Creek CD 60.

[aquapiranha]

Just won a Creek CD 60 on evilpay. Reputed to be a fantastic player in it's own right, it contains the TDA1541 S1 (single crown) making it an ideal basis for a bit of tweaking...

Lampizator here we come! :lol:


http://www.zenn.com.sg/Creek_CD60.JPG

(not mine, just a pic)

[Marco]

Hi Steve,

Love it - nice one! :)

I suggest that you speak to Alex Nikitin (ex-Creek designer ;)) who I'm sure will have plenty of tips regarding your forthcoming tweakery :eyebrows:

Marco.

[aquapiranha]

Update... I have just been refunded by the seller with no reasons given... hmmm.

[markf]

They are very good players, I always preferred it to the Acram 5 player that was around at the same time.
I still have my CD60/DAC60 I will keep it as a back up should my Spectral player stop working.

[aquapiranha]

So I have had this response from the seller..

'Hello there. First of all thank you for what would have been a sale but unfortunately I have had to refund your money as the unit has been dropped while taking it from the loft. It has caused a dink in the bottom corner of the unit but worse of all it appears to be skipping. I imagine the laser is out of line.
Regardless I am very sorry about this outcome and sorry if it has been a waste of your time. If you have any queries please feel free to ask or if you want to leave a number I will happily give you a ring to discuss.
Once again sorry for the inconvienience.
Regards,'

What do you think guys? I imagine he is either telling the truth, or wanted more for it..damn.

Steve

[Marco]

Sounds genuine to me, Steve., but you'll never know.... Drats, back to the drawing board, eh? :rolleyes:

Marco.

[aquapiranha]

Sounds genuine to me, Steve., but you'll never know.... Drats, back to the drawing board, eh? :rolleyes:

Marco.

So, what would you do? apart from being extremely p***ed off, I have a good mind to neg him, I am personally less forgiving obviously! I am sure he wanted more for it...

[Ali Tait]

Call his bluff (if it is one).Tell him you'll still have it (at a cheaper price!) as you know the designer who's going to fix it for you!

[Marco]

It's a difficult one, Steve.

*If* the guy's excuse is genuine then you have to admire his honesty, as he could've said nothing, sent it off and blamed the damage on the courier, and pocketed your money (even if it was less than he wanted)....

Personally, I'd put it down to experience and move on. If you neg him, that might piss him off, and he could neg you back for 'being unreasonable' (presuming what he said happened is true), and that really would be a nightmare, especially as so many people these days on Ebay refuse to deal with anyone who doesn't have 100% feedback.

No, I'd accept his refund graciously and redirect your attention somewhere else - there will be plenty more good vintage CDPs out there :)

Marco.

[Marco]

Just read Ali's suggestion.... That's another valid option, although potentially a more risky one.

Marco.

[Rare Bird]

So, what would you do? apart from being extremely p***ed off, I have a good mind to neg him, I am personally less forgiving obviously! I am sure he wanted more for it...

If i got a fiver for every time i heard that one i'd be rich. Ask for a photo of the damage ;)

[Beechwoods]

It's a shame, that... I'd believe the seller, but it's a fine looking CDP, and a shame it's been knackered! It might be worth asking for some pictures, if Alex could be persuaded to take the repair on. He may have a view on how salvageable the situation was.

PS... Marco; Sellers can't Neg Buyers these days... so Steve has nothing to lose whatever he decides to do.

[Rare Bird]

Is it this one that seems to have been listed more times than ive had hot dinners

[aquapiranha]

I will leave it, cant be arsed messing around. what do you suppose I say in the feedback for him? never had this happen before. Thanks, Steve

[aquapiranha]

Is it this one that seems to have been listed more times than ive had hot dinners

Hi Andre. That is the one, seems to me he wanted more for it and will relist it until he gets it?

Can you show me how you found that out? I have never checked that before.

Steve

[Marco]

PS... Marco; Sellers can't Neg Buyers these days... so Steve has nothing to lose whatever he decides to do.


Ah, thanks for the clarification - I use Ebay only very occasionally! Given what Andre says (an experienced Ebay trader) it's possible the guy could be at it.

