【EMF Audio (Creek) Sequel2 Integrated Amplifier】
System C 2011｜Part 1 ｜Part 2 ｜Part 3
The key to Sub-system C in the study is the classical, warm, and thoroughly British sound created by the CREEK CLASSIC CD Player and the integrated amplifier EMF Audio Sequel2. Unlike CREEK, EMF Audio is almost entirely unknown even among dedicated Hi-Fi enthusiasts, but it is one of CREEK Audio’s secondary brands, sitting alongside the speaker brand EPOS.
EMF Audio was treated as something of a house brand into which Mike Creek could inject more of his own philosophy than was possible with the now globally recognised CREEK name, and in the early 1990s he released the “Sequel” — an integrated amplifier with a mirror-finish panel reminiscent of Aura Design. For a time it was sold as a flagship model above the CREEK range. Whether the Sequel2 is, nominally at least, a successor to that original Sequel is another question altogether. . .
The Sequel2 bears a striking resemblance to the CREEK 4240 I used as a student, and the more I look at it, the more it becomes clear that the dimensions, the chassis, and the internal circuitry are almost identical — the only functional addition being tone controls. When I stumbled across it online some years ago (at a non-audio shop, no less!), I was beside myself with excitement. It was, in essence, buying it back. I had parted with the CREEK 4240 long before, and deeply regretted it afterwards…
Having the 4240/Sequel2 in hand again, I did notice differences in the finer details. The 4240 I owned back then was a black unit with the CREEK logo and function key labels printed in fluorescent green, whereas the EMF Sequel2 is silver with black lettering. There was something distinctly tasteful about those green letters standing out against the black, and I always preferred that black model — unfortunately, the Sequel2 is available in silver only.
Even after Creek’s Japanese range switched to silver-only in the late 1990s, the black body with green logo finish continued to be sold alongside silver in the UK and wider European and American markets — but in recent models, silver seems to be all one ever sees any more.
The sound quality gives much the same impression as the 4240 review I wrote on this blog years ago, though a few components such as capacitors differ from the original as I remember it, and with the added tone control circuit in the signal path, there is a very slight sense that the purity of clarity has dropped compared to my memory of the 4240. There is a direct bypass switch, but given how simple the circuit is, any additional contact point seems likely to have a direct effect.
I had particularly hoped for that captivating headphone output sound from the 4240 — the kind that conjures the very atmosphere of a concert hall — but unfortunately, the Sequel2 feels just slightly less fresh in that regard. The headphone socket has also moved: on the 4240 it sat to the left of the volume knob as you face the unit, whereas on the Sequel2 it has shifted to the right, and the board layout appears to have been revised somewhat as well. For headphone listening, it might be worth tracking down an OBH-21 or OBH-11 instead.
It is British-made, and the surface-mount assembly on the board is as immaculate as ever. (Open up various pieces of audio equipment and you soon realise that “Japanese = careful construction” is something of an illusion…) Come to think of it, the main electrolytic capacitors are larger than I remember in the CREEK 4240. The 4240’s capacitors were roughly the size of a fingertip — unthinkably small for a conventional integrated amplifier — so there is likely to be a meaningful difference in sound there too. It might even be closer to the limited-edition 4240 GOLD. Rated output, incidentally, is the same as the CREEK 4240 at 40W + 40W (8Ω).
The CREEK OBH-22 is a passive preamplifier with rather a niche application, but simply inserting it into the chain works something close to magic — the CREEK’s distinctly British, natural sound begins to colour the character of the entire system.
【EMF Audio (Creek) Sequel2 Integrated Amplifier】
System C 2011｜Part 1 ｜Part 2 ｜Part 3
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