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Creek 3040 / 3140 FM Tuners

1000RPM

1000RPM

pfm Member
Always meant to try a small Creek tuner - can anyone advise on the differences between the 3040 and 3140?

As a reference, how do the Creeks stack up against an A&R T21?

I also have a Sugden R21 and Naim NAT03

thanks, RPM
 
No big difference in sound between the Creek 3040 and 3240. The big steps with the vintage Creek tuners are the T40 and then the T43. The latest is the top Creek tuner IMO.

Never heard the T21 so can’t comment.

The Sugden tuners generally have a sluggish bass in comparison with the Creek tuners but usually very musical and easy to listen to over long periods of time.

Never heard the NAT 03 neither but I have a NAT 01 and it really sings !
 
tyrant said:
Early Creek tuners drift. Creek didn't sort it until the third version of the T40.
Click to expand...
I have had two Creek 3040's over the years and drift has never been a problem. A Creek 3040 is used most days here and its sounds fine but I also have an A&R T21 in a bedroom system and I think it has the edge over the Creek; slightly warmer/smoother sounding and has very useful presets.
 
Snufkin said:
I have had two Creek 3040's over the years and drift has never been a problem. A Creek 3040 is used most days here and its sounds fine but I also have an A&R T21 in a bedroom system and I think it has the edge over the Creek; slightly warmer/smoother sounding and has very useful presets.
Click to expand...

You've been lucky then. This little piece from Hifi World by Mike Creek himself explains how they improved tuning stability over the years. Their tendency to drift was finally fixed with the T40 S3.
https://www.hi-fiworld.co.uk/index.php/radio-tuners/76-radio-tuner-reviews/191-creek-cas3140.html
 
I have a 3140, it's pretty good on the drift front, it's all analogue but stays put for weeks on end. Creek built the front end himself as explained in the article above...
 
I baya Creek 3040 and it was drifting only when cold and stabilized after 2 days after being turned on so I left it on all the time and everything was fine.
 
Interesting, so the 3140 is basically a decent car radio, unlike nearly all the competition using a variant of the CA3089 plus MC1310 or clones.
Modern car radios use a horrible SDR solution with poor signal handling. SDR can be done well at a price
 
Gervais Cote said:
No big difference in sound between the Creek 3040 and 3240. The big steps with the vintage Creek tuners are the T40 and then the T43. The latest is the top Creek tuner IMO.

Never heard the T21 so can’t comment.

The Sugden tuners generally have a sluggish bass in comparison with the Creek tuners but usually very musical and easy to listen to over long periods of time.

Never heard the NAT 03 neither but I have a NAT 01 and it really sings !
Click to expand...

A NAT01 has been a long term goal of mine!
 
Snufkin said:
I have had two Creek 3040's over the years and drift has never been a problem. A Creek 3040 is used most days here and its sounds fine but I also have an A&R T21 in a bedroom system and I think it has the edge over the Creek; slightly warmer/smoother sounding and has very useful presets.
Click to expand...

Spot on Snufkin, just the info I was looking for. I was expecting the creek and A&R tuners to be close and it seems they are, with the T21 just in front.
 
The reason I'm messing around with sub-£100 tuners is because I can't get a mortgage to buy a NAT01 !
 
I wouldn't worry too much about an NAT01 unless you have very good reception or an exceptional antenna. I had its lesser cousin the 101 and it was a lovely thing(S) but I found it was far too dependent on signal quality and eventually reverted to my Creek. I lived in an area with poor reception and it drove me bonkers by dropping its signal but when it worked it was rather wonderful however, for me, that was rare.
 
yes - keep hearing good things about the FT5500! Thanks for the advice on the Leak Stereofetic.

for NAT 01 v the best of Japan's golden age, ex-brickie once came round to mine with a NAT01 and a Sansui TU9900 - very, very close between the two and both considerably better than the NAT101 I had at the time.
 
For optimum results from less-than-perfect reception have and would recommend a CT7000 in good condition. Their main problem is that they are a maze of internal interconnections on pins, etc. So may by now keep misbehaving until all the internal contacts are cleaned and reconnected. For day to day use, I remain happy with the Armstong 600 series tuner or a QUAD FM4. Not as sensitive or good at rejecting interference as the CT7000, but give good sound in reasonable locations where you have a decent signal and aren't plagued with a lot of interference.

All the above work fine here using a home made dipole in the loft.
 
The best tuner I ever used was a Pioneer F91, part of their Elite range. I bought it at staff prices as an ex-dem item when I was working at Pioneer in Greenford.
 
A bit late to this party but I was reminiscing about an old Creek tuner I had (3040 or 3140) and wondered whether the T series were any better.

Then I saw @1000RPM’s post! Remember it well. I’ve lived in Australia and back since then!

Agree with @Arkless Electronics about the Hitachi - super sound for the price. And I’ve tried many, many tuners. I can’t seem to fix the preset problem though (a well known failure on this tuner and I have replaced the battery)

I also agree with him that the NAT01 is over rated. Having tried so many tuners - including expensive ones - I’ve landed on (and am extremely happy with) the Meridian 504. Detailed but with that very slight warmth of Meridian that makes long listening sessions so much easier. I’ve not wanted to try a more expensive tuner since and no regrets selling a big Sansui and the NAT01 in the past.
 
I've had several FM tuners over the years including NAT 02 and 01, Meridian 204, A&R T21, various from Sansui, Kenwood, Sony and Pioneer.

The reception here is excellent being just a few miles from Wrotham and some that stood out for me were Meridian's 204, Sansui TU9900, Pioneer F91.

The one I have kept is a little Sansui S77X a genuine sleeper that I happened on by chance. It's very neat. In addition to sounding excellent, it also pulls in fringe stations better than most if that's important to you. It isn't very common, especially in mint condition but don't be fooled by it's appearance. The TU9900 was a battleship compared but I still prefer this one.

The Naims were a little underwhelming, especially given the silly prices at the time but obviously I was glad to try them and had no problem moving them on.
 
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I’ve had the a Creek T40 and an A&R T21. The Creek was a good tuner but the A&R is better. I love it. I prefer it to my previous Yamaha CT 1010. The test of this is that I can’t stop listening to it. It’s the first thing I turn on in the morning.
 
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