Croft Series 7 back in my life at last !

[IHP]

I've owned one of these before but not at the same time as my Croft pre. I deeply regretted letting it go but that happens sometimes !

Anyhoo, spotted a used one for sale fairly locally this morning and it's playing now. I have to say the combination of the 25R pre and 7 power amps is just utterley stunning. Fidelity, soundstage and imaging to die for. I've never heard my Harbs. sing like this before. Revelatory. I am just so happy with the beautiful sounds coming my way.

The Leak 20 remains a wonderful match with the the Harbs. but ultimately just falls short output wise and on occasions things can get a bit congested. Not a fault of the amp. I feel, just not the very best match on these terms.

Anyway rant over. I apologise for being so predictable though I do feel safe having a Croft related rant here on AoS ;-)

[Tarzan]

Just enjoy the sound my good fellow, Harbs sound exellent withmedium power amps- l know l use both!:cool:

[Covenant]

Ian, have you heard the Series 7 on it's own? I use my dac as a pre and it seems fine. I guess I am just wondering what the Micro 25R adds in terms of flavour to the SQ.

[IHP]

Ian, have you heard the Series 7 on it's own? I use my dac as a pre and it seems fine. I guess I am just wondering what the Micro 25R adds in terms of flavour to the SQ.

Really sorry, no Jerry, can't help there.

[jon1]

I've owned one of these before but not at the same time as my Croft pre. I deeply regretted letting it go but that happens sometimes !

Anyhoo, spotted a used one for sale fairly locally this morning and it's playing now. I have to say the combination of the 25R pre and 7 power amps is just utterley stunning. Fidelity, soundstage and imaging to die for. I've never heard my Harbs. sing like this before. Revelatory. I am just so happy with the beautiful sounds coming my way.

The Leak 20 remains a wonderful match with the the Harbs. but ultimately just falls short output wise and on occasions things can get a bit congested. Not a fault of the amp. I feel, just not the very best match on these terms.

Anyway rant over. I apologise for being so predictable though I do feel safe having a Croft related rant here on AoS ;-)






Dont you just love it?Can it get any better ian?;):)



jon

[IHP]

Dont you just love it?Can it get any better ian?;):)

jon

Been listening for 3 1/2 hours and no ! Well, perhaps in a bit when I've had a beer.

[jon1]

Been listening for 3 1/2 hours and no ! Well, perhaps in a bit when I've had a beer.





Well what was the verdict after the beers:D any improvement?




Jon

[IHP]

Well what was the verdict after the beers:D any improvement?

Jon

I'm off this week and had the opportunity to listen a fair bit. It really is just right. I shan't do the review thing as It'll just sound cliche'd but separation of instruments and as I mentioned before soundstaging is as I've not heard before in my system. Happy :-)

[ursus262]

One question: what's the bass like?

[jon1]

I'm off this week and had the opportunity to listen a fair bit. It really is just right. I shan't do the review thing as It'll just sound cliche'd but separation of instruments and as I mentioned before soundstaging is as I've not heard before in my system. Happy :-)






So they go well with each other and well matched?;)



jon

[jon1]

One question: what's the bass like?





I can tell you that the bass is excellent i every way very tight:eyebrows:..that is with the GC gear i have:)


jon

[ursus262]

I can tell you that the bass is excellent i every way very tight:eyebrows:..that is with the GC gear i have:)


jon

:lol:

Ah, but does it go DEEP?!

I'm into depth you see ;)

[jon1]

:lol:

Ah, but does it go DEEP?!

I'm into depth you see ;)





Very deep you can feel the vibration through the floor and they are concrete:D
is that deep enough?:eyebrows:or if that is not deep enough try a sub;)


jon

[ursus262]

Well, my RS6s do depth of bass in spades. The Naim Uniti doesn't quite do it though, although it does sound superb. There is another thread about this. Guess the only thing is to go to Hi Fi Dave's for a demo.

[jon1]

Well, my RS6s do depth of bass in spades. The Naim Uniti doesn't quite do it though, although it does sound superb. There is another thread about this. Guess the only thing is to go to Hi Fi Dave's for a demo.





Yes best to give them a listen;)


jon

[IHP]

One question: what's the bass like?

Hi Dave,
For me the Bass is as good as I've heard, tight and solid. But do bear in mind I have Harbeth P3ESR speakers. Now I love these, they're just right for me, but if you want gut shuddering bass, then they'll not come from these !

[ursus262]

Well, looking for more satisfying than shuddering bass. If that makes any sense :)

[Elephantears]

Ok I'm transferring a question over from your Radford thread on Wigwam (confusing). I'm trying a variety of Croft combinations at the moment and I'm interested to be reminded about your different experiences. I seem to remember that you've had 25/7, 25/7R, and now 25R/7. Any preferences to whether the pre or power is regulated?

Personally I found that when I tried a Series 5 it really needed the regulated pre to tighten things up, but then with the much tighter 7R its not so necessary.

