Croft pre/power amplifier latest

[Haselsh1]

Croft Micro Basic 25
Croft Series 7

Well it finally came around. I had the preamp for a few months and just had to have the matching power amp.

The preamp crucified previous preamps showing up so much hidden detail in the recordings and producing such a dynamic sound. How does the power amp sound…?

My God, what a dramatic about turn in sound. This amplifier is truly amazing. I am hearing things in recordings that I have never heard before.

Test records: Genesis, We Can’t Dance. Sting, The Soul Cages and Enigma, MCMXC a.D.

There are guitar sounds in the Genesis CD that are just about audible using this amplifier but which have never been heard before. There are vocal inflections in the Enigma CD that genuinely add to the overall sound that once again, have never been heard before. The Sting album has been turned into the most wonderful piece of music of the very highest order with some truly beautiful sounds and instrumental textures.

The bass is OK. Nothing stunning, nothing staggering. It’s there and it can hit some weight when it needs too. The midrange however is to die for. Apart from a WAD 300B PP valve amplifier, this has to be my No1 ever amplifier combination. The WAD 300B had more air and space to it but the Croft is not far off the mark. The cymbals are just so well controlled. They have just the right amount of splash and shimmer without getting all messy.

So, how does it compare to the Audiolab 8000M’s…???

The Audiolabs are forward and very ‘in your face’ with an extremely precise, etched sound. They really do suit rock and techno and would be fantastic for parties or all night long raves.

Get the glowsticks ready…!!!

All I have to do now is pay for the bloody thing...!!!

[Haselsh1]

I must add that the Croft pre/power combo is far quieter than the Audiolabs but that is due to the fact that the Croft has much more depth and therefore everything sounds so far away. The stereo imaging is as good as I've ever heard and is very good on Q Sound recordings. There are many sounds much wider than the speakers would have you believe.

[Marco]

Hi Shaun,

There are guitar sounds in the Genesis CD that are just about audible using this amplifier but which have never been heard before. There are vocal inflections in the Enigma CD that genuinely add to the overall sound that once again, have never been heard before. The Sting album has been turned into the most wonderful piece of music of the very highest order with some truly beautiful sounds and instrumental textures.

Welcome to the world of quality all-valve amplification! It's precisely what you describe above that most solid-state amps miss.

Enjoy and keep us posted as things burn-in fully

Marco.

[anthonyTD]

Croft Micro Basic 25
Croft Series 7

Well it finally came around. I had the preamp for a few months and just had to have the matching power amp.

The preamp crucified previous preamps showing up so much hidden detail in the recordings and producing such a dynamic sound. How does the power amp sound…?

My God, what a dramatic about turn in sound. This amplifier is truly amazing. I am hearing things in recordings that I have never heard before.

Test records: Genesis, We Can’t Dance. Sting, The Soul Cages and Enigma, MCMXC a.D.

There are guitar sounds in the Genesis CD that are just about audible using this amplifier but which have never been heard before. There are vocal inflections in the Enigma CD that genuinely add to the overall sound that once again, have never been heard before. The Sting album has been turned into the most wonderful piece of music of the very highest order with some truly beautiful sounds and instrumental textures.

The bass is OK. Nothing stunning, nothing staggering.

It’s there and it can hit some weight when it needs too. The midrange however is to die for. Apart from a WAD 300B PP valve amplifier, this has to be my No1 ever amplifier combination. The WAD 300B had more air and space to it but the Croft is not far off the mark. The cymbals are just so well controlled. They have just the right amount of splash and shimmer without getting all messy.

So, how does it compare to the Audiolab 8000M’s…???

The Audiolabs are forward and very ‘in your face’ with an extremely precise, etched sound. They really do suit rock and techno and would be fantastic for parties or all night long raves.

Get the glowsticks ready…!!!

All I have to do now is pay for the bloody thing...!!!

hi shaun,
from experience i can tell you that the bass is one of the last things to come right after a burn in of a new product, but if everything else is there then the true bass potential will follow shortly, glad your enjoying your move into the thermionic world.
A...

[Ali Tait]

Yeah,wot Anthony sed! Give it some time,and the bass will be in yer face.

[hifi_dave]

Ali,

Are you the new Poet Laureat by any chance ?..

[DSJR]

The exact matching of amp to bass units can be dependant on a number of things, not least the godawful passive crossovers most of us are lumbered with, sapping amp damping factor and causing all sorts of problems in addition to their useful bits...

The Series 7 uses FET's in the output IIRC and although these can work miracles, I suspect that absolute control and low-impedance drive isn't one of them. My ATC 100A's had 16 Ohm drivers (a special for ATC's own product only I understand) specifically to match the FET amps driving them inside...

The Audiolabs you had were based on the 8000MX amps Audiolab introduced very late on I think. These were DC coupled rather than Cap Coupled as the previous ones were. These earlier models had a "friendlier" and more "organic" presentation style as I recall..

It's all a matter of taste at the end of the day. Stick to good 6 - 8 Ohm loads and I promise you won't go wrong at all... The current Harbeth biggies sounded amazing with the Series 7 and the integrated LFD sounded like a great SS amp by comparison. I think the Rega Elicit is somewhere in between the two...

Glenn's a good guy and doesn't charge a good profit from his goods. I mean, there's a dealer margin in there too, yet Avondale have higher prices for their new baby two-box preamp yet sell direct - nowt wrong with that at all as their prices are still reasonable IMO - just that Glenn's prices are ridiculously reasonable for the quality on offer IMO.

[Ali Tait]

Ali,

Are you the new Poet Laureat by any chance ?..

[trane]

...Welcome to the world of quality all-valve amplification!...

just want to make things clear, it's a hybrid design using mosfets in the output, as suggested by Ali above.

anyway, i reckon ol' Glenn Croft knows something i collected as much as i could from the net regarding his amplifier-building/repair background and must say he's nonesuch in the most positive meaning of the word - i perfectly adore him!

moreover, i have gathered some experience about his recent designs as having owned the GCi - though i know that was a bit off-direction of the EA times -, and was entirely ethralled by the sonics Glenn could get out of mosfets. actually, that was the first time i heard MUSIC emanating from my speakers as driven by a mosfet amp though having tried some. thus, now i am very much in getting a 7 power somehow - only have to find the way to raise the funds...

[kcc123]

I wonder how my old Super Micro preamp is different from the Croft Micro Basic 25 in design and sound.