My view though, regardless, is to write it off (just make sure you get your money back) as it's just not worth the hassle.

Marco.

[aquapiranha]

Ah, thanks for the clarification - I use Ebay only very occasionally! Given what Andre says (an experienced Ebay trader) it's possible the guy could be at it.

My view though, regardless, is to write it off (just make sure you get your money back) as it's just not worth the hassle.

Marco.

You may be right but I have asked him for a photo of the damage as I may be able to repair it. I have also mentioned the fact that I now know he has listed it twice before, and was expecting twice what I paid for it!

[Marco]

Cool, Steve... Keep us posted - I'd be interested in the outcome.

Good luck! :)

Marco.

[aquapiranha]

Cool, Steve... Keep us posted - I'd be interested in the outcome.

Good luck! :)

Marco.

Nest installment..

Thats right, the first two times it didn't sell. If you want to see a picture of the damage i'll take one for you no problem. Not tonight though if you don't mind, it's getting late and i'm actually at work. Send me your email address and i will send you a picture when i get a chance.
Kind regards,
John.

Who knows? maybe the guy is as honest as the day is long and I am being paranoid?

:rolleyes:

then I notice he is at work? he has a loft with a CD player in it at work? hmmm...

[Alex Nikitin]

Hi guys,

I can say that if that CD-60 is skipping it is most likely because it was designed to work when there weren't that many cellphones and other EMI sources around. There is a simple fix for it - replacing a capacitor on the main PCB, can be done without taking the thing apart, except the top cover. I did not design CD-60, however I did fix quite a few of these with that problem. Just get it - it is a nice player, thought badly over-engineered - Creek Audio at the time lost about 100 quid on each player sold, if I remember correctly.

Cheers

Alex

[Marco]

Nest installment..

Thats right, the first two times it didn't sell. If you want to see a picture of the damage i'll take one for you no problem. Not tonight though if you don't mind, it's getting late and i'm actually at work. Send me your email address and i will send you a picture when i get a chance.
Kind regards,
John.

Who knows? maybe the guy is as honest as the day is long and I am being paranoid?

:rolleyes:

then I notice he is at work? he has a loft with a CD player in it at work? hmmm...

Lol, ye of cynical mind - give the bloke a break! :eyebrows: Until, at least, he comes up with the photograph...

Alex,

Would you still recommend Steve obtains the CDP, given that it has (apparently) fallen from a loft and suffered significant damage.... How likely repairable would this be?

Marco.

[Alex Nikitin]

Alex,

Would you still recommend Steve obtains the CDP, given that it has (apparently) fallen from a loft and suffered significant damage.... How likely repairable would this be?

Marco.

If it is the one just sold for £78 I would take it in any condition for that price ;) .

Cheers

Alex

[aquapiranha]

If it is the one just sold for £78 I would take it in any condition for that price ;) .

Cheers

Alex

It may be a lose / lose situation regardless...

1, he is lying and finds a pic of another damaged one...

2, he is forced to sell it to me to avoid a neg, so puts a chisel through the board anyway...

I am really annoyed, can't stand slimy little sheisters, known a couple in my time, can't get much lower.

:steam:

[Alex Nikitin]

It may be a lose / lose situation regardless...

1, he is lying and finds a pic of another damaged one...

2, he is forced to sell it to me to avoid a neg, so puts a chisel through the board anyway...

I am really annoyed, can't stand slimy little sheisters, known a couple in my time, can't get much lower.

:steam:

Steve, £78 is not £780.

1) very unlikely to find such a picture.

2) A deliberate damage would be obvious. And these players were made very strong. Unless the PCB is broken in half it should be repairable. And if that is the case it would be dead, not skipping tracks!

I would say, take it as is. If it is dead, I'll take it from you for the price you've paid.

Cheers

Alex

[aquapiranha]

Hi alex. Yes I know it is not that much in relative terms, but it is to me, and more than that I let 2 other 1541 machines go while I waited for this ( a rotel and an orelle)

I have asked him to send me a pic anyway, so I will post it here if I get one. He says there is panel damage and it skips but nothing more detailed than that.

