It was in early 2002 that Creek’s legendary 43 series products were discontinued. They were considered to be amongst the best entry-level products available but the discontinuation of major component parts meant Creek was left with no option than to cease production. With ever escalating costs it became almost impossible to be able to produce products of comparable quality at the same-or-better-price points.

Until Now.

Evo products have been developed using 3D solid modeling software and high-grade PCB development tools. They are designed to look similar to the new Destiny high-end range, but not to be confused with it. Cosmetically, the EVO uses a 12mm solid aluminium front panel that is machined to create a visually appealing look and feel. The casework is larger than previously used on the Creek 50 series, to accommodate the extra power and facilities. To provide a solid feel and stiffness, the outer case is made from folded steel, coated with textured paint finish. Control knobs, buttons and disc feet are machined from solid aluminium.

Evolution Amp.
To achieve 85 Watts power into an 8 Ohms load and >160 Watts into 4 Ohms, the mains transformer has to be big. The Evo uses an over-rated 250VA toroidal transformer, which will provide enough current to drive the amplifier to almost double its output into 4 Ohms. To improve the sound quality, no expense has been spared. Separate windings are used for each of the high current high voltage and low voltage, analogue and digital circuits. Two sets of rectifiers and a total of 20,000 micro-Farads of multiple smoothing capacitors are used to separate the left and right circuitry and improve the dynamic performance. This is a technique used by Creek before for its up-market products and is now available in the entry-level Evo. In terms of value for money, this cannot be over-stated.

Generally, few Hi-Fi companies put so much effort into their product's power supplies at this price point, but Creek knows that this is an area where the rewards are high for such investment

Evolution CD
The Evo CD player uses a Philips VAM1201 laser assembly and low profile loader.

This transport is different to the short-loader previously used by Creek in its CD43mk2, CD50 and CD53. However, the laser and chipset are the same. The short-loader transport became obsolete; hence the switch to alternatives, One of the most important parts of a good sounding CD player is the master clock.

The Evo has been designed to use a low jitter oscillator module that clocks the data from the drive to the D to A converter and also clocks the microcontroller with the same frequency. This is done to avoid the internal interference that would cause sonic performance reductions if run at a different and asynchronous frequency such as the ATAPI drive used in the more expensive Classic and Destiny CD players.

The controls are intuitive and the remote is packaged with every product.

Evolution Tuner
One of the great strengths of Creek Audio through the years has been the ability to produce exceptional tuners. The Evolution AM/FM Tuner carries on that tradition. Styled to complement the Evolution range of integrated amplifier and CD player, and released in 2006, this tuner is the perfect match.

With today’s airwaves seemingly becoming even more crowded, coupled with the ever-increasing methods of accessing radio broadcasts, why would you purchase a dedicated tuner? The answer is quite simple – it is the only way to bring radio broadcasts magnificently to life. Separates do sound better and a stand-alone analogue tuner will provide a purer quality of sound.