I heard the prototype of this amplifier rig, both pre and power amps at Glenn's house back in the very distant past. Glenn had triple-stacked (i.e. Three Pairs) of Quad ESL57 loudspeakers, no grilles, quite dangerous! But my God, what an incredible sound. He ran my pair of Mono'd Leak Stereo 20s through them and I was utterly blown away. Glenn made me a pre-amp based on this design inside the case of a beyond-repair Rose RV23 valve pre with specific modifications to run my Stereo 20s at the correct level. A man of very few words was Glenn, but one of the most lovely people you could ever wish to meet. I miss him.
I did hear about his stacked Quads but never heard them myself. Glenn was a great chap and I knew him from his days when he first started with his Croft Micro. He used to bring his gear round to a small hifi business called Warstones hifi and I would often chat to him and gain small nuggets of audio wisdom. When he popped in with his OTL all valve mono blocks I knew he was going to be someone with serious intent! I miss him too as he was an inspiration and a unique maverick audio engineer.
Your sound description also applies to my Croft Integrated. I've had it for 10 years and look forward to it every day. It's a shame that Glenn Croft and this company don't exist anymore.
Thanks for this appraisal of the Croft Pre- and Power Amps. As for your comments about your preference for Analogue, that's all down to the fact that The World is Analogue and is what our Ears are tuned to. Those people who claim that Digital is superior, are people who have probably never heard a good Analogue system and more likely, never heard a good Valve system. Like you, I play far more Records than CDs on my All Valve system. All 'World Audio Design' kit, courtesy of Noel Keywood. Still going strong, despite being 25+ years old. I totally agree with you about choosing Valves. Noel had a preference for Sovtek valves and I still prefer them to all others. Cheers, Russ. Hampshire.
Greetings from Montana! Thanks for the well spoken guided tour of a classic British valve preamplifier and *hybrid* power amplifier setup. I remember wanting to get hold of a Croft Micro in the late 80s when l lived in London. Back before the internet Glenn was notoriously hard to contact. More recently, Tarun (A British Audiophile) was trying to score a "review sample"😅 I commented that he should have just bought one and stop bothering Glenn! Sadly now Glenn is permanently incommunicado😢 Fortunately the sound presentation you described are available from any well set up high quality stereo systems. Certainly from my Valve preamp & SS power amps. BTW am I the only person who laments most preamps having no balance control for centreing the stereo image? 🎵🎶🤫🎶🎶🎵
Very nice Glenn Croft gear. I hope to try one of these components someday. The build and design reminds me a lot of Counterpoint equipment. Mike Elliott, and the Counterpoint brand are no longer around either, unfortunately.
I was sorry to hear of his death. A genius would have trained an heir and left schematics for repair technicians and DIY cloners to carry on his legacy (like Nelson Pass).... Did he?
@@carlitomelon4610 It was Glenn's express wish that when he was gone, so would be his company. I never once saw any schematic or any other drawings, notes sketches or anything else. An extraordinary bloke.
@@magikjoe3789 "Brilliant" ? Thanks for sharing that information. Some schematics exist online by dedicated repairers. But they caveat that Glenn would change the circuits per iteration. Truly a cottage industry "Crofter" brand.
Fabulous video, really enjoyed your engaging presentation and I look forward to hearing more. I’m Craig from the UK 🇬🇧 on his wife’s TH-cam page wishing you a merry Christmas. I have a preamp made by Mark at Malvern Audio Research and my power amps are Audionote.
Thank you Craig, I knew Glenn for many years going back to the beginning when he started and would not be without his wonderful amps, they really are superb to listen too. Merry Christmas.
Tubes make all the difference so will be working on that video early next year. I have been on quite a tube journey over the last 30 years and Glenn Croft gave me quite a few recommendations.
T1A is slow blow 1Amp fuse not Quick blow fuse as that will start with the letteer F 😀 I have the Croft Phone Intergrate Series 5 and still getting used to it if I like it or not. First thing I did was modify the dual Volume Controls what doesn't make any sence (IMHO) as the rest is not dual and most signal cables happy running unshielded next to eachother anyway (crosstalk). But that a personal choise.
I heard the prototype of this amplifier rig, both pre and power amps at Glenn's house back in the very distant past. Glenn had triple-stacked (i.e. Three Pairs) of Quad ESL57 loudspeakers, no grilles, quite dangerous! But my God, what an incredible sound. He ran my pair of Mono'd Leak Stereo 20s through them and I was utterly blown away. Glenn made me a pre-amp based on this design inside the case of a beyond-repair Rose RV23 valve pre with specific modifications to run my Stereo 20s at the correct level. A man of very few words was Glenn, but one of the most lovely people you could ever wish to meet. I miss him.
