Creek 5350 SE Integrated Amp

In a departure from a 20 year Creek tradition, the design and style of its new 5350 Integrated Amplifier is now definitely Hi-End. Creek's electronic design skill was always partially disguised by having to use less expensive casework and critical components, to meet very tight UK manufacturing budgets.

It is now popular for budget Hi-Fi to be made offshore, however, Creek believe that high quality British built products are still in vogue around the world, but need to be priced accordingly. Therefore, they continue to manufacture in the UK but, to balance their designs, have now housed their excellent circuitry in larger and more stylish casework.

Built in an aluminium case, with a machined solid aluminium front panel the 5350 provides superior sound quality, look and feel. The 5350 is constructed in a modular way, with a separate power amp, pre-amp and remote volume control circuit boards, connected with computer grade flat cables, plugs and sockets. The 5350 and SE both are supplied with a passive pre-amp circuit, providing no additional gain to the source signal. Although not strictly necessary, it can be configured with an active pre-amp, if required, by plugging-in the optional 53LINE circuit board with 6dB's of gain. An optional MM or MC Phono pre-amp can also be plugged-in to further increase the 5350 s flexibility.

Stereophile Recommended Component, Class A, Creek 5350SE $$$, October 2001, Vol.24 No10, Page 101

Solid-state, remote-controlled 85Wpc integrated with passive preamp stage, extensive switching capability, and Alps volume pot. Features headphone amp, but no balance control. BJR found the SE neutral throughout the frequency range, with “lifelike, delicate, yet forceful transient articulation...organic reproduction of low-level dynamic nuances and subtle ambient cues,” and “a degree of bass definition, articulation, clarity, and bottom-end extension unlike any I’ve heard from any amplifier in this price range and/or power rating. ST also likes the Creek a lot, thinking the little integrated is just as transparent and, subjectively, almost as powerful as his reference Musical Fidelity A3cr power amp. Non-SE version has 75Wpc and some lower-quality parts for $250 less. Four optional plug-in phono boards available: MM for $130 or $80 (SE and non-SE, respectively), MC for $150 or $100. (Vol.24 Nos.3&4)

Power Output (both channels) 85 Watts into 8ohms
Power Output (one channel) 95 Watts into 8ohms
Power output (one channe into 4ohms) 150 Watts into 4ohms
Maximum Current
(5mS for 3% THD) >30 Amps
Total Harmonic Distortion: < 0.05% 20 Hz to 20 kHz
Frequency Response: 3 Hz to 25 kHz - 1dB
Power Amp Slew Rate: > 50 V per µS
Gain: x50
Input Sensitivity (passive line) 525 mV line level input
for 50 W
Signal to Noise Ratio
(A weighted @ 2/3 power) > 105 dB
Separation (line input @ 1kHz) > 55 dB
Remote control: Standard
MM Sensitivity and Impedance: 3.5 mV @ 47 kW
MC Sensitivity: 0.75 mV @ 1 kW
MM Signal to Noise Ratio: > 70 dB
Power Consumption at Idle: < 40 Watts
Power Consumption at Full Power: 350 Watts
Power Supply Voltage: 220/240 V AC 50 Hz
100/115 V AC 60 Hz
Weight: 8 Kgs 17.5 lbs
Size: 430 x 80 x 280mm
17" x 3" x 11"