I haven't heard a Croft preamp so I can't say how they compare to Tron but both are amps built by guys who are passionate about music and who have probably forgotten more about designing amps than many big factories ever knew in the first place. Added to which, Croft and Tron amps are designed and built by hand by the designer himself, who doesn't have to pay for a marketing dept, factory, etc etc and can invest more in the componentry that goes into an amp at a given price point. I'd certainly like to compare a Tron and a Croft preamp, that would make for an enjoyable afternoon!
I've had 2 valve pres now. I had a Verdier Ctrl-B Active, which is a French valve pre with an off-board PSU and dual mono volume controls.
I now have a Tron Seven Preamplifier (the new one with the phono stage built in) which has a conventional stereo volume knob.
Both sound very different from Arcam!!! Both amps have a wonderful richness, especially in terms of human voice. Detail is there in abundance too, don't be fooled by all that stuff about valves sounding 'warm' as meaning there's a loss of top end, cos it isn't true. The Tron costs just over double the Verdier. One look inside and it is immediately apparent why. The Tron amp has much better quality components inside, as well as very neat point-to-point wiring which reminds me of the looms we used to create to mil spec at a well-known defence company... Sound-wise and looks-wise the Tron delivers spade-loads more value for money than the Verdier, which is in itself a good and versatile unit, if a little quirky in looks (small non-standard size case in champagne finish).
For what it's worth, going back to the big debate about dual mono volume controls:
With the Verdier, I initially found it a pain in the a***, but you do get used to it. In some ways it is good to have a means of controlling the balance without more circuitry in the signal path, and I can see why Glenn might be an advocate of this. However, in real life, I found myself spending too much time tweaking the volume to get the channels even every time I (or the Missus!) adjusted the volume. In the end I was really pleased to get the Tron. I wanted it for its sound quality over the Verdier, but SWMBO was unimpressed by my spending more money on hifi kit... until I pointed out that the Tron would only have one (very high quality) volume control. Purchase request approved! And I have to say that now I'm back to one volume knob, although I have to accept that I cannot adjust the balance, I have not found that I need to anyway, but it's so much nicer just being able to adjust the volume without upsetting the balance every time. Which means I can just get on with listening to the record…