I did hear about his stacked Quads but never heard them myself. Glenn was a great chap and I knew him from his days when he first started with his Croft Micro. He used to bring his gear round to a small hifi business called Warstones hifi and I would often chat to him and gain small nuggets of audio wisdom. When he popped in with his OTL all valve mono blocks I knew he was going to be someone with serious intent! I miss him too as he was an inspiration and a unique maverick audio engineer.
Hi there, I'm from the US and have always admired Croft since its inception. Good gear!!
Your sound description also applies to my Croft Integrated. I've had it for 10 years and look forward to it every day. It's a shame that Glenn Croft and this company don't exist anymore.
This may seem trivial, but I have two SS preamps with the same type control knobs. Spectral DM6 & Plexus Phonon. Your video deserves 👏. Thanks!
had these for a long time too! only exchanged them for an all valve system...
great gear!
Great shame this manufacturer is no longer with us. Love the two volume controls. I can balance the image with these in my digital system.
Nice system. I like the isolation bases, esp where you stacked two. Very Mana Acoustics vibe there.
Thanks for this appraisal of the Croft Pre- and Power Amps. As for your comments about your preference for Analogue, that's all down to the fact that The World is Analogue and is what our Ears are tuned to. Those people who claim that Digital is superior, are people who have probably never heard a good Analogue system and more likely, never heard a good Valve system. Like you, I play far more Records than CDs on my All Valve system. All 'World Audio Design' kit, courtesy of Noel Keywood. Still going strong, despite being 25+ years old. I totally agree with you about choosing Valves. Noel had a preference for Sovtek valves and I still prefer them to all others. Cheers, Russ. Hampshire.
Greetings from Montana!
Thanks for the well spoken guided tour of a classic British valve preamplifier and *hybrid* power amplifier setup.
I remember wanting to get hold of a Croft Micro in the late 80s when l lived in London. Back before the internet Glenn was notoriously hard to contact.
More recently, Tarun (A British Audiophile) was trying to score a "review sample"😅
I commented that he should have just bought one and stop bothering Glenn!
Sadly now Glenn is permanently incommunicado😢
Fortunately the sound presentation you described are available from any well set up high quality stereo systems. Certainly from my Valve preamp & SS power amps.
BTW am I the only person who laments most preamps having no balance control for centreing the stereo image?
🎵🎶🤫🎶🎶🎵
Very nice Glenn Croft gear. I hope to try one of these components someday. The build and design reminds me a lot of Counterpoint equipment. Mike Elliott, and the Counterpoint brand are no longer around either, unfortunately.
You don’t need to change them at all tbh, they look great and the build quality is top 😊
How blessed, gorgeous, I love valves.
Glenn was a genius, RIP
I was sorry to hear of his death.
A genius would have trained an heir and left schematics for repair technicians and DIY cloners to carry on his legacy (like Nelson Pass)....
Did he?
@@carlitomelon4610 It was Glenn's express wish that when he was gone, so would be his company. I never once saw any schematic or any other drawings, notes sketches or anything else. An extraordinary bloke.
@@magikjoe3789
"Brilliant" ?
Thanks for sharing that information.
Some schematics exist online by dedicated repairers.
But they caveat that Glenn would change the circuits per iteration.
Truly a cottage industry "Crofter" brand.
Nice looking designs..
Thank you! Cheers!
I see now in the comments that you already responded to the same question. Thanks
Fabulous video, really enjoyed your engaging presentation and I look forward to hearing more. I’m Craig from the UK 🇬🇧 on his wife’s TH-cam page wishing you a merry Christmas. I have a preamp made by Mark at Malvern Audio Research and my power amps are Audionote.
Thank you Craig, I knew Glenn for many years going back to the beginning when he started and would not be without his wonderful amps, they really are superb to listen too. Merry Christmas.
@ fabulous, your amps look very well maintained and looked after. I look forward to hearing more about your tube rolling and preferences etc.
Tubes make all the difference so will be working on that video early next year. I have been on quite a tube journey over the last 30 years and Glenn Croft gave me quite a few recommendations.
@ they certainly do, similar journey myself so it will be great to compare notes 😃
T1A is slow blow 1Amp fuse not Quick blow fuse as that will start with the letteer F 😀
I have the Croft Phone Intergrate Series 5 and still getting used to it if I like it or not. First thing I did was modify the dual Volume Controls what doesn't make any sence (IMHO) as the rest is not dual and most signal cables happy running unshielded next to eachother anyway (crosstalk). But that a personal choise.
Hi what speakers compliment your system ?
The speakers I use are Heco Celan GT 702.
@@AudioRamblings Thanks
Very interesting. Thank you.
Very underrated brand ........no pcb shit and only build to suit music .........as it should be done !
What are whose speakers you are using in the video ?
Speakers are Heco Celan GT 702 from Germany