If you wish to stream music from the Internet, listen to high-resolution music from a computer, satellite receiver or TV, or play CDs at the highest quality, the EVOLUTION 50CD is the product for you. Its, highly flexible, digital pre-amplifier easily switches between any of these sources and can remotely control the output volume, in the digital domain.
With multiple digital inputs and outputs, the latest 2016 EVOLUTION 50CD is one of the most well equipped and seriously high-end DAC products on the market, despite its competitive price.
The EVOLUTION 50CD Player will work very well in the following system. Please note the speakers should be selected to match the size of your listening room.
The EVOLUTION 50CD is a high-end DAC, with built-in CD transport and not just a CD Player. It can accept a total of seven digital sources, including an optional “Comet” BT module. It also has two digital outputs and a custom Creek RC bus to extend the Infra-Red Sensor or synchronise it with its matching amplifier.
To fully realise the potential sonic benefits of streaming hi-resolution 24/192 music files from a computer, asynchronous USB 2 support is vital. The 2016 Evolution 50CD has been upgraded to support USB 2. The 2016 EVOLUTION 50CD circuitry works with various computer platforms but requires a custom ASIO driver to enable it to work with PCs. The ASIO and USB 2 driver can both be downloaded from this webpage.
The highest quality audio output is available via balanced or un-balanced sockets for maximum flexibility. Balanced outputs are recommended if long interconnects are needed. After extensive listening tests, Creek Audio’s staff selected the best sounding output buffer circuitry before finalising the design.
To maintain top performance, the custom CDM-1 slot-drive CD transport is clocked by a separate, extremely accurate ultra-low jitter, master-clock, situated right next to the DAC for bit-perfect performance.
The EVOLUTION 50CD uses a powerful 25 Watt toroidal mains transformer to maintain a low magnetic field and excellent noise performance. It features three separate windings, to power its analogue and digital circuitry and custom CD transport. Multiple low-impedance power supply capacitors and voltage regulators are used to optimise the power supplies’ performance. Organic polymer capacitors are used to decouple critical analogue and digital circuits and high-grade WIMA polypropylene capacitors are used in the output filters.
To optimise its performance, theEVOLUTION 50CD uses two top-of-the-range 24 Bit 192 kHz stereo DACs, running in double differential mode, to improve the cancellation of distortion and noise. A multiple frequency, low-jitter, clock optimises the performance of the DAC at all sample rates. A completely independent clock maintains bit-perfect performance for Compact Disc.
Cosmetically the EVOLUTION 50CD is similar to the EVOLUTION 50A and EVOLUTION 100A integrated amplifiers; its slim case and luxurious front panel is finished in either black or silver brushed aluminium and deeply engraved. Also, like the matching amp, the EVOLUTION 50CD’s soft touch push buttons have excellent tactile feel. Each button is backlit to clearly display usable functions, for optimum user-friendliness.
All Creek EVOLUTION products now feature large OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) displays, providing higher clarity and resolution than other technologies. Display and button brightness levels can be adjusted or turned-off, via the remote handset.
The EVO system remote handset controls all the functions of the EVOLUTION range, including the Amp, CD/DAC, Ambit Tuner and Ruby DAC.
| Digital Inputs | 2 x SPDIF, 24 Bit 192 kHz, transformer isolated 2 x Toslink, 24 Bit 192 kHz, optically isolated 1 x USB class 2 24 bit 192kHz |
|---|---|
| CD Transport | Custom designed, professional quality, CD slot-loader, externally clocked for bit perfect performance |
| SNR | > 110dBA unbalanced |
| Digital output | 1 x SPDIF and 1 x Toslink optical output, pass-on all input signals |
| Digital filters | Optional digital filters are selectable via the remote |
| Analogue output | 2 x RCA un-balanced, 2.0V RMS. 2 x XLR balanced output, 4.0V RMS |
| Audio buffering | Op-amp audio buffering and filtering |
| Output impedance | 47 Ohms |
| Power supply | 25 Watt toroidal mains transformer with 3 separate secondary voltage windings, with multi-cap power supply decoupling and multiple ultra-low noise discrete power supply voltage regulators. |
| RC Bus | Input/output connection for external IR remote and serial link to Evolution 50A. |
| DAC type | 2 x Wolfson WM8742, 24 Bit 192 kHz, double differential. |
| Input receiver | WM8805, multichannel digital input receiver. |
| Operating Voltages | 100 – 120V/ 200 – 240V, Switchable |
| Power Consumption | 20 Watts (at idle) |
| Weight | 5.5kg |
| Dimensions W/H/D | 430 x 60 x 280mm |
| Finishes | Silver or black engraved front panels |
Windows Drivers
The Class 2 USB found on the latest Evolution 50CD‘s input is capable of playing high resolution music files, up to 24 bit 192 kHz, from either a PC or MAC computer. Streaming from a PC requires an additional (ASIO) driver software to be installed and possibly a USB2 driver, if your computer hasn’t already got one. USB cables up to 5 metres (16.4 feet) may be used with the Evolution 50CD.
Drivers for Windows based machines can be downloaded below:
Evolution 50CD SaviAudio Driver
For help installing this software, please visit the following link: usb-class-2-software-installation-guide
Please note, the above drivers will not work for the previous USB 1 section in pre 2016 units.