"Big - Old - Legacy - Separates"

[Ashley James]

I'll bet you'll prefer the presentation of something with about one 1/10,000th of the distortion!!!!!!!

[Marco]

I doubt it, but we'll see!

I don't doubt that the distortion figures you quote are accurate, as you will have measured them, but if you can't hear it as causing a negative effect then it doesn't matter

The fact is, when I listen to the Croft/Yaqin combo I don't sit there thinking: "Jeez, listen to that distortion!". I sit there thinking: "f*cking hell this sounds amazing!" - And that's all that matters. Some forms of distortion/coloration are pleasing on the ear, and I don't care if you don't think it's 'hi-fi'. I would disagree with that notion, anyway, as we've already agreed there are all sorts of distortions present with equipment, so what difference does it make what type it is?

Solid-state equipment, in comparison, IMO sounds 'grainy', lacking in tonal colour, and nowhere near as communicative and expressive in the midrange. Basically, music is much more interesting to listen to with a good valve amplifier & synergistically-matched speaker combination. And the Croft/Yaqin/Spendors are certainly that!

Marco.

[Ashley James]

And a Series 1 Land Rover seems fine until you spend the day in a Rolls-Royce Phantom.

You always rate the best you've heard until you hear something better, then subject to your being able to adapt (if it's a massive difference), it will be as though someone has turned on the lights and you can suddenly see what you've been missing.

[Marco]

Mmm... Very good, Ashley!

I tell you what, you're really building up your products as being superior so let's hope that when I hear them they deliver...

I'm always fair in my appraisals of equipment, but also ruthlessly honest!! Trusted ears that have already heard them weren't overly complimentary.

Marco.

[Ashley James]

They are talking crap!! And they were being blinkered and narrow minded, or what they have is so awful and the difference was too great for them to compute.

I threw away lorry loads of awards when we moved here, we've always been known for the best possible sound quality, it's just that you lot on here are into things which, as I've said already, are an anathema to us.

We're very much in the tradition of accuracy and neutrality and proper engineering. We think Hi Fi was hi-jacked some years ago by companies with different objectives, with the result there is a sort of "anything goes" if it's musically involving policy, along with another that allows people to imagine they can hear all sorts of things when they can't possibly.

Years ago I had visit from someone with what I considered crap, he sat and listened, complained about the lack of a turntable and announced that he couldn't get involved in the music. By then I'd have told him to piss off, but I didn't need to because his wife did instead. She told him she's always thought he was deaf and should couldn't understand how he could put up with the awful row he was making at home, that he wasted hours pratting around "tweaking it", it still sound horrible and he'd wasted money on it too. Now when he was offered something good looking and sensible, he couldn't even tell! It was hysterical and more logical than you might think. Women have better hearing than men and wives often comment on their husbands bizarre hi fi traits.