Creek 5350 SE, Channel Dropout

First of all, my apologies for not reporting my results after the repairs had been performed. I was personally unable to install the motorized Input Selector Switch. It was simply too involved and technically complicated. There are several rows of pins that have to be de-soldered so I wrote to Roy Hall asking for advice.
I was contacted by email a short time later by a gentleman named Mitch Singerman in Los Angeles who Creek refers for repairs on the older 5350 SE units. I spoke to him twice at length before sending him my unit. I was very impressed with his experience and technical savvy.
Indeed, the Input Selector Switch was the culprit on my unit and Mitch swapped it out. However, he will be the first to tell you that this is typically not the cause of this common 5350 SE complaint. Usually it’s the ribbon connector or some function of the ribbon connector terminations that are causing the complaint. He can only tell by testing it on his bench.
Mitch also made a few adjustments and minor repairs as well as cleaning the entire assembly before sending it back to me. I was very pleased in every respect. His charges are very reasonable.
My sense is that my 5350 SE had a problem of some kind since the day I received it (although I have to admit that it served me incredibly for many years before the channel began to drop out). The reason I say this is that after Mitch repaired the unit, it sounded very different than at any time prior to the repair. I say this only in positive and glowing ways. The bass was improved, separation was much more pinpoint and resolution had improved so much that it made me think I received a different piece of equipment than the one I had sent for repair, something much more expensive.
I got the unit back from Mitch at the end of October 2010. It’s been in use for several hours a day every day ever since and sounds fantastic. I’ve been a huge fan of this integrated for nearly a decade and anticipate many more years of enjoyment. It does some things even better than my fabulous Sansui AU-20000 Integrated (but not everything).
If anyone would like Mitch’s contact information, send me an email.

Thanks for the info. I opened up my 5350SE last week and connected/dis-connected the ribbon cable connections several times to wipe the contact surfaces clean. Cleaned with Deoxit and applied a thin coating of ProGold on the pins. Also cleaned the volume pot, switches, and other connections. I noticed how involved it would be for a input selector switch replacement while the cover was off. Better left to the pros. I haven't had any channel dropout nor switch noise since the cleaning. Hope it worked, but it has only been a week so far. I know what you mean. The 5350SE is a fine piece of equipment. If something were to happen to it, I would definitely get another.

Rel2,

glad to hear you got your unit fixed...some questions:

- do you mind passing along contact info for this Mitch S and sharing what this job cost you to do?
- what kind of turnaround time was involved? (ie, days, weeks, etc)?
- how much did your repair cost?

thanks, derek

Ref2, I'm glad Mitch was able to fix yours. As I've written above, mine was an entirely different matter (the computer cable issue) and I had all three computer cables replaced with hand soldered point to point wiring.

In any event, the point you make about feeling that the amp now sounds significantly better than it ever did, is precisely what I experienced after my repair. I believe a good deal of the problem we both experienced (but caused by different defects) related to channel balance and separation. In fact, if you look at John Atkinson's old Stereophile tests of the amp, you'll notice that channel separation is only "average" and that the two channels are not balanced.

When this amp is working properly (and that may be a big "IF"), it is magnificent.

I believe the true test is to compare the sound of an amp/speaker system to that of a dedicated headphone amp/headphone system. I have Gallo Reference 3 speakers and a Cayin headphone amp and various headphones, including top-of-the-line AKG, Beyer and Sennheiser. The sound I get from the Gallo speakers driven by the Creek is very close to the sound I hear through AKG 701s driven by the Cayin, namely: flat frequency response, transparency, detail, "air", dynamics, PRAT, etc. The Creek is absolutely ideal for classical music (Does anyone still listen to Classical?) because it captures the ambience of the hall better than anything I've heard and transports me to the event, rather than transporting the event into my living room. When I listen to "live" recordings, I feel that the Creek amp is providing me with a tour of US and European concert halls, palaces, cathedrals and other recording venues. Enough said!