcom preamp. The Adcom amp has very good sound.

The only downside to hooking my Denon direct to my amp is that I couldn't use my tuner. So, I then started researching passive control units. I read alot of articles and discussion on the net regarding the debate on active vs passive and then came across the Creek Audio products at a local Audio store. They let me take one home for a week and I was very impressed and purchased the OBH12.

I can tell you that the OBH12 in combination with the Bryston has made the KEF 104/2s come to life. I am hearing more accuracy and detail with no edge or grain. This is particularly true in the mid to high end. Percussion instruments are right there and on dynamic source material where there are multiple instruments and/or voices going on at once it is easier to identify and discriminate individual details.

All in all I am very happy with the OBH12. I am listening to my whole music collection again and I am hearing things that I have not heard before. I won't say that I would never purchase another active preamp again, but for $325 the OBH12 is an impressive little "transparent" box.

I recieved my Creek OBH-12 about 1 month ago. This little (and I must emphasise LITTLE) unit it incredible! The transparency is just amazing. I had an old Audible Illusions Modulus 2 preamp. Granted this passive preamp can't beat those tubes, but I was suffering from an extremely bright system, so I got rid of the tubes. I'd say that overall the sound is laid back (as are most passives), so if you want exciting in-your-face music, this isn't the way to go, but overall I like the sound. I miss some the amazing soundstage of my tubes though. My associated system is:Parasound HCA-1000A Amp
Marantz CD-67SE CD Player
Kimber 4TC Speaker Wires
Tara Labs RSC Reference interconnects
Paradigm Monitor 3 Speakers