Who's Yehudi?
For comparison's sake, I went to visit my friend Dave to compare the T50 with his Magnum Dynalab MD-90 tuner. Dave always has something new going on at his house. On the day I visited, he showed me his new kitchen cabinets finished in a beautiful light wood, followed by a demonstration in his stereo of the RAKK DAC. The RAKK DAC has upsampling, jitter reduction and is available with a tubed output designed by Dave. On Dave's system, the RAKK DAC made an analog feast out of the digital signal from Dave's $50 DVD player. For more information about the RAKK DAC, see the recently revamped K&K Audio website.


After Dave's digital demonstration, his little dog Goldie lay down for a nap while we connected the tuners for the comparison. Dave's system includes a Mood Indigo tube preamp, a tubed power amplifier and a pair of two-way bookshelf speakers in egg-shaped enclosures with Focal drivers. Dave's entire system is DIY including the speaker cables and power cables. The sound is highly detailed with the midrange magic that relishes good singing voices and well-controlled bass reinforced by the thick walls in Dave's basement listening room. We used matching interconnects for both the T50 and the MD-90 and had to disconnect and reconnect the 75-ohm cable (connected to the outdoor roof antenna) to each tuner before listening. Because the average output of the T50 was louder than the MD-90, Dave re-adjusted the volume each time we switched tuners during a song. I know this is not very scientific but we were able to approximately set the correct volume level for each component.


We started off with some really cool jazz on WSHA (88.9) and followed it up with classical on WCPE (89.7). The respective characters of the T50 and the MD-90 couldn't have been more distinct. The jazz music (I did not hear the names of the artists) included a great rhythm section, a female singer with a firm voice and some background crowd chatter. The T50 brought all of the music front and center. The drums and electric bass sounded punchy through Dave's speakers. The singing voice was full, a little warm and brilliantly blue. Soundstaging was good with the singer and other musicians placed appropriately on the stage. The T50 gave me a clear sonic image of the music being made before the live audience. I wasn't just hearing the music, I was hearing the singer work the crowd.


Switching to the MD-90 offered a very different experience. The MD-90 went deep and wide and offered more of the cues that allow the listener to imagine sitting in the actual venue. Although the perspective was not as close as with the T50, the background noises of the crowd sounded more natural; more like a part of the performance instead of a separate track. The bass guitar was not as immediate sounding as with the T50 but it was easier to follow long runs of bass notes. The whole sonic picture sounded more natural through the MD-90 but also more distant.

When we switched to the local classical station, the differences became even more obvious. The first piece we heard was Rachmaninov's "Vocalise" performed by Yehudi Menuhin. The difference was between sitting in a concert hall or sitting in an armchair at home. The perspective with the MD-90 was more distant but the tone of the violin sounded better. The MD-90 offered more of the air around the instruments and gave more cues about the recording venue. In contrast, the T50 brought me physically closer to Yehudi but I lost some of those spatial cues that could make me feel like I was in the same room as the Maestro.


In a symphonic tone poem by Elgar, there is a pizzicato section that reminded me of pudding in Tupperware again. The close perspective of the T50 could not quite capture the same beauty of the plucked strings as the MD-90. The wider dynamic range of the MD-90 was even more apparent when the program switched to the brilliant-sounding Rachmaninov 3rd conducted by Michael Pletnev. The T50 did not offer the same scope and sweep as the MD-90 although the crescendos could certainly shake the room. Compared to the MD-90, the close perspective of the Creek tuner made the venue sound airless and stuffy - even claustrophobic. With the MD-90, there was enough air and space to fit a small mountain in Dave's listening room. Perhaps this illusion was caused by the more distant perspective or the lower gain on the outputs?

Would the results be different if I compared the two tuners back home at my shrine to solid state electronics? Unfortunately, I was not able to bring the MD tuner to listen on my own tubeless system. The Creek tuner had a completely different take on how the music should sound. I liked both tuners for different reasons. The MD-90 was less forward and less forceful but it offered better microdynamic definition of the instruments and a bigger soundstage. The T50 had a smaller soundstage but it brought the listener audibly closer to the music, making the experience immediate and exciting. The T50 also has more features than the MD-90, including AM tuning, digital station presets and RDS information. Both tuners have a tuning knob. Listeners will have to decide for themselves which musical perspective is more appropriate for their systems.


Note on the Exchange Rate: Here in the States, the currency exchange rate is generally not favorable to US consumers who want to buy goods from the UK. The Creek T50 retails for $850, just $145 shy of the MD-90 which retails for $995. Even so, I consider the price of the T50 to be fair, especially considering its musical qualities and aesthetic appearance. In the UK where the T50 is priced even more affordably, I expect that the T50 is considered a bargain.

