EMF Audio (Creek) Sequel2 Integrated Amplifier Review — Part 3

【EMF Audio (Creek) Sequel2 Integrated Amplifier】
System C 2011｜Part 1 ｜Part 2 ｜Part 3

The sound of the Sequel2 is unmistakably CREEK through and through. If I were to describe it as a colour, it would be a matte, faded brick red — or perhaps, in more Japanese terms, cherry blossom pink. There is a faint warmth to its tonal temperature. The Sequel2’s perceived frequency range is by no means wide, and the way the soundstage opens up is, if anything, rather garden-in-miniature in character. The bass has a modest sense of weight, tapering away towards silence without any exaggeration. The treble extension is similarly restrained. Measured against today’s clear and holographic Hi-Fi standards, the transparency and sheer amount of detail belong to an amplifier of an earlier era — and yet it is precisely that nostalgic, classical atmosphere that makes it so irresistible.

The midrange has a musical wit about it, and there is a sense of speed with just a touch of allure added into the upper midrange — a tight, well-defined sound dressed in a sweet, soft resonance. Could this inner tightness be a characteristic of the MOS-FET? The leading edges are ever so slightly rounded, and there is none of the sharp, etched image outlining that tends to accompany today’s high-resolution sound — yet, curiously, instruments lock into place with pinpoint precision, giving one the feeling of peering into a miniaturised concert hall.

This is a colouration that evokes a European sound one simply cannot hear from any domestic Japanese amplifier, so ears accustomed to the colourless, transparent high fidelity of Japanese products may well find it a little unsettling at first. But I do believe this is genuinely the tonal character best suited to European music. A rich atmosphere, a sense of life running through the sound — that is Creek’s particular strength. It goes without saying that classical music is a natural fit, but do try listening to old British rock — the Beatles and the like — through a CREEK. You will most likely find there is no going back.

The slight audible distortion character that had mildly bothered me with the old CREEK 4240 seems to have been smoothed out and softened somewhat in the Sequel2. In its place, the sweetness of that cherry-blossom-pink tonal quality so characteristic of CREEK is more pronounced — which makes me wonder whether it might in fact be closer to the later A50IR or the Classic 5350SE in certain respects.

The feet on the chassis may also have had no small influence here. On the 4240 they were trapezoidal steel pieces mounted directly to the body, whereas on the Sequel2 they are black rubber feet secured with tapping screws. These rubber feet are the same as those used on the current Classic series, though I am not entirely convinced they are the best choice sonically. That said, given that one never knows where the unit will end up being placed, they are perhaps a safe and sensible option…

Having said all that, I do think those using Creek would be well served by experimenting with Hi-Fi insulators. The audio-technica AT6099, which I have introduced on various occasions here, is a good match — it brings out the dynamic musicality while nicely taming a certain peakiness that lurks somewhere in the background. That said, I myself am actually using the smaller audio-technica AT6098 — a combination I would not particularly recommend to others.

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Compared to the Creek amplifiers that have continued to be refined and developed in the upper ranges, the smaller amplifiers of the era — the 4240 and Sequel2 — still have a narrower perceived frequency range, and the soundstage they present feels a size smaller, more miniature in scale. Creek products, with the exception of a few models that appear to be OEM, still carry the very same distinctive British sound throughout the line to this day — but the higher-end Classic 5350SE and its ilk have considerably more speaker-driving authority, and feel more dynamic and lively than the Sequel2. If one were using a low-sensitivity modern speaker, or a somewhat larger speaker in a bigger room, the EVOLUTION 5350 or DESTINY AMP might well be the better choice. Conversely, for a compact speaker played at low volumes — filling the room quietly yet with a sense of depth — the Sequel2 is, I think, the one that delivers.

Before the 4240 and Sequel2, CREEK had an even more compact range of models going back to the 4040 integrated amplifier of the 1980s, followed by the 4040S2, 4040S3, and the 4140 — which omitted the tone controls — and remarkably, some of these came housed in wooden enclosures. They were products full of the handmade feel of a small garage manufacturer of the time, and while they may not have matched the 4240 and later models in terms of Hi-Fi performance or sonic purity, as I recall they were considerably warmer and more lively in character. The Creek sound may well have been at its most enjoyable in those early models built during the 1980s.

After that, the design philosophy that had prided itself on using the minimum number of components — right up through the 4240 era — began from the 4330 onwards to accumulate more and more parts, growing increasingly elaborate. Whether this was a good thing I cannot say, but speaking purely from personal preference, the 4240 and Sequel2 feel to me like products from the period when Creek achieved the finest balance between its inherently warm musicality and the demands of contemporary sound quality. (End of Sequel2 review)

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【EMF Audio (Creek) Sequel2 Integrated Amplifier】
System C 2011｜Part 1 ｜Part 2 ｜Part 3