Creek Evolution 2 CD Player

Creek Evolution 2 CD Player

The EVOLUTION 2 CD Player, which went into full production at the beginning of 2009, is the latest incarnation of Creek Audio’s successful entry level EVOLUTION CD Player.

The EVOLUTION 2 builds upon the strengths of the original by replacing older technology parts and retaining the best bits, to enhance its overall performance. It is designed to cosmetically match the EVOLUTION 2 Integrated Amplifier, although it will work perfectly with any make hi-fi amplifier.

Casework

The EVOLUTION 2 CD player is housed in a large steel and aluminium case and finished in either a brushed silver or black 12mm thick front panel. Rubber isolation feet help to prevent mechanical vibrations from interfering with its high quality performance. It is physically the same size as the earlier model and matches the tuner and slightly larger integrated amplifier.

Transport

At the heart of a good CD Player is a high quality transport mechanism. The EVOLUTION 2 uses a dedicated CD transport mechanism comprising of custom made drawer loader and high quality laser assembly. Soft rubber bushes help to maintain playability under conditions of mechanical vibration. This brings improved playability strength and smoothness to its operation not bettered by CD players at any price.

CD Decoding

CD decoder and servo motor control functions are performed by a new Philips Compact Disc chip-set. This is now located on a dedicated circuit board mounted directly under the laser assembly for the shortest possible signal routing. This provides the EVOLTION 2 with a self-contained CD transport module. Power supply, digital control, SPDIF output and I2S signals to the DAC are connected to the main board with only two connectors.

Power supply

The EVOLUTION 2 uses a single high current C core mains transformer, with multiple low voltage output windings, fed from the mains IEC connector via a common mode filter. An external voltage selector allows it to be easily used in all countries. Mains connection is via a standard, fused, IEC chassis plug. A high quality power cord, with suitable mains plug for the country of use is supplied.

To stabilise and isolate the voltages to the various analogue and digital circuits the EVOLUTION 2 uses eight voltage regulators. Digital and analogue power supplies are kept completely separate and even the master clock circuit uses its own power supply.

Low Jitter clock

Essential to a good sounding CD player is a low jitter master clock. The EVOLUTION 2 has been designed to use a highly accurate oscillator module that clocks the data from the CD decoder to the D to A converter and also clocks the system microcontroller with the same frequency. This is done to reduce the internal interference that would otherwise cause sonic performance reductions if allowed to run at a different, asynchronous frequency. The digital I2S data from the decoder is re-clocked to provide a low jitter signal to the DAC.

Digital to analogue converter

Every CD player needs a DAC to recover the analogue signal from the digital recording. The EVOLUTION 2 now has a Burr-Brown PCM 1796 DAC circuit, which is capable of 24 bit/192kHz operation. It provides a balanced current output, so it is necessary to convert this into an unbalanced voltage output before it can be used. Creek do this by using a high grade op-amp.

To eliminate digital artefacts from interfering with the analogue sound quality, analogue filtering and impedance buffering are applied to the signal, also with a high grade op-amp. A gold contact relay is used at the output to mute the signal to ground when the player is stopped and paused.

Gold plated RCA analogue and digital output sockets have been chosen to provide a good connection and appearance for a product at its price point. Optical digital output is also available via a standard TOSLINK connector.

Function controls

The EVOLUTION 2 operates with soft touch buttons on the front panel for Play and Pause, Stop, Open and Close, Track forward, backward and power On/off.

Software controls functions, display and remote control. A visual indication of its status is displayed on a large blue Vacuum Fluorescent Display (VFD).

A dedicated remote control handset is supplied to operate both the EVOLUTION 2 integrated amplifier and CD player. It cannot operate the EVOLUTION Tuner, which has its own remote control that can control limited amp and CD player functions. It has all the features you would expect, including the ability to dim the brightness of the display. Evolution 2 uses different remote codes to Creek’s Destiny products.

We have combined a superior set of electronics with sophisticated styling to provide you with a quality product that delivers everything you have come to expect from products manufactured by Creek Audio.

Technical Specifications

Frequency Response 1Hz - 20Khz ± 0.25dB

Output Level 2.0V RMS @ 1KHz, 0dB

Output Impedance 50 Ohm, min load 1 Ohm

DAC Type 24bit - 192Khz Burr-Brown Delta-Sigma

Laser Type Semiconductor ALGaAs

Wavelength 790 nm +/- 25 nm

Transport Type Drawer Loader CD12

Total Harmonic Distortion < 0.0008% @ 1KHz, 0dB

THD + Noise > -97dB

Dynamic Range > 100dB

Number Of Channels 2

Software Custom Creek software, running loader, display, remote control and DAC.

Mains Filtering Multi-pole bi-directional

Power Supply 3 fully encapsulated PCB toroidal transformers for transport, logic and analogue circuitry

Voltage Switchable 120V/220V

Consumption 23 Watts max

Weight 6Kg

Size W/H/D 430 x 70 x 340mm