So why the Croft preamp? Well I've lusted after one for some time after sampling the delights of the micro basic which to my ears easily ousted my old Radford preamp. The Croft mated extremely well with my Radford power amp and I now listen most nights to old jazz records, relaxing and passing the night away. The MM stage is probably one of the best I've heard, I would say that it easily beats the £600+ optional extra MM stage on my ATC SCA2 preamp. Your actually getting a bloody good MM PHONOSTAGE and a free preamp when you buy the micro basic! I did consider the £4k Cary 2 box preamp that came onto the market on this forum. I considered the new Radford preamp, I also considered one of Audio Research reference preamps, I decided against icon audio and couldn't be bothered with some of the older preamps available from Quad, Leak, Armstrong etc mainly because everyone is a GURU and has an individual idea on how these classics should be modified. I like the idea of croft because the designer is still alive and well and very open to modifying his designs, additionally he knows how to get the begs out of the amp. I look forward to going on a modification journey with this pre-amp. Initially it will sit in the system for me to assess the "sound" of the Croft and then modifications will start probably after new year.