Creek Evolution CD-player
The British company Creek Audio has been known among audiophiles for a long time - this year it celebrates its 25th anniversary. It has gained popularity thanks to high-quality and at the same time relatively affordable solutions in the field of amplifiers, tuners and CD-players. The Evolution (Evo) is one of them. It has a Philips VAM1201 with a silent loading mechanism as the transport. This is a new component for Creek - the previously used one was discontinued. The power supply is a single high-level transformer, but the components are powered through eight regulators, "in-house" for the analog and digital parts. To prevent interference, the signal frequencies in all circuits of the player are matched. A Burr Brown PCM 1738 is used as a DAC. It is capable of outputting a signal up to 24 bit/192 kHz, but its ability to increase the sample rate is intentionally not involved - Creek Audio engineers do not think that this is necessary for an inexpensive (in their line) unit. To eliminate digital noise at the output analog filters are provided. The output circuits are built on Burr Brown OPA604 and OPA2134 components. On the rear panel is a very high quality stereo pair and optical/coaxial outputs to an external DAC.
Features. For Creek, the Evolution series - this is the entry level, so you should not expect any exotic features, especially since the expensive equipment of the company is distinguished by a noble minimalism. In addition to the standard features for playing "compact", found in any CD-player, nothing is provided here.
Controls. There are only two remote controls in Creek's range. One is for Evo series, the other is for the other devices. Of course, since the player is listed as a "budget" one, it comes with a simple remote control. It looks prettier than most competitors' remote controls, but it does not shine with ergonomics. There are only six buttons on the front panel of the player, and you can only use them to select tracks and stop/playback.
Recommendations. The device is for those who want to join British High End technics, having paid comparatively little. Naturally, in the functional aspect such a decision will be the most minimalistic - it is a rule of thumb. As for the sound, such an investment will be justified: when it comes to the performance of the main task - CD playback - there is no compromise. Ideally, the player should be used with an amplifier of the same series, because the components agreed by the manufacturer often work optimally.
