Croft Series 3 OTL landing!!!

[dpgals]

I am not certain if the Croft Series 3 is pre-1990 but it is there or there abouts. I managed to track down a Series 3 OTL amplifier, with the help of Adrian Parsons at Audioflair, from a serious hi-fi collector who was trying to free up some space. Having dropped and knocked it when I was setting it up I took it back to Glenn Croft to sort out as well as upgrade the output capacitors to a pair of monster ones as well. I got the amp back from Glenn a couple of weeks ago so set it up in my system. At first I was a little disappointed since I felt it was a little dull. However, since then as I have put some hours on it, it has just got better and better. Now I cannot believe how wonderful it sounds! My previous amp was a very well modded Leak Stereo 20 which sounded great with my Quad 57 ELS but the Croft simply does everything so much better than the Leak. Nick at the Emporium told me that he though the bass was a bit light on the Croft - not as far I can hear. The bass is rich, deep and really tuneful. The OTL has a great mid-range reputation and this is bang on - voices are just beautiful and the treble is extended and detailed. Transients such as cymbals are like nothing I have every heard before they are so fast and dynamic. All in all I am incredibly happy with my purchase and even though my wife will never believe me this is the amp that will see me out!!! If anyone is in the York area and wants a treat for the ears do drop me line so you could come round and hear it.

[Jimbo]

Very nice Dave - congratulations on resurrecting one of these very special amps. I am sure Glenn has breathed some magic into it. All his amps seem to get better as they get older.


I had a Leak Stereo 20 modified by Glenn, it was superb but sold it some years back. His OTL amps are very beautiful in the areas you noted, midrange vocals and treble, and hey this is the area we are most notably drawn too when listening to music. I had one of his Dakshini OTL amps some years back which was a 50 watt OTL design, about twice a big as a Stereo 20. Wish i had bought it as you never see them for sale.

Hope the Series III gives you many hours of pleasure!

[dpgals]

Jimbo

Thanks for you comments - I think you have the right word for this amp -magic - it just breathes life into the music like no other amp I have ever heard. I paid 850 pounds for it and the work Glenn did with the repair and the new capacitors took the cost to just over a 1000 so I feel I have got one hell of a bargain considering the silly money that top flight amps seem to go for on the Emporium site. It is difficult to describe the feeling you get when you listen to the music but to my ears it just sounds right! I had a friend round this morning who has spend 10s of thousands of pounds on a top flite Linn system. He left saying he had never heard such beautiful music from a hi-fi. Should you ever be up in York do drop in for a listen.

Regards

David

[Jimbo]

Jimbo

Thanks for you comments - I think you have the right word for this amp -magic - it just breathes life into the music like no other amp I have ever heard. I paid 850 pounds for it and the work Glenn did with the repair and the new capacitors took the cost to just over a 1000 so I feel I have got one hell of a bargain considering the silly money that top flight amps seem to go for on the Emporium site. It is difficult to describe the feeling you get when you listen to the music but to my ears it just sounds right! I had a friend round this morning who has spend 10s of thousands of pounds on a top flite Linn system. He left saying he had never heard such beautiful music from a hi-fi. Should you ever be up in York do drop in for a listen.

Regards

David

Thank you for the offer of listening Dave,if ever I am up that way i will send you a message.

I have spent many years listening to Croft amps as I was around with Glenn when he built his first OTL amps many years ago in the early 80's. I was lucky enough to meet Glenn on many occasions at a small hifi dealer near Wolverhampton where he bought along many of the amps he developed. I particularly remembered his early OTL mono blocks. They were massive and very hot! but Oh what a sound, the most beautiful rendition of music I ever heard. Over the years Glenn kept his signature sound but refined his amps with new technology. OK the latest Series 7 does not sound like a series III or V but there is a common link to the sound which is probably the OTL transparency.

I was listening to my Croft system last night and commented how utterly beguiling they transformed my vinyl to music that was so listenable and magical. Croft gear simply makes you want to keep putting music on and sad when you eventually have to turn it off and go to bed!

[Ali Tait]

There is something very right about OTL’s, what they do well they do better than anything else I’ve heard. I use a Transcendent Sound Mini Beast and have a Pinnacle kit on the way (if customs will ever let it go- three weeks and counting)

[Jimbo]

There is something very right about OTL’s, what they do well they do better than anything else I’ve heard. I use a Transcendent Sound Mini Beast and have a Pinnacle kit on the way (if customs will ever let it go- three weeks and counting)

Good luck with that Ali.

[dpgals]

Good luck with the kit. I have got a little line level pre Akido kit coming for me from the States at the moment. I run with a passive now but Adrian Parsons from Audioflair reckons the Croft sounds better with an active pre-amp so I am going to try this out. Someone did a review of this line level stage against a mega bucks Audio Research reference pre-amplifier and reckoned that the sound was not far away from it. We shall see - if it does not work out will just stay with the passive set but it is only costing about 100 pounds so not big bucks.
.

Regards

David

[Ali Tait]

Good luck with that Ali.

Cheers mate, don’t foresee any problems, they’re a straightforward enough build. Might go for some foo parts though, and some fancy filament supplies as I know a man that makes very good ones. :-)

[Jimbo]

Cheers mate, don’t foresee any problems, they’re a straightforward enough build. Might go for some foo parts though, and some fancy filament supplies as I know a man that makes very good ones. :-)

Cant beat a bit of foo!