Creek Audio OBH-11SE Headphone Amplifiers

Creek Audio OBH-11SE Headphone Amplifiers 

DESCRIPTION

Headphone Amplifier w/ 2 Jacks

USER REVIEWS

Showing 1-10 of 14  
[Aug 07, 2005]
SennFan
AudioPhile

Strength:

Ability to drive almost any headphone Clear, dynamic and loud enough for any hearing threshold. 2 inputs (if you need them)

Weakness:

Power supply is cumbersome

I bought this amp in order to have a dedicated head amp and bypass the rest of my system. Usually the head sections of many receivers is an after thought and it shows when you plug in a ncie set of headphones. Immediately I noticed a difference through my 600s. Not only did listening fatigue no longer become an issue but the overall soundstage improved and listening at all volumes achieved a certain level of clarity seen on few other head amps. The upgraded Creek brick power supply, although big is neccessary and gives the unit ample power to spare. The two head inputs are nice, but I've never used both simultaneously. However, I have found that one sounds better than the other (2), much more clarity and overall bass response is tighter. Highly recommend, you will not be disappointed.

Similar Products Used:

Sennheiser HD-600s, Cardas cabling

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Nov 23, 2002]
Dave
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

sound quality, build quality, has everything you could want.

Weakness:

OHB-2 power supply is ENORMOUS but i guess it has to be to get the job done...

Very happy with this unit. when purchasing it i half thought i would not be able to tell the difference using the amp or just the headphone jack on the source, espeically since i'm not using top of the line headphones (grado SR-80). i was pleasantly surprised that music does indeed sound better through the amp, thought admittedly it matters more on some songs than others. build quality is excellent, i'm very happy with it overall. now i have an excuse to buy better headphones...

OVERALL
RATING
4
VALUE
RATING
4
[Nov 18, 2002]
Cary Watmore
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Good detail, nice bass (not bloated), Class A, heafty power supply, tape loop, 2 headphone output to match.›

Weakness:

Headphone and RCA jacks could be better.

This is the upgraded/revised B-version (the ones with a B in the serial no) of the OBH 11 SE. Too some bruning in - about 3 days continuous use before the sound opened up with the Grado RS-1. Then tried it with a Sennheiser HD580 and the sound was still great. Did not miss the crossfeed that the Headroom amps had and it cost less!! :-) a

Similar Products Used:

Headroom Supreme and Homes

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Aug 09, 2002]
BirgerC
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

I don’t need to have my main amplifier on to use headphones

Weakness:

Pour quality no/off switch (the first lasted around 20 pushes where after I got a replacement amplifier and this lasted around the same number of pushes until it broke. Overcome the problem with a short circuit of the switch, pitty that it was necessary.)

I use the product together with the OBH 1. It came with the amplifier at no extra cost. I had expected it to be delivered with the OBH 2 from the description at Creek homepage but I probably misunderstood what was written there. I use it together with Stax SR-Sigma via a SRD-X box with AC adaptor (no batteries) or Sennheiser RS 85 and tried it, just for fun, with Sony MDR-E818. For reference I used Denon AVR-2700 Phones out. To me both the output from Denon and Creek is satisfactory (I can enjoy both) with a slight advantage to the Creek. It seems to be a bit more spacious and with a little softer sound without getting mushy.

Similar Products Used:

None.

OVERALL
RATING
2
VALUE
RATING
2
[Feb 28, 2001]
Mike
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Clean sound, Dead quiet, small size, has on and off switch, two jacks of diffrent impedance values. quality build,

Weakness:

Takes forever to break in,(about 40 hours). Verry cable dependant.

I bought this amp to help smooth the sound I was getting from my Yammaha RXV 995's headphone output. While the Yammaha diddent do a bad job as far as reciever headphone jacks go, I knew my Senn 580s could do better with a dedicated amp. When I recieved my Creek and first listened, the sound was very harsh. I diddent think I would keep it after I listened for the fist couple of hours. I called Audio Advisor back with the notion of returning it. He convinced me that a few hours was not enough time to break the amp in. Altho it does state in the manual at least 24 hours is needed before the full potential of the amp can be achieved, I really diddent think it would make a diffrence. AA told me to keep it for another 2 week and if I still diddent want it, simply return it. well after a few days I realized they were right. The amp seemed to loosen up and the music flowed though with a more liquid feel to it. Ive had this amp for about 4 months now and I can truly say its worth every penny for the great sound it delivers to my cans. If you do decide to buy this amp do yourself a favor and run a signal through it even when youre not using it for the fist couple of days to help speed up the break in period. Also some experimenting with diffrent cables can do a world of good,but I suspect this is the same with all amps.

Similar Products Used:

X-can,Headrooom little more power,

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Jan 19, 2000]
Calle F
Audiophile

Strength:

Punch, detail and musical virtuosity in such a small box! A fabulous bargain.

Weakness:

Highly revealing of poor recordings, signal sources and interconnects. May be a little bit too smooth for those who crave roughness.