[Undarra]

Hi Ian,

Glad you've got your hands on a power 7 at last, I can stop feeling guilty now! I've been busy moving house and dealing with the chaos that brings, but now have my system set up again. I picked up a micro 25 just before I moved and am only now able to enjoy it in peace. Great service from hifidave :)

Enjoy, Si

[hifi_dave]

Hi Ian,

Glad you've got your hands on a power 7 at last, I can stop feeling guilty now! I've been busy moving house and dealing with the chaos that brings, but now have my system set up again. I picked up a micro 25 just before I moved and am only now able to enjoy it in peace. Great service from hifidave :)

Enjoy, Si

Thank you for your blatant marketing.

[hifi_dave]

Ok I'm transferring a question over from your Radford thread on Wigwam (confusing). I'm trying a variety of Croft combinations at the moment and I'm interested to be reminded about your different experiences. I seem to remember that you've had 25/7, 25/7R, and now 25R/7. Any preferences to whether the pre or power is regulated?

Personally I found that when I tried a Series 5 it really needed the regulated pre to tighten things up, but then with the much tighter 7R its not so necessary.

IMO, everything improves as you move up the range. I'm currently using the 25RS pre and the extra bass from that is astonishing.

[IHP]

Ok I'm transferring a question over from your Radford thread on Wigwam (confusing). I'm trying a variety of Croft combinations at the moment and I'm interested to be reminded about your different experiences. I seem to remember that you've had 25/7, 25/7R, and now 25R/7. Any preferences to whether the pre or power is regulated?

Personally I found that when I tried a Series 5 it really needed the regulated pre to tighten things up, but then with the much tighter 7R its not so necessary.

Sorry Andrew, only just spotted this. Well remembered on the combinations btw, I had difficulty recalling myself !

My general impressions are that the 25R opens things up tremendously and is 'superior' to the 25 on any terms. Then again I thought the 25 was stunning.

I'll be more cautious regarding my comments on the 7 and 7R. I love both, possibly the 7 more (NOTE: personal preference only). The 7R is without doubt tighter but the 7 I have a real fondness for. I think if I were to upgrade I'd really need to do some serious demming. For instance I'm now thinking would I prefer a pair of 7 monos to a single 7R ?

It's all very close. The two box stuff 'R' is just out my league so in a way I'm pleased I don't have to think about throwing that in the mix.

I must say though that my overiding feeling is that I'm very, very happy with the combination I have, that 7 is a real giant killer to my mind. Can't help being curious about monos though.

Sorry I can't do the review thing, it's all truly great stuff, will that do ?

[jon1]

Thank you for your blatant marketing.




You love dave:D



jon

[Elephantears]

My thoughts are still developing, and they've changed since the first time I had a Micro 25 (briefly). The first time I borrowed a Series 5 from Adrian, which I loved for its wonderful tonal richness and depth. With that power amp I really found the regulation was necessary in the pre-amp to tighten up the bass. I certainly agree with Dave here; as I've said often before, the effect of moving up the pre-amp chain on the bass was astonishing. It also pays dividends in providing a cleaner sound and greater tonal colour.

This time, I've got a Micro 25 again and thanks to Adrian I am getting to know the range. I've found that the standard Micro 25 can control the bass pretty well with the Series 7 and especially 7R. The last time I tried the 7 I wasn't too keen, but this time I'm more impressed. However I've been trying a 7R and it was clear even with a new unit, not warmed up, that the amp was just much more at ease with itself; very assured and well rounded. In fact it is a difficult amp to fault. I've tried it with several different pre-amps, not just the Crofts but also my Unison research Unico. With the Unico it is extraordinarily clean, detailed and pure, whilst with the Crofts it is rich and spacious with that wonderful natural quality that Croft manages with instrumental and vocal timbre. So for me the 7R is certainly worth double the money. I still have a real soft spot for the Series 5 though. If it were more powerful I would choose that, and I have even considered selling my beloved Harbeths for more sensitive speakers so that I could get that EL84 magic.

I've had a surprising experience comparing the 25 with the 25R because at first, strangely, I preferred the standard 25, albeit with the rather excellent GE 5771 red tip that Mikkel provided for me. The 25 seemed to have more body and tonal richness. But this was a fully burned in second hand 25 versus a 25R that hadn't ben burned in. I've been burning in Adrian's 25R and his 7R now and I found last night that its quite obvious how much more the 25R gives you.

I knew this very clearly from when I first heard the 25, 25R, and 25RS at Adrian's house. I took my Harbeths along some time ago. His room has some bass issues, like mine, and we found the 25R was needed to sort out the bass on a particularly deep and difficult Alice Coltrane piece. I think that a standard 25 is a great match with Harbeths if you want to bring out all the classic Harbeth virtues that people speak of; realism with voices, mid-range beauty, realistic sense of space etc. But the regulation brings a lot more so that you aren't limited to those virtues.

I haven't decided what level I need to go to yet. I would ask anyone who knows the 25RS this; I know what dividends it brings in terms of bass extension and control, tonal colour, and sound-staging, but what about the extension in the high frequencies. That is the one thing I am looking for a little more of; the ability to convey the very top notes of the piano with realism and clarity.