Amazing CROFT amplifier discovery

audiokid

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Sep 17, 2011
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After being a Naim fan for many years, I came across Croft amplifiers.

Wow. Never have my Harbeths sounded so good. They have the Naim drive and speed, but added detail and frequency extremes. Glenn Croft is obviously a very knowledgeable man.

I bought the Micro 25r and 7R pre/pwr combination. I considered the 'R' integrated but it just wasn't as good, and the 7RS/Monoblocks were not worth double the value, especially with sensitive speakers. They have ample power and sound very natural, detailed, dynamic. I never thought there would be such a difference to the Naim kit. Naim sounds thuddy, congested and veiled in comparison. They're quite good value when you compare to the mainstream brands. I would put the Croft set up far ahead of the 282/250 but quite a lot cheaper.. more than 60% cheaper actually. It makes Naim look like very bad VFM IMO.

Anyway, I just wanted to report that I have found an excellent system... I'm very happy indeed. If you have good british loudspeakers such as Harbeth or Proac, then check out the Croft stuff. Now it's time to upgrade the source!
 

bluedroog

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Mar 4, 2010
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I’ve been using a Croft 25 pre for a while now, I’m all digital anyway so went for a line-only version which is a bargain at £600. I’d suggest the pre-amps are the strong point over the power amps but also the phono stage is suppose to be excellent, something I can have added by Glenn Croft for the price difference should I ever want. It should also be noted that aside from the basic model the rest of the pres in the range can also be ‘up specced’ for the price difference.

I was also fortunate to pick up one of the last Quad 909 power amps for £600 so for £1,200 I have picked up an amp combination which sounds incredible. With the tubey loveliness and drive the Croft brought to the fairly neutral and gutsy solid state 909 I really have now got the preverbal ‘iron fist in velvet glove’.

Aside from going active (even then I’d just have two systems) I can’t ever see me getting rid of either other than to go up the Croft range and sending it in to be supped up. Great stuff.

It did take me a while to acclimatise as it was quite dark sounding compared to what I was used to, I’d love to see what they can do on some better speakers. If you can live with out the bells and whistle (no remote for example) and the quirks such as dual mono volume then Croft is an excellent choice.
 

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