| | Everyone has forgotten that, 15 years ago, Frente's cover of New Order's "Bizarre Love Triangle" was a smash, here in the U.S. However, I think it had been around for at least a year-and-a-half internationally.
In 1994, my preamp frustration heightened. I was using a B&K Pro 10MC. Even in its passive mode, its volume control knob never made it past 8:00. But I grew tired of the Pro 10MC, on account of its lack of remote control. And, as I was acquiring balanced sources, the Pro 10MC's lack of balanced inputs bothered me.
So the next preamp I bought was the Classe' Thirty. It had remote, albeit just 3 buttons: mute, volume up, and volume down. It had a balanced input. Its phonostage was good. It was compact and cool-running. And its silver faceplate sure looked nice. But alas, even when the Thrity's volume control was all the way down at MIN, the sound was too loud. I sent it back, and they tamped it down with a resistor. I was then able to use more of the volume control (up to about 8:00), but the sound changed! It was now neutered. I missed the original's fast, powerful sound.
The Creek Destiny integrated amp certainly shows a lot of thought put into its design. But alas, even with 2V sources, a medium-sized room, and "low" sensitivity speakers (e.g., Totems), the Destiny's volume control never goes past, you guessed it, 8:00. So if you are using the Destiny in a small room, you better check to see if you have enough play of the volume control knob.
Once again, we're all pissed off about the volume control issue. I hate to appear redundant, but this is audio's #1 problem.
I'm also disappointed that the logo is no longer green. Creek's green corporate logo has always reminded me of the trees of San Francisco, especially the ones in Golden Gate Park and the Presidio.
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| | Posted 7/7/2009 1:18 AM - 90 Views - 0 eProps - 0 comments
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