Tuner Salad Days
Back at home, I did compare the T50 to several other older tuners, including the tuner in our 20-year old Technics receiver and a friend's Pioneer tuner from the late 70s. There is a market for vintage and used tuners so I wanted to see how the T50 would do. It was no contest. The T50 is a significant upgrade from the tuners I had on hand. The T50 made the music more involving, exciting and fun. The older units couldn't escape the veiled mass-market sound of yesteryear.


I only found three weaknesses with the Creek T50: It can sound a touch bright and glaring with some equipment; it is not as airy sounding as the more expensive Magnum Dynalab MD-90; it doesn't have the deepest or widest soundstage (although it offers very good soundstaging); the remote control is for a system, not a single component. The strengths of the T50 include a perspective that is closer to the music, excellent clarity, a good midrange, exciting rhythm and pace, very quiet backgrounds, excellent tuning, a tuning knob, tweakability, a dapper fit and finish and the ability to make radio broadcasts an integral listening experience. I expect that for many listeners, the T50 will be "practically perfect in every way". It was for me and my family.


Music listeners interested in acquiring an excellent tuner that isn't afraid to make a bold musical statement should request a demo of the Creek Audio T50. The T50 performed superlatively with my similarly-priced integrated amplifier. Just think of all the money you can save on media purchases by listening to free music! How much money do you spend purchasing CDs and LPs, downloading music files, paying satellite/cable subscriber fees? How often do people get arrested for listening to AM and FM radio broadcasts? How much time do you waste perusing, selecting and arranging a playlist of your favorite music of the moment? Why not let someone else handle the driving for a change? With a good tuner, all you have to do is come up with a destination, shout "Engage!" and off you go to the nearest galaxy of Sunday morning world beat. My wife doesn't believe that I would give up buying CDs so easily, but she would like to own the T50. Maybe I can convince my daughter to include the T50 in her Christmas list to Santa Claus?
Imagine coming home after 8 hours at a soul-sucking job. You need to recharge with the source. When you open the door, the dog barks and wags his tail. Your child is waiting with a hug and a complete story about the events of her day and your wife touches your heart with a smile and a kiss (yes, daddy's cooking dinner tonight). In the background, the Creek Audio T50 AM/FM tuner is locked into Maurice Andre playing the music of Tomaso Albinoni orchestrated for trumpet. You feel compelled to sit in your listening chair but the cat is in it. She is sleeping on your bills and junk mail. The cat's eyes are closed - but notice where her ears are pointing...
Mike Creek responds:

Hello Mike,
Thanks for giving me the opportunity to comment on your T50 review. The T50 is, in fact, an evolution of the critically acclaimed Creek T43 tuner, which was made from 1998 until the upgrade to 50 series took place last year. From the analogue perspective, we have used our 20+ years experience in the business to improve the performance of the audio signal path by carefully selecting audio grade ELNA Starget coupling capacitors and low-impedance high-temperature capacitors in the
power supply. Separating digital and analogue power supplies has also enabled the T50 to perform as well as possible. Using low noise and low impedance voltage regulators also helps. Separate windings on the high grade mains transformer improves the separation of digital and analogue supplies, to optimise the isolation of unwanted signals in the audio signal path.

When we design a new product, we normally use our knowledge to first specify the most appropriate components for the proposed circuitry and for the best technical specification, then we make prototypes that can be auditioned in house and also taken home by the staff to further evaluate the performance. Office conditions don't allows allow us to hear all we want, especially when evaluating radio, as we live in an ever-more noisy radio environment which of course now includes lots of computers running in a LAN connected by unshielded CAT5 cables. That is not ideal for the best radio or audio results.

The technical features of the T50 are briefly explained on our website and in more detail in the product leaflet and instruction manual, also to be found on the same page, which I have linked you to above. It is fair to assume that the MD tuner doesn't use the kind of circuitry Creek does and although that may not be bad, you should not assume that because it is more expensive than the Creek it is therefore better. In brief, we use circuitry that would normally be found in communications receivers and not just domestic audio equipment.

If you are listening to off-air signals, it is difficult to evaluate the absolute performance available from a tuner. We would also do that but, for the most accurate result, we would also generate our own signals and transmit them to the tuner through a signal generator and stereo encoder, so that source quality could remain constant. Many radio stations compress their broadcasts and often the poor quality of their CD players and mixing desks can remove any Hi-Fi quality, leading to the user suffering from listening fatigue over longer time periods. A big turn-off.

Best regards,

Mike Creek.
Managing Director
Creek Audio Ltd
Epos Ltd
Manufacturer's website
US distributor's website