When I cranked up the Creek, I didn't expect much improvement in sound quality vs the stock 4240. I was in for two big surprises. First, the Special Edition Creek transformed the performance of the system to a much higher level of sonic realism than would be indicated by the $200 price differential. But, ironically, the character of the amp remained essentially the same as the stock 4240. When I switched to the Special Edition, the sound change was akin to that of making a significant upgrade elsewhere in the system while leaving the original 4240 intact.
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