My Early impressions of the Croft Line integrated amplifier

[Analogous]

You Could turn the Floorstanders other way round facing the Walls or Both Floorstanders on one side facing each other to mitigate the issue (them acting as Passive Radiators) to a large extent.

I did think of doing that briefly, but the effort involved in moving it out of the room is just a little bit more so out it goes!

I concur with Prem. The speakers do not rattle but if you out a hand on the driver you will find it will be vibrating and that adds on to the sound. If you are evaluating anything ideally do that without the additional speakers.

On a funny (!) note , i used to have a lazyboy clone in the my listening room, and when it went out i suddenly realized the sound went brighter but the midrange became cleaner .. something I had been trying to do via power cables and vibration control !

Also had to change my speaker position after that.,

Researching this puzzle of listening chair altering sound I came upon this:

How The Listening Chair Is More Important Than You Think

For most audiophiles, detailed and continued evaluation into components, cables and speakers are part of the ongoing ritual of any high performance system. Irrespective of cost, we want our syst...

audiophilereview.com

 

[ajeshkumarts]

Congratulations on this amazing amp. Very Musical Amp (had it in my setup on loan from a friend for a few weeks. iirc it had tesla tubes)

 

[OM_2K19]

Thanks. Yes, the Hegel is gone.

Oh no... I always wanted to have one, but unfortunately, I only have a pair of Kidney...

 

[Shinto]

Thanks. Yes, the Hegel is gone.

Hi Analogous,
Could you please describe how does the croft compare with Hegel driving the Harbeths.

 

[Analogous]

Hi Analogous,
Could you please describe how does the croft compare with Hegel driving the Harbeths.

Oh no... I always wanted to have one, but unfortunately, I only have a pair of Kidney...

I had the Hegel for over a year (paired with Adam audio Pencil mk 3, Spendor A5R, Pro AC 1SC, and for a short while with the Harbeth) It sounded good.

I spent more buying the Hegel (used) than buying the Croft new including customs and shipping from the UK. The Hegel is what I consider close to neutral. Whatever I fed it from the DAC (CD or streaming) it would reproduce faithfully. It just amplified without adding anything else of its own. Maybe a slight warmth, very little. It had loads of power 250e at 8ohms, I was not particularly impressed with the inbuilt DAC and used an external DAC to try and add character (color) to the sound.

It was very a detailed, spacious and effortless sounding amp, beautifully engineered with a classy aesthetic. Oh, it had a remote control too. It was also double the height of the Croft and more than twice as heavy.

With the Croft, I get a rich (coloured) sound which I discovered I prefer. It is more emotionally expressive without sacrificing detail, soundstage and dynamics.

Much as I liked the Hegel, I prefer the warmer and emotional presentation of the Croft. I really like how the Lyrita SET amp (3Wpc) works with the Harbeth P3 (82 db/m/w) which is rated at 4-6 ohms. But the Croft brings adequate power, the tube character as also the SS dynamics. It’s a nice hybrid that ticks many boxes for me.

Please keep in mind this is my personal preference and may differ from yours.

Hope this helps

 

[square_wave]

Nice write-up of your experience ! Croft is a very respected brand in the UK. A friend of mine runs the same amp on a pair of monitor 30.1s in bangalore. Lovely combination. Good to see those speaker stands working well for you ...Is it still sandloaded or does the harbeth like it light ?

 

[Analogous]

Nice write-up of your experience ! Croft is a very respected brand in the UK. A friend of mine runs the same amp on a pair of monitor 30.1s in bangalore. Lovely combination. Good to see those speaker stands working well for you ...Is it still sandloaded or does the harbeth like it light ?

Thanks. The stands are still sand loaded. I haven’t tried to change anything there (why mess with it when it works well?). They are also the right height for my listening position. (the sound foundations stands are history)

I think the Croft is an amazing amp paired with the P3s. More so considering its cost.

Since you are in Edinburg now, maybe you could have a listen to a LFD NCSE amp and share your impressions if possible? Go Celtics!!!

 

[Kannan]

Oh no... I always wanted to have one, but unfortunately, I only have a pair of Kidney...

Come-on man...there is something called dialysis, cant you sacrifice two pidly kidneys for audio

 

[square_wave]

Since you are in Edinburg now, maybe you could have a listen to a LFD NCSE amp and share your impressions if possible? Go Celtics!!!

Will try and do that. The harbeth dealer in Edinburgh does not have Harbeth. Bunch of other stuff.

Brands - HiFi Corner

Browse hi-fi and home cinema by brand - we stock the best in the business. Can't find what you are looking for? Please contact us.

www.hificorner.co.uk

I listened to the xd version of the harbeth monitor series and PMC on a Copland amp last week at their place. Also Audionote at another dealer.

