Croft phono integrated review and scotch

[Justjon]

The two weren’t supposed to go hand in hand, but one thing led to another after a bit of vinyl and far too many cheeky nips of the good stuff

So, i got to replace my current amp/phono with the Croft today and..

WOW, and I’m not saying wow because I’m justifying the best £500 i’ve ever spent (I’m lucky to get it that cheap and also the seller was properly good guy couldn’t be more helpful) If i thought it was crap, then i’d say so and move on.
So, i’ve not really got the audiophile vocabulary to describe what I’m hearing but ill have a go. Please excuse me if what i say sounds ridiculous.
The vinyl i used to evaluate it was…

Lou Reed’s Transformer
Kate Bush The kick inside
Simon & Garfunkel Bookends
Sade Best of
John Mayall The world of

If I’m honest i could only listen for half hour a time at first because the sheer retrieval of what is on the vinyl kind of blew my mind compared to what i’d heard before with my Arcam & the MF X-150 and properly confused me as to why I’ve not heard it before. Clinical maybe, but in fairness, more honest?
And by retrieval i mean the instruments are properly separated rather than being slightly muddled and in the distance, whereas now everything seems to be in its place and the sound is almost 3D and like i can almost reach out and touch it if that makes any sense? Also the soundstage was a bit narrow before, but now it fills the room and the sound ceiling is lifted rather a lot.
The vocals from Kate Bush & Sade actually got me a bit emotional and certainly made the hairs on my arm stand up! Isn’t that the purpose?
John Mayall’s “sonny boy blow” was as near perfect audio experience as I’ve heard at my budget and made me wonder why i’d never bought any Croft gear before!
So in summary, for a relatively small amount of pounds i’m rather pleased with the outcome.

Hic

[Jimbo]

The two weren’t supposed to go hand in hand, but one thing led to another after a bit of vinyl and far too many cheeky nips of the good stuff

So, i got to replace my current amp/phono with the Croft today and..

WOW, and I’m not saying wow because I’m justifying the best £500 i’ve ever spent (I’m lucky to get it that cheap and also the seller was properly good guy couldn’t be more helpful) If i thought it was crap, then i’d say so and move on.
So, i’ve not really got the audiophile vocabulary to describe what I’m hearing but ill have a go. Please excuse me if what i say sounds ridiculous.
The vinyl i used to evaluate it was…

Lou Reed’s Transformer
Kate Bush The kick inside
Simon & Garfunkel Bookends
Sade Best of
John Mayall The world of

If I’m honest i could only listen for half hour a time at first because the sheer retrieval of what is on the vinyl kind of blew my mind compared to what i’d heard before with my Arcam & the MF X-150 and properly confused me as to why I’ve not heard it before. Clinical maybe, but in fairness, more honest?
And by retrieval i mean the instruments are properly separated rather than being slightly muddled and in the distance, whereas now everything seems to be in its place and the sound is almost 3D and like i can almost reach out and touch it if that makes any sense? Also the soundstage was a bit narrow before, but now it fills the room and the sound ceiling is lifted rather a lot.
The vocals from Kate Bush & Sade actually got me a bit emotional and certainly made the hairs on my arm stand up! Isn’t that the purpose?
John Mayall’s “sonny boy blow” was as near perfect audio experience as I’ve heard at my budget and made me wonder why i’d never bought any Croft gear before!
So in summary, for a relatively small amount of pounds i’m rather pleased with the outcome.

Hic

Nice one Jon. Croft equipment does seem to get to the heart and soul of a recording and reveal details in vinyl you are not always aware of. Most of all Croft amps are very musical and make you want to listen to more and more music!

[Firebottle]

That's what valves do for you

Glad you are enjoying it Jon

[Frazeur1]

Have fun with the Croft Jon! Great sounding little boxes for sure.

[pankon]

...The vinyl i used to evaluate it was…

Lou Reed’s Transformer
Kate Bush The kick inside
Simon & Garfunkel Bookends
Sade Best of
John Mayall The world of

If I’m honest i could only listen for half hour a time at first because the sheer retrieval of what is on the vinyl kind of blew my mind compared to what i’d heard before with my Arcam & the MF X-150 and properly confused me as to why I’ve not heard it before. Clinical maybe, but in fairness, more honest?
And by retrieval i mean the instruments are properly separated rather than being slightly muddled and in the distance, whereas now everything seems to be in its place and the sound is almost 3D and like i can almost reach out and touch it if that makes any sense? Also the soundstage was a bit narrow before, but now it fills the room and the sound ceiling is lifted rather a lot.
The vocals from Kate Bush & Sade actually got me a bit emotional and certainly made the hairs on my arm stand up! Isn’t that the purpose?
John Mayall’s “sonny boy blow” was as near perfect audio experience as I’ve heard at my budget and made me wonder why i’d never bought any Croft gear before!
So in summary, for a relatively small amount of pounds i’m rather pleased with the outcome.

Hic

Jon,

if you can devote a little extra budget for some NOS valves, you will be surprised with how much better your Croft can sound in comparison with the stock JJ valves, than Glenn uses.

You might want to try the brilliant Tesla E83CC in the phono stage. And secondly you could also try a Mullard CV492 or ECC83 in the line stage.

Expect to be amazed with how much potential is still locked in your Croft amp... -)

[DSJR]

Early Cat Stevens albums sound great through the Croft integrated too - grin...