Mike Creek, the founder of Creek Audio, designed his 4040 Integrated Amplifier in 1982. It launched the company and was one of the plethoras of low-power, low-riding British integrateds (Arcam, Audiolab, etc) that captured so many audiophiles’ imaginations back in the day. 40 years later, Creek has introduced his 40th Anniversary version of the 4040, the diminutive 55 Watt “half size” 4040 A. It’s a $1200 USD unit in black or silver ($1495 retail CAD—$195 extra for the phono card option) with 25 Watts more power than its predecessor.

Bryan Taylor of The Gramophone, Creek Audio’s Edmonton-based Canadian distributor also has a home in sunny Victoria. He was kind enough to drop off the unit at my place. Thank you to Bryan and Gramophone for the loan of the review unit.

Unlike the ‘80s 4040, many of today’s integrated amplifiers are more like all-in-ones. Want to compete? In addition to standard integrated functionality, you best have a solid DAC onboard with streaming capabilities. A phono stage would be nice, too. Here you get a lot for your $1200 USD. 55 Watts, 2 RCA inputs, one XLR input, Power Amp Direct via a menu option, 3 digital inputs including 1 co-axial, 1 optical, 1 USB 2.0, Bluetooth aptX and a DAC using an ES9018k2m Sabre chip. A plug-and-play MM phono board is optional.

Other Specifications

Loudspeaker Outputs: 4mm binding posts with rear and side entry, plus a spade lug

Speaker output impedance: <0.02 Ohms 20Hz to 20 kHz.

Damping Factor: >100 into <0.04 Ohms

Headphone Output socket: 6.3mm stereo jack socket for 30 – 300 Ohm headphones

Mains input voltage range: 100V to 240V nominal, 50Hz or 60Hz

Power Consumption: <0.5W Standby, 5W Idle, 350W Full Power

Auto Standby: 30, 60, 120 minutes, or disabled

Weight: 2.2kgs (4.85 lbs) net, 3kgs (6.6 lbs) gross (packed)

Size W/H/D: 21.5 x 6 x 25.5 cm (8.46″ x 2.36″ x 10”)

The compact and well-laid-out rear panel of the Creek Audio 4040 A.

My Use

It’s a simple setup. You’ll be up and running in minutes. The unit had zero hours on it so I broke it in for a couple of days. I used the provided IEC power cord and the functional, plastic remote control (batteries included). The headphone jack was unused during the review. Interestingly, Creek has not added labels under the two prominent front fascia knobs. The right knob is for volume and (press for) mute. The left knob does all the heavy lifting including power on, standby mode, input selection, menu setup, balance, EQ (off for the duration), and dimmer/brightness adjustment.

I used the remote for most functionality. The small TFT screen is basic black and white with a somewhat plain Jane font. The remote worked as advertised.

A simple hookup for a run-and-go setup would probably be the most likely scenario with purchasers, but I only had some pretty special reference ancillaries on hand. I used Allnic cables and an MBL CD player. All serious HiFi gear. They would give the 4040 A a serious workout.

Sound

The 4040 A is a delight to use. On-screen functionality was clear from my listening position. And though it was hooked up to very special pieces, I plugged it straight into the wall with no power conditioning. And with no onboard phono stage installed, digital only.

Streaming was as easy as a quick pair (immediate) to my new iPhone 15 Pro Max (Apple Music). I’ve used far more expensive streaming solutions that are much more involved to get the functionality right. This was effortless. And the sound was excellent. It was detailed with accurate timbres and a pleasant soundstage. My regular Aavik/Ansuz streaming setup is over 60K, so no, the diminutive Creek could not match the superlative and 50 times the price Danish masterpieces, but for a burgeoning audiophile on a budget, the streaming section of the 4040 A was very good. I was impressed.

Bluetooth connectivity in a nano second. No drops and smooth, detailed sound.

So whether it was Ella crooning, yes she croons sometimes, with solo piano on the above album, Julian Bream sounding very fine on his beautiful classical guitar in the exceptional Sir Lennox Berkeley Guitar Concerto (have a stream, it’s wonderful), Bill Evans playing his heart out on Everybody Digs Bill Evans (the streaming resolution is good enough that you’ll hear the distortion from the original tapes), or my bass tester on streaming and CD, “Dead Already” from Thomas Newman’s soundtrack to American Beauty, the streamer section was incisive and accurate—a total bargain. If you purchase this unit, you’ll be streaming a lot.

