advertisement


In praise of Glenn Croft

Hi. The great Fauja Singh could teach us both a thing or two about settling in to society expectations of age. Glenn will not stop making amplifiers I think, just my opinion.
 
Ikigai, the age-old Japanese ideology that’s long been associated with the nation’s long life expectancy. A combination of the Japanese words “iki” (生き), which translates to “life,” and “gai” (甲斐), which is used to describe value or worth, ikigai is all about finding joy in life through purpose.
In other words, your ikigai is what gets you up every morning and keeps you going.

iStock-679938536-1007x1024.jpg
 
Ikigai, the age-old Japanese ideology that’s long been associated with the nation’s long life expectancy. A combination of the Japanese words “iki” (生き), which translates to “life,” and “gai” (甲斐), which is used to describe value or worth, ikigai is all about finding joy in life through purpose.
In other words, your ikigai is what gets you up every morning and keeps you going.

iStock-679938536-1007x1024.jpg

I take inspiration from Marshall Allen - still leading the Sun Ra Arkestra aged 98. I saw them again a few months back and he still sounds fantastic. He's said on numerous occasions that a life dedicated to music is what keeps him going.
 
OK, here is a Glen 911 story?

Back in the mid 1980s I used to occasionally bump into Glen at Hifi_Dave's shop Radlett Audio. Glen used to come in a variety of 911's, but the one that stood out for me was a lovely 3.2 Carrera in Martini colours, similar to the one below.

Martini-911.jpg


In the early 1990s I became very friendly with Tom Fletcher of Nottingham Analogue fame and we did some Hi-Fi Shows together, plus I helped him with a couple of his projects. Tom suggested I become a Croft dealer so I called up Glen and ordered a couple of amps. This was well before I started my own Tron brand. I knew the Croft amps quite well as I had serviced most of the range since about 1986 and owned his top model "The Mega". Anyway, Glen used to deliver his amps by hand, so I used to get a nice visit from him, usually on his way back to Erdington from delivering to his London dealers. I remember one visit, I was in the workshop and I heard this very loud exhaust noise coming up the road, which could only have been from a Porsche flat 6. After handing me a nice Epoch preamplifier, I couldn't help but notice this extremely strong smell, which was a combination of petrol, oil and exhaust fumes which must have come from Glens clothes. We had a cup of tea together then I got to check out his 911. This 911 was a far cry from the one he had in Martini colours. This one was completely stripped out with no insulation or sound deadening inside, lighten to the absolute limit, even more so than the RS model, plus the engine had been tweaked too. I couldn't help noticing that behind the seat there were some big holes in the body work above and around the gearbox. You could see the road plus the gearbox and engine through these holes. Ahh! That's were the smell came from! After about an hour Glen got back in his 911 and sped back to Erdington, with all my neighbours pulling back their curtains trying to see what was making all the noise...
 
My Mega Micro will have to be clawed from my cold dead hands :) As mentioned, Glenn’s MM phono stages are top notch too - I use a decent head amp (pre-pre) with MC carts into the MM in the Mega. Didn’t realise he was a petrol head too!
 
Gosh GT Audio so it is true, I did wonder. Thankyou for that wonderful story. I just weeks ago gave way to a very attractive offer for my 911, it is gone, and so I do not think I will have one again. Somehow the climate for 911s literally and figuratively is changing fast. There was just time to take a son of a neighbour for one speedy drive as I had learned he was obsessed by Porsche 911s. He had a great time and I hope his sort of interest is Glenn's type, not the 'luxury' type. I'm reading George Daniels' Watchmaking and there is a great side to mechanical watchmaking apart from the 'luxury' excess side. Just like 911s and just like - swerving fast into the subject of audio - Croft hand-made amplifiers.
 
Gosh GT Audio so it is true, I did wonder. Thankyou for that wonderful story. I just weeks ago gave way to a very attractive offer for my 911, it is gone, and so I do not think I will have one again.