Steve

[markf]

I just tried my Creek player, it has been a while since I last used it and that was with the DAC60,
so I thought I would try it out just on it’s own and you know it really is a fine sounding player.

I would just look out for another example, you don’t see them for sale very often, but they usually
don’t cost much.

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a158/markf_pfm/CreekCD60.jpg

[The Grand Wazoo]

Why would he take it down from the loft to photograph it to sell on Ebay then put it back up there only to have to take it down again when the auction ends?

Take it!

[aquapiranha]

Why would he take it down from the loft to photograph it to sell on Ebay then put it back up there only to have to take it down again when the auction ends?

Take it!

Quite. The problem is he will HAVE to damage it wont he otherwise it will be obvious he was lying, and who knows what condition I will get it in!

I just get annoyed when people go back on a deal. I was wondering how he dropped it out of the loft while he was at work?

:rolleyes:

Mark, you trying to make jealous??? lol

[trane]

hi, Alex,
since it's a Creek CDP, too, and I, though have tried, seemingly can not reach you otherwise, may I ask you to please advise as to how the still excellent performance of the CD53 can be tweaked further up the ladder?
although the voicing of the player is truly spot-on, my concern is the slightly closed-in/weiled low-midrange, and some perceived lack of air all through the frequency range. to note, as all the factory-standard built-in parts are extremely fine (Panasonic FC and Sanyo Oscon caps, Holco resistors, ON rectifying diodes, BB op-amps, etc.), the only room for improvement appears to be to
- remove the PCB with the mains filter and the voltage switching parts on, and connect the transformers directly to the mains switch (done, also Deflex sheet put under the trafos> see pic. - helped some, mainly in transparency)
- replace the 41311 BB op-amps for a dunno-what-type
- fit a truly high-specced clock
- and change the otherwise great ON rectifying diodes for Schottkys or Hexfreds...
any other suggestions?
thanks :)
Attila

[Alex Nikitin]

hi, Alex,
since it's a Creek CDP, too, and I, though have tried, seemingly can not reach you otherwise, may I ask you to please advise as to how the still excellent performance of the CD53 can be tweaked further up the ladder?
although the voicing of the player is truly spot-on, my concern is the slightly closed-in/weiled low-midrange, and some perceived lack of air all through the frequency range. to note, as all the factory-standard built-in parts are extremely fine (Panasonic FC and Sanyo Oscon caps, Holco resistors, ON rectifying diodes, BB op-amps, etc.), the only room for improvement appears to be to
- remove the PCB with the mains filter and the voltage switching parts on, and connect the transformers directly to the mains switch (done, also Deflex sheet put under the trafos> see pic. - helped some, mainly in transparency)
- replace the 41311 BB op-amps for a dunno-what-type
- fit a truly high-specced clock
- and change the otherwise great ON rectifying diodes for Schottkys or Hexfreds...
any other suggestions?
thanks :)
Attila

Sorry for offtopic!

Hi Attila,

you can reach me here by a PM - I've tried to email you just yesterday but my mail bounced back from your email server!

Cheers

Alex

[aquapiranha]

Having had a day to think about it, I have decided to give him negative feedback and open a dispute with ebay with regard to him not supplying the goods.

F*** him, if you can't be honest, you shouldn't be on ebay in the first place.

I would not dream of doing this myself, so he loses his 100% feedback score on 150 transactions more fool him.

He was going to send me a picture of the imaginary damage today and he has not done so.

:lol:

I hope he is reading this too.

[The Vinyl Adventure]

Blimey don't fuck with steve! ;)
hope it works out what ever happens buddy, it does sound quite suspisious ...
this actually happened to my where I did infact drop a cd player down the stairs... The difference was.. I wasn't bullcrapin and my story did add up!
I have a terible history with cd players!

[Rare Bird]

nice one steve i would have done the same..

[Beechwoods]

He blew his story when he got to the bit about being at work... you're right to be pissed off. What a jackass.

[Marco]

Having had a day to think about it, I have decided to give him negative feedback and open a dispute with ebay with regard to him not supplying the goods.

