JBL 4343 coming soon to Mumbai

One more affordable amp which will be tried and tested in one of the best setups in the country :cool:
 
Arj, it’s a set up that suits my taste. There are many great set ups in the country and I wouldn’t go to the extent of saying its one of the best set ups in India. :)
 
The Croft Integrated R is likely to be a keeper. It’s one of the very very few amps I have heard, irrespective of price, which balances resolution and musicality. It’s the kind of balance I look for.
Croft is going to replace Quicksilver amplifier?
Have you heard Croft before?
I recently mailed Quicksilver for the interest in their integrated.
Seems like they don't have Indian distributers.
 
Yes. Croft replaces Quicksilver integrated. They don’t have Indian distributor. You have to order direct from them. No I had never heard Croft before. The first time I heard it was after it came home yesterday.
 
Yes. Croft replaces Quicksilver integrated. They don’t have Indian distributor. You have to order direct from them. No I had never heard Croft before. The first time I heard it was after it came home yesterday.
Great move. This just shows how much value is there to find right synergy. The croft is such a gem. Someone I know runs the same amp with a Harbeth monitor 30. Lovely amplifier!
 
Have done 60 hrs of run in. Recommended is 100 hrs. The amp is stunning. It’s right up there with some of the very best I have heard. Don’t get fooled by the 1700 GBP tag. It plays in a much much higher league. With the various amps I have tried with my JBL, this is the most balanced of all. The way the amp is shaping up, I think I have pretty much come to the end of my journey. Now to buy more vinyls and just sit back and enjoy the music:)
 
Have done 60 hrs of run in. Recommended is 100 hrs. The amp is stunning. It’s right up there with some of the very best I have heard. Don’t get fooled by the 1700 GBP tag. It plays in a much much higher league. With the various amps I have tried with my JBL, this is the most balanced of all. The way the amp is shaping up, I think I have pretty much come to the end of my journey. Now to buy more vinyls and just sit back and enjoy the music:)
"You better lose yourself in the music, the moment
You own it, you better never let it go ...."
-Eminem

Happy for you Prem. Enzoi!!

Cheers,
Raghu
 
dear sir,

This will be post no 201 !

congratulations for reaching the end of the journey !

very few people are blessed to reach the destination and know it is the journeys end.

reading old posts over the last few days and knowing that you have had a lot of experience and also spent a lot on hardware over so many years - would you have gotten the same satisfaction than if you had directly gone to Croft + 4343 + EMT ?

or would the twitchiness remain ??

at the end of the journey - do you remember any system in the past that you owned that you wished you held on to ?

Nobody's perfect and sometimes we feel we made a mistake by moving on !

it would be nice for us new joinees to hear your views on this question with a bit of philosophy in it.
 
dear sir,

This will be post no 201 !

congratulations for reaching the end of the journey !

very few people are blessed to reach the destination and know it is the journeys end.

reading old posts over the last few days and knowing that you have had a lot of experience and also spent a lot on hardware over so many years - would you have gotten the same satisfaction than if you had directly gone to Croft + 4343 + EMT ?

or would the twitchiness remain ??

at the end of the journey - do you remember any system in the past that you owned that you wished you held on to ?

Nobody's perfect and sometimes we feel we made a mistake by moving on !

it would be nice for us new joinees to hear your views on this question with a bit of philosophy in it.
That's deep. Looking forward to the answer from Prem!
 
Hi Oldmonk

I really don’t know how to answer your question but will give it a shot.

I like to experiment a lot with various topologies, be it dynamic, single driver, coaxials, electrostats, OB in speakers or tubes, SS, Hybrid or OTL in amplifiers. Over the past 2-3 decades I have played around with different types of speakers and amps. My kick was to get the best possible sound from each combo. I have enjoyed all my combos. I pay a lot of attention to synergy of a system. I spend a lot of time researching before buying. I don’t really do auditions. In fact 90% of the stuff I have bought over the decades have been blind buys. But I research them thoroughly, right from chatting with end users to the designer. If the designer does not respond to my queries I do not buy that product, irrespective of how great it is. This research normally takes anywhere between 6-9 months. For each system, I also pick cables which best suit that system. It’s always been a systems approach for me. For me the source and the source material is key. Most of the money would be spent on that. I never cared much for typical hifi attributes. I always went for tone, dynamics and the like. Horns are the only ones I haven’t tried but I do not have the room for that. They are big and need space to breathe.

To answer your question, I would have been happy settling down with any of the systems I had. It’s just that this system happens to be my current one. It’s not that this system is much better than any I have had in the past. With the Croft, I think I got the synergy I was looking for with JBL. Also having tried so many different topologies and not much more to try, I decided to call it a day and settle down.
 