Tell me about it Denis. I bought a Porsche 964 RS from Thomas Schmitz in Germany back in 2000 when they were going for sensible money (normal used 964 C2/C4 was about £12K to £15K, a good used RS was about £35K). I ran it for a year but it was far too focused a ride as it was pretty much a race car for the road. I traded it with Tom for the slightly more refined 993 RS. I kept this for about 2-3 years but like most focused cars you need to be in the mood to drive them. The upshot is it never got used very much apart from a 2 day track event at Spa-Francorchamps. I decided to sell the 993 RS and made £10K on it which I thought was pretty good back then. Little did I realise what they would be worth today. Think £250K plus... Funny thing is that I bought a Boxster S in 2009 which was a vastly superior car in every way to both these RS's. I kept the Boxster S for 11 years and lost about £8500. I just don't understand the high performance and classic car market. There doesn't seem to be any correlation between what is good, and the price. It's mostly about rarity and nostalgia I think. I don't think I will buy another 911 either. There are many prettier designs and more comfortable options available today...
 
Last edited:
"There doesn't seem to be any correlation between what is good and the price"

An application if this statement to the Hi Fi market - please discuss !

Another time, another thread perhaps !

My word I reckon we could knock ourselves out on that one o_O
 
Somehow the 911 black RS and the ... black Croft Integrated could be seen as perfect designs. Now, in audio ... just glancing across the room - maybe the SME 20/3 V is the 911 of audio ? who'll start a new discussion?
 
I remember Glenn’s Porsche. Stripped out almost an understatement. I don’t think there was any passenger seating. I lived in Edgbaston at the time and would drop off my Croft equipment for repair or modification. The front room had stacked Quads. Still using Croft (25rs and 7 monoblocks).
 
I remember Glenn’s Porsche. Stripped out almost an understatement. I don’t think there was any passenger seating. I lived in Edgbaston at the time and would drop off my Croft equipment for repair or modification. The front room had stacked Quads. Still using Croft (25rs and 7 monoblocks).

The last time I went to see Glen in Erdington he still had his stacked Quads. I wonder if he still has them in Scarborough?
 
Sorry to bring an odd question. What did Glenn's parents do work wise? Was his father an audiophile?

S.
 
OK, here is a Glen 911 story?

Back in the mid 1980s I used to occasionally bump into Glen at Hifi_Dave's shop Radlett Audio. Glen used to come in a variety of 911's, but the one that stood out for me was a lovely 3.2 Carrera in Martini colours, similar to the one below.

Martini-911.jpg


In the early 1990s I became very friendly with Tom Fletcher of Nottingham Analogue fame and we did some Hi-Fi Shows together, plus I helped him with a couple of his projects. Tom suggested I become a Croft dealer so I called up Glen and ordered a couple of amps. This was well before I started my own Tron brand. I knew the Croft amps quite well as I had serviced most of the range since about 1986 and owned his top model "The Mega". Anyway, Glen used to deliver his amps by hand, so I used to get a nice visit from him, usually on his way back to Erdington from delivering to his London dealers. I remember one visit, I was in the workshop and I heard this very loud exhaust noise coming up the road, which could only have been from a Porsche flat 6. After handing me a nice Epoch preamplifier, I couldn't help but notice this extremely strong smell, which was a combination of petrol, oil and exhaust fumes which must have come from Glens clothes. We had a cup of tea together then I got to check out his 911. This 911 was a far cry from the one he had in Martini colours. This one was completely stripped out with no insulation or sound deadening inside, lighten to the absolute limit, even more so than the RS model, plus the engine had been tweaked too. I couldn't help noticing that behind the seat there were some big holes in the body work above and around the gearbox. You could see the road plus the gearbox and engine through these holes. Ahh! That's were the smell came from! After about an hour Glen got back in his 911 and sped back to Erdington, with all my neighbours pulling back their curtains trying to see what was making all the noise...
Those were the days. Glenn used to drop off my stock twice a week, so popular was it. At that time there was no packaging, just a black plastic bin bag for each amp and often smelling of cat pee. The car I remember was the Porsche similar to the above with ventilation or was it rust holes in the flooring ?