F*** him, if you can't be honest, you shouldn't be on ebay in the first place.

I would not dream of doing this myself, so he loses his 100% feedback score on 150 transactions more fool him.

He was going to send me a picture of the imaginary damage today and he has not done so.

:lol:


Given the recent unfolding of events I'd say the guy is at it, so take him down!


I hope he is reading this too.


Send him a link - I'm sure he'll enjoy that ;)

Marco.

[trane]

Sorry for offtopic!

Hi Attila,

you can reach me here by a PM - I've tried to email you just yesterday but my mail bounced back from your email server!

Cheers

Alex

thanx, Alex :) , replied

[Rare Bird]

Hi Andre. That is the one, seems to me he wanted more for it and will relist it until he gets it?

Can you show me how you found that out? I have never checked that before.



Go to his 'Other items for sale' under his username on the listing page.. when you get there look down the left columb of the page for 'completed listings', that will show a sellers completed listings sold or not for a certain period of time..

;)

[Macca]

I've bought hi-fi off Ebay six times - been ripped off twice - and ripped off once on a non-hi-fi item out of about 45 transactions total. All the rip offs were private sellers all with good feedback.

Steve I think you are doing the right thing.

[aquapiranha]

The sellers (or not! ) response to my mail telling him I was not happy and wanted to open a dispute etc...

I have just got home from work after a busy easter weekend and found this unpleasant message dispite sending you messages telling you photo's of the damage were on their way you claim "AS i have not heard from you" Thats rubbish i have contacted you since the refund and can show it so open a dispute if you want.
Now do you want to be nice or not?
If you do i'll send the pictures as promised and you can assess whether you still want the Creek or not. I refunded your money ASAP to do the right thing and show you some manners so please show me the same respect if you want to continue this deal. Otherwise open your dispute, leave appropriate feedback and I will do the same.
Regards,

What a nice chap.

My response...

I do no think I was being unpleasant. however, since you have not fulfilled your side of the contract as per ebay policy...

'Make sure the item is delivered to the buyer as described in the listing.'

I am not sure what else you expect me to do? I missed out on two other Cd players in order to bid on the creek, which you bought for £144, unsuccessfully tried to sell for £140 twice, and then refused to sell to me for £78. there is not really anything to discuss.

As a seller, you have the opportunity to respond to negative feedback, but not to give it.

Thanks

[aquapiranha]

OK, the guy HAS sent me some pics, and so I have apologised to him. I will post up a pic when I am back on my own PC, but it is not that bad. However, I am not sure I would still want it myself mind.

[Alex_UK]

Bet he's pissed he had to chuck it down the stairs just to save face... :eyebrows:

Cynical, me? :)

[aquapiranha]

Bet he's pissed he had to chuck it down the stairs just to save face... :eyebrows:

Cynical, me? :)

Haha, who knows. Anyway, unless the other Alex has a stock of replacement facia panels in is a non starter for me I am afraid. :doh:

[Rare Bird]

Gis a pic you can tell an in the house drop & one you dropped on the patio ;)

[aquapiranha]

Gis a pic you can tell an in the house drop & one you dropped on the patio ;)

http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb256/aquapiranha/Creekdamage003.jpg

http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb256/aquapiranha/Creekdamage001.jpg

[trane]

since there's repaint on i believe it must have happened well before... my guess is the guy just didn't want to lose face for the pic in the ad differing from reality, hence the story. BUT the poor thing WAS really dropped :(

[Rare Bird]

since there's repaint on i believe it must have happened well before... my guess is the guy just didn't want to lose face for the pic in the ad differing from reality, hence the story. BUT the poor thing WAS really dropped :(

:lol: glad someone said that i told steve that last night

[trane]

:lol: glad someone said that i told steve that last night

can't find your words, mate, sorry...

[Rare Bird]

can't find your words, mate, sorry...

You wont i used a PM :lolsign:

[trane]

gotcha :) then, we share at least GREEEAT eyes ;)

[aquapiranha]

gotcha :) then, we share at least GREEEAT eyes ;)

Oi! cog eye!

:lol: