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Opinions on Croft 7 vs Quad 405/306 with a 25r and P3ESR

The Bish

The Bish

pfm Member
Hi all,

I have recently acquired a set of Harbeth P3ESRs in their final production run in standard version, and currently using with a Croft 25r into a Parasound Hint. What a speaker the P3 is! The Parasound is destined for a second system and I’m looking for a power amp to go with the 25r which has the zero gain modification. Shortlist is the Croft 7 or a Quad 306 or 405. Any views on what would work better with the Harbeths?

cheers, Bish
 
I've heard both but haven't done a direct compare. I would lean towards the Croft, though.
 
hifinutt said:
agreed , i know at least 2 people who have used croft with p3esr for some years
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Which one(s)?

The 7 is ss (with a valve), previous Croft power amp's have been valve. The implication of "some years" is that they use valves.
 
I've used a Croft 7R for a while with P3ESR (the 7R is my spare amp now) and a mate used a 7 for some years, then latterly 7 monos with his P3ESR. They're well-known to be a very good match. I'm currently using a Quad 3O3 with my Harbeth M30.1 which is probably not as good as the Croft but I like it anyway.
 
Vinny said:
Which one(s)?

The 7 is ss (with a valve), previous Croft power amp's have been valve. The implication of "some years" is that they use valves.
Click to expand...

The 7 has been on sale for at least 9 years Vinny. That's quite enough for 'some years' of use.
 
Nagraboy said:
I've used a Croft 7R for a while with P3ESR (the 7R is my spare amp now) and a mate used a 7 for some years, then latterly 7 monos with his P3ESR. They're well-known to be a very good match. I'm currently using a Quad 3O3 with my Harbeth M30.1 which is probably not as good as the Croft but I like it anyway.
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Many amps sound great with some Harbeth !
 
Hi Bish,
I'm nw here (I post a on the 'Wam (I know ;) !)) but I've just joined as I'd like to ask something about Naim amps and I believe this is a good place to be for that.

Anyway, to your post, Croft and Harbeth are amongst my favourite Hi-Fi subjects. I have the P3ESRs and apart from some recent messing about with the Anniversaries these pretty much stopped my speaker swapping as of about 5 or 6 years ago. As did Croft in terms of amplification. I've had the 25R and Seven for around the same length of time, though only a few months ago having GC add the external PSU from the RS to my 25R and swapping the 7 for monos.

I can share a direct view on your question which I hope helps (never answer it, that's for your ears). Whilst owning this set up I had a play with a 303, 306 and 405 as we tend to do, being a 'fan' of Quad power amps for a number of reasons. Whilst the 303 is beautiful with them (think Quad IIs but with more power) I wasn't blown away with the latter two. Whilst the 306 was indeed lovely the 405 just didn't seem to gel GC suggested that these weren't a great sonic match with the 25R and suggesting changing a valve type (forgive me, I can't remember which - 12BH7A maybe ?)

The Croft combination with the Harbs. to my mind is a match made in heaven but a well fettled 303 is also worth having (Rob at Amplabs was my choice of service, I have no technical knowledge but believe he provides a more bespoke job than Quad, just a feeling). I kept mine and moved the 306 and 405 on, it's plugged in the system at the moment and never fails to delight.

Hope this helps a bit !
 
Cheers all. Perhaps rashly I bought a 405-2 that looked to be a great price, arrives today so will let you know how it sounds. Ianp, I’m hoping the 25R works ok with the Quad as it is indeed the one with the 12bh7 cathode follower mod. I guess it’s an easy sell on if it doesn’t work out and will look at one of those rebuilt 303s, I notice that chap Joe Henry who makes Pass Labs kit amps is selling some nice looking 303s on eBay.
 
I’m running Croft’s with Harbeths in my main system. Lovely sound. After reading this thread I’ve swapped in a 405
which was in the bedroom system. I shall report my findings.
 
Righto, tried the 405-2 with 25r and P3s, sounded good, very rich / warm bass. Definitely not as much sparkle at the top end compared with the Parasound but nice and relaxed, a different sound. Great value and performance for a 30 odd year old amp. Will listen for a few days to see if the ears can acclimatise, am tempted to have a bake-off with a 303 based on the feedback on this thread, and move on the one that doesn’t win.
 
I enjoyed the Croft-Harbeth combo too. Tried/owned a few others for a few weeks and months each - Sugden, Luxman, Lavardin, Yamaha all after a long stint with Naim, moving up to a 282/250. Then tried a Devialet, which hung around for a bit (great features, but not quite right at the time) and decided to try a Jadis Orchestra Ref SE and was a little taken aback with how different it sounded to everything else. The music was projecting out of the speakers, in the room so to speak. Lots of detail, separation, energy and lots of things that are hard to describe. Love it! I have had it for around 5 years or more, longest I have owned anything (lots of swapping for a decade after getting back into Hifi). Also tried with 30.1 at the time, but sold them on. Only recently switched to SHL5plus with the Jadis and it sounds great. Highly recommended. Would love to try a few others more out of curiosity but very happy with this combo. Might be useful to you given what you have tried so far :)
 
novak said:
I enjoyed the Croft-Harbeth combo too. Tried/owned a few others for a few weeks and months each - Sugden, Luxman, Lavardin, Yamaha all after a long stint with Naim, moving up to a 282/250. Then tried a Devialet, which hung around for a bit (great features, but not quite right at the time) and decided to try a Jadis Orchestra Ref SE and was a little taken aback with how different it sounded to everything else. The music was projecting out of the speakers, in the room so to speak. Lots of detail, separation, energy and lots of things that are hard to describe. Love it! I have had it for around 5 years or more, longest I have owned anything (lots of swapping for a decade after getting back into Hifi). Also tried with 30.1 at the time, but sold them on. Only recently switched to SHL5plus with the Jadis and it sounds great. Highly recommended. Would love to try a few others more out of curiosity but very happy with this combo. Might be useful to you given what you have tried so far :)
Click to expand...

Despite it’s not my style, I know those Jadis really sing !
If I may ask : what model of Sugden did you try and do you remember what you disliked ?
 
It was the a21se... but I should’ve kept notes on the sound. It was a few years back now. Seem to remember it was sweet sounding but a little polite perhaps. I had just come from Naim however! I think Croft was somewhere in the middle.
 
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