 

[prem]

Square_wave, how’s the Copland amp? I have always been curious about that brand. Never heard any though

 

[square_wave]

It was the CSA 100. I found it quite nice. Detailed, resolving and balanced. I enjoyed it much better with the PMC twenty 5 series bookshelf speakers. Not sure if it is the right amp for the Harbeth. In that room, the Harbeth did not shine for me. Norma amplfiers are also quite the rage here.

 

[prem]

Thanks square_wave. Vivek on the forum owns a Norma amp

 

[Analogous]

Will try and do that. The harbeth dealer in Edinburgh does not have Harbeth. Bunch of other stuff.

Brands - HiFi Corner

Browse hi-fi and home cinema by brand - we stock the best in the business. Can't find what you are looking for? Please contact us.

www.hificorner.co.uk

I listened to the xd version of the harbeth monitor series and PMC on a Copland amp last week at their place. Also Audionote at another dealer.

Do keep posting about interesting equipment that you come across there
By the way what speakers did you decide on for your tube amplifier?

 

[arj]

Will try and do that. The harbeth dealer in Edinburgh does not have Harbeth. Bunch of other stuff.

Brands - HiFi Corner

Browse hi-fi and home cinema by brand - we stock the best in the business. Can't find what you are looking for? Please contact us.

www.hificorner.co.uk

I listened to the xd version of the harbeth monitor series and PMC on a Copland amp last week at their place. Also Audionote at another dealer.

Found this https://www.hificorner.co.uk/shop/speakers/floorstanding/sugden-ls21-floorstanding-loudspeaker.html very interesting.

Was not aware Sugden had a Speaker !

 

[OM_2K19]

Come-on man...there is something called dialysis, cant you sacrifice two pidly kidneys for audio

I wonder (thanks to Import Duty/Chip Shortage) even after sacrificing both Kiydey, I won't be able to afford one . My Boss got his H590 for around 12K so by the time it lands here, it will probably hit the 20K mark.

 

[square_wave]

Do keep posting about interesting equipment that you come across there
By the way what speakers did you decide on for your tube amplifier?

Sure. I thought I will start a new thread after I spend some more time exploring. Have not decided on the speakers yet. An approach I may take would be to try out some speakers from the used market to see what I really like for long term.

 

[Analogous]

A small update.
After a anxious few weeks I received the Tesla Tube today (India post who are the delivery partner of DHL Germany told me that the package had not reached India, while DHL Germany informed that it had been handed to them on the 5th of February)
I opened the cover and swapped out tubes (5 mins, 4 screws)
I listened briefly (an hour)
The difference with the Tesla tube is immediately apparent.
I am trying to figure out what exactly has changed and how much, but the image, the transients, and dynamics have all changed for sure. It sounds more vivid, visceral and alive than what I remember of the sound with the stock tube. I like this sound very much. With more listening I may get some more insight in to what has changed. Or maybe I enjoy the music so much that I can not analyse the SQ.
Big thanks to @prem for encouraging me to try the Tesla tube

The other surprise was when I opened the amplifier and saw how simple the circuit was. In this case less is definitely more!

 

[Analogous]

Some images…

 

[Analogous]

I struggle when it comes to reviewing and comparing (as, I suspect many of us do). The stock tube sounds very good indeed, as does the Tesla tube. They are different and I am not able to explain this well.

Pondering this I came upon a interesting article by Jim Austin where he says:
“…. observe your response first, then …figure out what about it caused you to respond the way you did…. Pay attention both to your responses and to what, specifically, provokes them. Experience. Observe. Be systematic about it….. Look inward before looking outward. How does it make you feel? Why?…”

Thoughts on reviewing

Evidence is nothing without judgments.The Lord Leto Atreides II in God Emperor Of Dune, by Frank Herbert

www.stereophile.com

Bah! I am just going to enjoy my music

 

[muralimmreddy]

Not easy to get hold of...try a mullard as is easier and cheaper, and the BEL version is even cheaper but available only with global sellers but well worth a tube roll.
Telefunken is also expensive..

@Analogous If you want to have some more fun with tube rolling at some point, try this source "Bajrabgbali tubes"

Tube source in India.

Any reliable source for Vacuum Tubes in India you guys recommend? Im looking to buy a pair (matched) JAN GE 5670. I know the USA is the preferred source but with the present situation it looks highly unlikely for the next 3-4 months.

www.hifivision.com

I bought same Mullard nos preamp tubes from them. Its relatively throw away price.

JJ doesn’t sound nice. Little hard on the top

I had similar experience with JJ https://www.hifivision.com/threads/tube-reviews-in-an-amp.69652/#post-991495.