The primary use pre/power section was punchy, direct and forthright with very wide dynamic variations in sound. As such, the superb Red Book CD Telarc Vaughan Williams Symphony No. 2 (A London Symphony) with André Previn conducting the Royal Philharmonic is a great test for both micro and macro dynamics for any integrated. Primarily the spectacularly beautiful “Lento”. It begins with very quiet dynamics. See image A below; ppp with muted slow-moving mid and low strings. This places great demands on the resolving power of your front end. Many times, I’ve heard this as a murmur and a mushy one at that. The 4040 A passed this acid test well—the muted sound of the strings (soft, sure, but the essence of the string sound must remain) was focused and also captured the gentle nature of the rising passages. It’s so important as it sets the scene for the elegiac style of Vaughan Williams representing the great city he loves (specifically, a November afternoon in Bloomsbury Square—adjacent to The British Museum, if you know London).

In the outer movements, things get very loud and exciting indeed. The 4040 A’s zestful nature had no problem with fff playback, but it’s when things get very loud that the Creek’s modest 55W Class D topology only allows the excitement so far. There were fewer fulsome details than I’ve heard from much more expensive integrated amplifiers. Still highly enjoyable and effective, nonetheless.

Image A. RVW *London Symphony* opening of the “Lento” (second movement).

Creek says its power amplifier:

…employs cutting-edge MERUS™ Infineon technology enabling it to drive even the most difficult loads to realistic listening levels with high fidelity. The power amp may be driven directly via Line 1.

And its power supply:

The key to the integrated amplifier’s impressive performance is in its high-frequency power supply, optimized for audio electronics, enabling the latent quality of its amplifier to be realized. The performance is unaffected by mains quality or voltage stability. Unlike most conventional amplifiers, the 4040 A’s 350-Watt power supply is voltage stabilized, enabling it to double its power output into half the load impedance, regardless of the mains voltage.

So the power is there for you when demanded. The Creek drove my 86 dB BØRRESEN Acoustics 01 Silver Supreme Edition Loudspeakers with no effort.

I threw in my CD version of American Beauty to get the skinny on the Creek’s bass prowess. It certainly was effective when streamed, but this is a very well-recorded CD and tests speed, resolving power and the massive sampled bass. Pass. Was it better than when streamed, yes, but only marginally. The MBL CD/DAC, a $15,600 masterpiece of digital ingenuity, should have been more than marginally better than the stream. That it wasn’t, makes me think the pre/power sections were at their resolving max, which is no bad thing, because it was very good. The sound reflections from all the Latin Percussion instruments were placed nicely in the soundstage, the marimba tone was excellent and the super bass was equally effective. Only when you hear the very telling glissando swoop shortly after the beginning that the 4040 A’s resolution is not on par with MBL or Accuphase. Both these integrateds will decipher the many sampled layers of the glissando. The better the gear, the more layers you hear.

Summary

So what you’ll be getting is British design acumen with a smooth Class D amplifier section, an excellent streamer and DAC in a diminutive package for $1200 USD ($1495 CAD). It looks and feels very well made and will sit nicely in your audio rack. It doesn’t get hot to the touch and knowing how long these British integrateds last, you’ll be handing it down to your nephew or niece 30 years from now.

The 4040 A can be considered a super bargain in the audiophile world. Great functionality, very good sound, and well made. Winner, winner.

Further information: Creek Audio

A note from Mike Creek:

For what it’s worth, Mike has made the following comment, in relation to the journalist’s comment about relative power to the original 4040: “The journalist says it is 25 Watts more power but, in reality, he is only referring to an 8 Ohm load. In reality, it is more realistic to quote a lower load impedance to allow the amp to show its potential power. The original could produce 35W into 4Ohms whereas the new one can deliver 110W under the same conditions. Hence, the new amp is considerably more powerful.” Just in case that info comes in helpful at any stage!