2. amps-preamps
  3. 1037965017

Adcom or Creek?

Hello,

I have recently re-started aquiring a budget hifi system...
The last one was in the UK, circa 1997: Pioneer A400 - a Giant killer:

http://www.audioreview.com/Amplifiers/Pioneer+400X/PRD_116076_1583crx.aspx

B&W P4, Pioneer stable platter transport and Cambridge DAC - The A400 sounded very neutral and magically delicate and powerful :)

Now if the Pioneer were available in 120v I would be happy with that, but that's another story...

I now have a Creek 4330R integrated and an as yet untried Adcom GFA 5200 Power Amp (watts are less important that the quality of them).

My question is would an complete Adcom system including say the GFA 450 Pre/Tuner sound better than the Creek on it's own?

I like a neutral and not artificialy "warm" sound which is what I am finding with a lot of gear I've tried.

Any comments will be much appreciated.

Thx,
Josh
San Francisco
joshcloud9
joshcloud9 OP
46 posts
 
To put my system in perspective, here's my cost so far:
(I'm a cheapskate)

Creek 4330R - $300 (after selling the phono stage :)
Adcom 5200 - $125
Marantz CD-67SE - $140
Minipods (Temporary solution) - $250
Homemade Cat-5 speaker cables
Various interconnects, awaiting a pair of these
http://signalcable.com/analogone.html
arriving from Signal Cable...

I was thinking of perhaps the Musical fidelity X-Pre (tube) any comments on that one?

Thx,
Josh
cdc
1,929 posts
 
I agree with Philjet - Adcom is grainy. Dealer switched from Adcom to Classe CAP 101 on B&W Nautilus 804 and big improvement in clarity and sound quality.
If you use Epos or other speaker with very easy load the 4330 should be okay. Otherwise could bi-amp 4330 with 2nd Creek power amp.
bday0000
266 posts
 
Creek.
lou_3rd
74 posts
 
Hi Josh,

It all depends upon funds. If funds are tight, I would never recommend tubes. You can get a nice old Perreaux SM-2 preamp for a few dollars, replace the 2 modular bridge rectifiers with Freds, the other diodes in the power supply with low noise UF4007 diodes, and all the caps, other than the 12 big PS caps, with Black Gate caps, I guarantee you a killer preamp with a great little phono stage. You can use Nichicon's audiophile grade caps in the power supply to save a couple more bucks. It will not be as great as the best, but it certainly will be better than a lot of highly touted gear.

If you want to spend a little more and get a remote, the GFP-750 with Black Gate caps, and soft recovery low noise diodes would be the way to go. As for Adcom being grainy, I have hated Adcom gear most of my life, nevertheless, Stan Warren can make it sound pretty awesome.
joshcloud9 OP
46 posts
 
Well I tried the Adcom direct from the CD player using the variable out on the player, sounded reasonable but not terribly revealing?

My main complaint was that the thing was actually too hot to touch (4 ohm speakers?), which is a problem as space is tight - as well as money!.

Since the unit weighs about 20lbs it is really too much to stack on top and too hot to put under anything. Currntly I don't have space for a proper rack. I live in a shoebox in San Francisco..

So decision made, Keep the Creek, and the Adcom goes.

I think a DAC is next on shopping list, the Art DIO at $118 looks like a good canditate. Does need a mod to bring the voltage down from 7+ volts...

Or if I can find one I'd love the Musical Fidelity X-24 DAC...

Thx for the helpful advice and cheers,
Josh
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