CROFT 7R Power Amp

[Dr Technical]

I am looking to buy a Croft 7R Power amp to march the 25R preamp but need help with speaker matching. Any recommendations for speakers less than £4k?

 

[Sotosound]

Would this thread be better off in the 2-channel section with the title "Speakers to match Croft Series 7R power amp for < £4K."?

 

[Fullrange]

Harbeth or Spendor are my favourite Croft speaker combinations.

 

[Sotosound]

There are loads of choices. The list of speakers that won't work for you will probably be the shorter list.

Some questions that it might help for you to answer....

What is the room size and layout?

What kind of sound do you prefer?

Do you want stand-mounts or floor-standers?

What are your musical preferences?

How loud do you listen?

What cabinet colour and finish are you looking for?

Are you looking for new or used?

Do you have a dealer that supports home auditions?

All of these answers will influence our suggestions.

 

[Dr Technical]

Would this thread be better off in the 2-channel section with the title "Speakers to match Croft Series 7R power amp for < £4K."?

As its my first post I have no idea how that works to be honest

 

[Dr Technical]

Harbeth or Spendor are my favourite Croft speaker combinations.

Which Spendors do you recommend?

 

[Dr Technical]

There are loads of choices. The list of speakers that won't work for you will probably be the shorter list.

Some questions that it might help for you to answer....

What is the room size and layout?

What kind of sound do you prefer?

Do you want stand-mounts or floor-standers?

What are your musical preferences?

How loud do you listen?

What cabinet colour and finish are you looking for?

Are you looking for new or used?

Do you have a dealer that supports home auditions?

All of these answers will influence our suggestions.

Just looking for what people find works so I can drill down from there.

 

[Lawrence001]

Just looking for what people find works so I can drill down from there.

What works for someone in a very different room to yours will not be relevant to your search so can you elaborate on the questions?

 

[Sotosound]

Just looking for what people find works so I can drill down from there.

I run a Croft set-up and I've found that some speakers but certainly not all speakers by Monitor Audio, Russell K, Proac, Dynaudio, Q Acoustics, Wharfedale, Edwards Audio, Audio Note, Rega, and Mission all sound OK to my ears.

This list of speakers includes large and small stand-mounts and large and small floor-standers.

Through dealer auditions, I've also found that how these speakers sound varies according to the listening room involved. My own speakers sound great in my lounge but I initially rejected them during a dealer audition.

Spendor D7s didn't work for me personally, but other Spendors might be good since Spendors don't all sing with a single voicing.

What I can say is that my non-R Croft kit has quite a neutral sound, and the Micro 25R that I borrowed also sounded nicely neutral, which therefore widens your choices a bit.

Also, if you like to listen loud then the output of the Series 7R might be less well-suited to some of the lower efficiency speakers offered by manufacturers such as Harbeth and Dynaudio. For instance, my own Series 7 struggled with the Dynaudio Contour 20, which is a lovely, neutral and refined-sounding large stand-mount speaker but which is also difficult to drive with just a lowly 50-ish Watts under the small black Croft bonnet.

 

[Sotosound]

PS That Series 7R will make an excellent partner for your Micro 25R.

 

[Sotosound]

@Dr Technical

I sense that you weren't expecting replies of the nature that you received.

Were you hoping for something less long and protracted?

When I bought my first new speakers back in the 1980s, I read a pile of reviews of speakers in my price range, chose the ones that seemed the best bet, went down to an electrical shop that sold them along with fridges, washing machines etc., listened to them on a shelf in the shop, thought that they sounded ok, bought them and took them home. And that was that.

Over time, however, I have learned a lot and heard a lot that can't be unlearned or unheard and, as a result, choosing a speaker is now a more complex undertaking than it was.

Most forum members are similarly a looooong way down the audio road and simple answers can, therefore, be very hard to come by.

If we haven't frightened you off, please tell us a bit more about yourself. For instance, how do you go about choosing speakers?

 

[bigrod]

Where are you ?
If you are local to a nearby Wammer , many will let you try your kit on other speakers especially at bake-offs

 

[Sotosound]

He might have left us....

 

[hilts1967]

I have the same Amps and I'm very happy with Falcon Q7's. The clarity is superb.

 

[rabski]

Would this thread be better off in the 2-channel section with the title "Speakers to match Croft Series 7R power amp for < £4K."?

I've moved it to 2-channel, as it's not really a 'Q&A' thread.