I first met Glenn in the mid 80s, introduced by Tom Fletcher as we were having problems with Audio Research, Conrad Johnson and Counterpoint valve amps. Croft amps took them all on without the problems and at a fraction of the cost. After all these years, Croft amps still provide unbeatable value for money and are amongst the most reliable amps we have ever stocked. Long live Croft.
 
I had many, many happy hours listening to a Croft Micro with quad II's and horns, Graham supplied it. A good call, not so sure about ......

I bought a Porsche 964 RS from Thomas Schmitz in Germany back in 2000 when they were going for sensible money (normal used 964 C2/C4 was about £12K to £15K, a good used RS was about £35K). I ran it for a year but it was far too focused a ride as it was pretty much a race car for the road. I traded it with Tom for the slightly more refined 993 RS. I kept this for about 2-3 years but like most focused cars you need to be in the mood to drive them. The upshot is it never got used very much apart from a 2 day track event at Spa-Francorchamps. I decided to sell the 993 RS and made £10K on it which I thought was pretty good back then. Little did I realise what they would be worth today. Think £250K plus... Funny thing is that I bought a Boxster S in 2009 which was a vastly superior car in every way to both these RS's.

I've never owned a Boxster and doubt I ever will. My 964 RS was special, Ive never felt that about any Boxster I have driven or been in. Seems I am not alone or a 2009 Boxster S would be more valuable !
 
  • Like
Reactions: GT
I've never owned a Boxster and doubt I ever will. My 964 RS was special, Ive never felt that about any Boxster I have driven or been in. Seems I am not alone or a 2009 Boxster S would be more valuable !

Maybe if they had only made 1000 or so Boxster S's it might be a different story. The 718 Spyder and GT4 will probably go the way of the early RS's money wise, assuming the market doesn't crash leading up to 2030. I don't think many today would spend £175K plus on an old car without air con, or expect their wives having to wear a sports bra every time they go out for a drive in one... :)
The great thing about the Boxster is that you can use it every day and it is just as quick, if not quicker than an 1990s RS on todays roads. Whereas you have to be in the mood to drive the early RS's, hence why so many are very low mileage cars and rarely get used. As you know at least 5 of us had the 964 RS, but only one has still kept his and I bet it hasn't been used for years...

Anyway at least we can say we had the experience driving such cars ;)
 
Maybe if they had only made 1000 or so Boxster S's it might be a different story. The 718 Spyder and GT4 will probably go the way of the early RS's money wise, assuming the market doesn't crash leading up to 2030. I don't think many today would spend £175K plus on an old car without air con, or expect their wives having to wear a sports bra every time they go out for a drive in one... :)
The great thing about the Boxster is that you can use it every day and it is just as quick, if not quicker than an 1990s RS on todays roads. Whereas you have to be in the mood to drive the early RS's, hence why so many are very low mileage cars and rarely get used. As you know at least 5 of us had the 964 RS, but only one has still kept his and I bet it hasn't been used for years...

Anyway at least we can say we had the experience driving such cars ;)

True, a 964RS isn't a £200k experience, I think I did about 30k kms in my RS. I still have the picture picking it up in 1997 in Germany will 11k kms on the clock and only 3 years old a one owner car....77k DMS which was £25.4k..... it was magic for £25k though and bullet proof
 
True, a 964RS isn't a £200k experience, I think I did about 30k kms in my RS. I still have the picture picking it up in 1997 in Germany will 11k kms on the clock and only 3 years old a one owner car....77k DMS which was £25.4k..... it was magic for £25k though and bullet proof

Yes. Totally agree with that. :)
 


advertisement


Back
Top