Actually I was not comparing different headphone amps, rather looking for a new CD-player to replace my rotten CD-changer. I bought my little creek amp and a pair of Sennheiser HD600 headphones on the recommendation from several hifi magazines. These two connected to my CD made such a difference from anything I had ever heared before. But was I in for a surprise when I packed my Creek and my Sennheisers in my backpack to visit hifi dealers in Gothenburg. I listened to Linn Ikemi and tears of joy fell, Audio Analogue Paganini and was caressed, Arcam Alpha 8SE and my feet moved in sheer musical joy, Musical fidelity....
Eventually I listened to Rega Planet and bought it, but in my search for a CD-player I realized just how fabulous my Creek OBH-11SE was. If you do not like classical music, you will still be thrilled and dazzled, but in my opinion are good rrecordings of classical orchestral works the nearest I have come to hifi heaven with my Creek OBH-11SE, Sennheiser HD600, Tara Labs Prism33 interconnect and Rega Planet. Look for it, buy it, love it!

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Oct 25, 2000]
francesc
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Smooth and transparent. Cristal clear sound.

Weakness:

A bit too analytical.

I used to use my beloved Senn's HD580 from the output of my Marantz PM66 KI-S with a satisfying sound. When the much superior Exposure Super XV replaced the Marantz I was forced to listen to headphones from the Cd63mkII KI-S output. Pure trash !! So I went into the adventure of finding a good headphone amp. After weeks of review reading on the Net I ended up with two candidates: the Creek OBH11SE and MF X-CansV2. No chance to audition any of them. So, I decided for the Creek just by the (to my taste) better looks.
I contacted Creek and they agreed to sell direct to me. I got them in two days and since then I am very happy with them. I'm usually forced to listen to music at night, so I use it a lot.
It is a magnificent small piece of equipment. Has both RCA input and output (allows using tape loop) ans two output jacks at the front. It is also class A. It combines just perfectly with my headphones and I get clean voices, magnificent piano and guitar. It sounds maybe a bit laidback with rock, but it's mostly satisfying with all music styles.
A BIG improvement from the CD output, indeed. Puts my Rogers Studio 3 aside (and I really like those speakers). Besides I am not a bass freak, so no complaints here. I can not get into the Creek vs MF war, because I have not auditioned the latter. I don't feel the need to do it anyway.
I have never listened to the Headrooms either. Their price simply made me disregard them from scratch.
BTW, I can't wait to have the unit fully run in, because I expect that it will sound even better.

Similar Products Used:

None.

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Jun 05, 2000]
Gregg Guarnera
Audiophile

Strength:

Very strong bass

Weakness:

Overly warm colored sound, lack of detail and realism

I was not very impressed with this amp. Don't get me wrong, it did not sound bad. But after spending over $300 I expected the sound to better my CD player headphone jack. In a head to head comparison my generic CD player headphone jack sounded much better. To me the sound of the Creek was quite colored (overly warm), was too strong in the bass, and lacked detail. In fact I thought it sounded muddy. Listening to piano the Creek sounded like, well I don't know, but not like a piano. I got in touch with Creek and they said that is just the way the amp sounds. Hmmmm...

On the plus side, the bass is very, very strong so if your headphones are a bit lacking in this area this amp could be just the ticket. I have HD600s and found the bass to be too much. I ended up trying the new Musical Fidelity X-Cans V2 headphone amp and my mind was made up instantly. It is natural, balanced, dynamic, detailed, delicate... I returned the Creek and kept the X-Cans and have been living very happily ever since.

Similar Products Used:

Musical Fidelity X-Cans V2, CD Player headphone jacks

OVERALL
RATING
3
VALUE
RATING
3
[Dec 24, 2000]
Jude
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Very natural sound. Good driving power. Extremely quiet (no hiss or buzz). Two headphone jacks. High end componenets inside. Very high build quality. Comes with stellar power supply (Creek OBH-2).

Weakness:

No weaknesses have been revealed in the short time I've owned it.

When I bought my Grado SR-80's, it was hard to imagine that they could possibly sound better. At Headwize (http://www.headwize.com) I saw a lot of talk about headphone amplifiers and the huge difference they made. It was hard for me to believe, especially since the 32-ohm Grados are so easy for just about anything (even portables) to drive.

Nevertheless, I purchased a Creek OBH-11SE and I'm just thrilled with it. The Creek just opened my Grados up tremendously, made them even *more* revealing, and has improved my listening experience very significantly. It has also done wonders for my Sony MDR-V6's.

Many years ago, while a freshman in college, I used to work part-time in an audiophile store. And in addition to Linn, Naim, and a host of other brands, I also sold Creek integrated amps, amps, preamps and tuners. I was always very pleased with Creek quality and sound, and so I was excited to find out recently that they made a well-received headphone amp. I bought one and I love it.

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Nov 14, 2001]
Vasco Vaz
Audiophile

Strength:

Very Little

Weakness:

Many, specially when compared with the regular Creek OBH-11

After buying the OBH-11 version - and realised that it was only marginally better them by amplifier (a micromega Minium) - I dicided to switch to the SE version. Unfortunatly I found the sound very flat, with no detail, as if I was listening from a "bottle". No, if one as to buy an headphone amplifier at least the OBH 11 model. My CD was the PRIMARE V20, and the phones the Sennheiser 265 Linear II

Similar Products Used:

none

OVERALL
RATING
2
VALUE
RATING
1
Showing 1-10 of 14  

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