@prem
Your insights on system synergy are an eye opener and extremely informative for members of HFV
Most of us don't have the means or more importantly the patience that you exhibit in putting together a system
There are some things you bring up that some of us don't even know about
E.g:
When I was hunting for a sub, the concept of venue sound. That's was truly phenomenal
As I type, I have S&G @ Madison Square Garden playing :D

Thanks for experimenting and enlightening us.
I have not met you, nor have I heard your rigs, but what you ponder about makes sense, at least to me ;)

Cheers,
Raghu
 
Hi Oldmonk

I really don’t know how to answer your question but will give it a shot.

I like to experiment a lot with various topologies, be it dynamic, single driver, coaxials, electrostats, OB in speakers or tubes, SS, Hybrid or OTL in amplifiers. Over the past 2-3 decades I have played around with different types of speakers and amps. My kick was to get the best possible sound from each combo. I have enjoyed all my combos. I pay a lot of attention to synergy of a system. I spend a lot of time researching before buying. I don’t really do auditions. In fact 90% of the stuff I have bought over the decades have been blind buys. But I research them thoroughly, right from chatting with end users to the designer. If the designer does not respond to my queries I do not buy that product, irrespective of how great it is. This research normally takes anywhere between 6-9 months. For each system, I also pick cables which best suit that system. It’s always been a systems approach for me. For me the source and the source material is key. Most of the money would be spent on that. I never cared much for typical hifi attributes. I always went for tone, dynamics and the like. Horns are the only ones I haven’t tried but I do not have the room for that. They are big and need space to breathe.

To answer your question, I would have been happy settling down with any of the systems I had. It’s just that this system happens to be my current one. It’s not that this system is much better than any I have had in the past. With the Croft, I think I got the synergy I was looking for with JBL. Also having tried so many different topologies and not much more to try, I decided to call it a day and settle down.
Thank you sir for your eloquent reply to a newcomer to this forum.

The 4343 also might require space to breathe it has a 15 + 10 + tweeter configuration and owning one would mean the room it is placed in is rather large. For such a speaker to really show what it can do - room is essential.

Size is essential for sound - so large drivers bring an ease of music reproduction and if they are placed in a suitably large room - it will be great !

I have 1 last question - ( i was a journalist earlier :) ) -in all these years you must have been in an audio group and friends circle - do any of your friends have 1 or 2 system which caught your ear ( eye ! ) ? They need not be very costly in terms of money but making good sound - what are they ?

have a nice day sir !
 
Oldmonk, I don’t have an audio group. The only few friends I have in audio are from this forum. I normally never visit people’s home to listen. I feel music is a very personal thing, and more importantly it’s very subjective. What I like in terms of sound reproduction may not appeal to you and vice versa. It’s a sensory perception and everybody has their own interpretation of it. When you go out to buy a system, you need to be very sure of what sound you like. And this takes some experimentation and a few years, not to mention money :)
 
All speakers, irrespective of size, need room especially if you are looking at 40hz and below to be reproduced. Horns require more space than my JBL because they are way larger than my JBL. So they end up dominating the room from an aesthetic perspective. And that’s something I wouldn’t compromise on. Also they need a listening distance of at least 9-10 feet for the sound to integrate. I have always had rooms of over 300 sq ft. So room size has never been really a big issue.

Oldmonk, the fact that you have been recommending pre amps from Bespoke Audio, you don’t appear to be a novice as you claim.:)
 
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Oldmonk, I don’t have an audio group. The only few friends I have in audio are from this forum. I normally never visit people’s home to listen. I feel music is a very personal thing, and more importantly it’s very subjective. What I like in terms of sound reproduction may not appeal to you and vice versa. It’s a sensory perception and everybody has their own interpretation of it. When you go out to buy a system, you need to be very sure of what sound you like. And this takes some experimentation and a few years, not to mention money :)

Thank you for your kind explanatory reply... i am sure a lot of effort also is spent on keeping the audio space free of any additional equipment that one might not need especially considering India is not the USA or UK for that matter with a ready market for audio.

I wish you many years of musical enjoyment.

Good day !
 
the fact that you have been recommending pre amps from Bespoke Audio, you don’t appear to be a novice as you claim

Sir,

it really doesnt matter - a novice or an expert - as long as one is a student :) - and as long as one speaks from personal experience.

what i learnt yesterday is fast disappearing into the past as new technologies emerge..

Yes - i have been lucky travelled to a few places and i do have an interest in audio reproduction which is what drew me here.

good day !
 
A beautiful, well-constructed speaker with class-leading soundstage, imaging and bass that is fast, deep, and precise.
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