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Thread: Considering Croft RIAA RS phono stage. Any alternatives?

  1. #31
    Bigman80 Guest

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    Quote Originally Posted by pankon View Post
    Are there any SUTs that from experience go well with Croft valve phono stages, and what would their cost be (either new or s/h)?

    Thanks.
    Heard an Audio Innovations SUT at the Bakeoff, I think it would be perfect. Not sure on price or availability.

  2. #32
    Join Date: Apr 2009

    Location: Near Saffron Walden, Essex

    Posts: 7,087
    I'm Dave.

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    Rothwell Audio make some excellent step-ups at very reasonable prices.

    I sold a Croft RIAA RS yesterday after the customer borrowed and tried several other phono stages from other retailers. He will be using it with his MM cartridge for the time being and add a step-up at a later date.

  3. #33
    Join Date: May 2015

    Location: Greece

    Posts: 249
    I'm Panos.

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    Quote Originally Posted by hifi_dave View Post
    Rothwell Audio make some excellent step-ups at very reasonable prices.

    I sold a Croft RIAA RS yesterday after the customer borrowed and tried several other phono stages from other retailers. He will be using it with his MM cartridge for the time being and add a step-up at a later date.
    Thanks for the heads-up, Dave. If one is planning to use an MC cartridge, the dilemma is whether an MC phono stage would be preferable to an MM phono stage + SUT. Thoughts, please?

    By the way, can the Croft RIAA RS be possibly further improved with some tweaks? Or is it the end of the road?
    System1: Lenco L75 with custom plinth, SLAT, sph bearing, SG4 external power supply + Alfred Bokrand AB-309 tonearm + Denon DL103R (aluminum body) + Well Tempered 12" tonearm clone + Denon DL103R (wooden body), ASR Mini Basis Exclusive HV, Marantz CD6005, LAB12 DAC1 SE+, Hattor BIG passive + active pre, Lab12 Suono power amp, Falcon LS3/5a Gold Badge, LAB12 Gordian, Belden 8428, Black Cat Red Level Triode, LAB12 Knack MkII

    System 2: Roksan Xerxes original (HiFi Inspire plinth) with Maxon ReMax motor + Audiomods Series6 + Ortofon Cadenza Black microridge retipped, ASR Mini Basis Exclusive, Marantz CD6003, Croft Micro25R + Series7R monoblocks (110W/ea), Harbeth SHL5 Plus 40th Anniv.

    System 3: Marantz CD6003, Croft SuperMicroII ('R' spec by Croft, Tesla E83CC in phono)+ Series7, Snell Type EII (with bypass caps, new internal wiring, WBT nextgen 0703Cu), Mark Grant HDX1, Atlas Hyper 3.0

  4. #34
    Join Date: Apr 2009

    Location: Near Saffron Walden, Essex

    Posts: 7,087
    I'm Dave.

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    Whether you use a 'good' transformer or a head-amp is down to personal choice, as always with Hi-Fi. Poor examples of each are common and will render the performance of the RIAA RS, useless. Rothwell make excellent transformers and head-amps at reasonable prices and you can pay a lot more and get less. If you want a better transformer, the prices are likely to escalate.

    The RIAA RS already uses decent parts but I'm sure Glenn can add some extra tweaky bits at extra cost. Whether they improve the preformance or not is debatable. You can swap valves easily and without breaking the bank.

  5. #35
    Join Date: Apr 2012

    Location: N E Kent

    Posts: 51,624
    I'm Geoff.

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    Quote Originally Posted by hifi_dave View Post
    Whether you use a 'good' transformer or a head-amp is down to personal choice, as always with Hi-Fi. Poor examples of each are common
    Bang on! If you get the front end wrong, you might as well bung the whole system in a skip.

  6. #36
    Join Date: May 2015

    Location: Greece

    Posts: 249
    I'm Panos.

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    Quote Originally Posted by hifi_dave View Post
    ...

    The RIAA RS already uses decent parts but I'm sure Glenn can add some extra tweaky bits at extra cost. Whether they improve the preformance or not is debatable. You can swap valves easily and without breaking the bank.
    Indeed, from personal experience, replacing the stock JJ ECC83 valves with NOS valves (e.g. Tesla E83CC or Mullard ECC83, both different in character) can significantly improve the overall sound quality. And ECC83 valves are not that expensive, compared to other valve types...
    System1: Lenco L75 with custom plinth, SLAT, sph bearing, SG4 external power supply + Alfred Bokrand AB-309 tonearm + Denon DL103R (aluminum body) + Well Tempered 12" tonearm clone + Denon DL103R (wooden body), ASR Mini Basis Exclusive HV, Marantz CD6005, LAB12 DAC1 SE+, Hattor BIG passive + active pre, Lab12 Suono power amp, Falcon LS3/5a Gold Badge, LAB12 Gordian, Belden 8428, Black Cat Red Level Triode, LAB12 Knack MkII

    System 2: Roksan Xerxes original (HiFi Inspire plinth) with Maxon ReMax motor + Audiomods Series6 + Ortofon Cadenza Black microridge retipped, ASR Mini Basis Exclusive, Marantz CD6003, Croft Micro25R + Series7R monoblocks (110W/ea), Harbeth SHL5 Plus 40th Anniv.

    System 3: Marantz CD6003, Croft SuperMicroII ('R' spec by Croft, Tesla E83CC in phono)+ Series7, Snell Type EII (with bypass caps, new internal wiring, WBT nextgen 0703Cu), Mark Grant HDX1, Atlas Hyper 3.0

  7. #37
    Join Date: Feb 2010

    Location: Denmark

    Posts: 34
    I'm Lars.

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    I'm a little late to this thread. Did you get one pankon?

    I have a Riaa RS (got it in April) and also use a MM3-cart w/Isolator on my NAS Spacedeck. I'm very happy with the RS. Great resolution, transients and a firm grip on things. I haven't done any tube-rolling yet...so can't comment on nuances and ways to improve the sound. But it seems that replacing the ecc99/12bh7a tube can do wonders if you find a good NOS.
    Lars.

  8. #38
    Join Date: May 2015

    Location: Greece

    Posts: 249
    I'm Panos.

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    Thanks for the great feedback, Lars. By the way, what's the rest of your system, i.e. amp(s) and speakers? Have you tried any MC cartridges with a SUT on the RIAA RS? No, I have not yet purchased a RIAA RS yet. Still getting used to my Micro25RS LS (line only), which is a definite improvement of the previous Micro 25R guise.

    By the way, I have tried several 12BH7A in my Croft preamp and power amps and you can tune the sound the way you like it. 12BH7As are not so expensive either.
    System1: Lenco L75 with custom plinth, SLAT, sph bearing, SG4 external power supply + Alfred Bokrand AB-309 tonearm + Denon DL103R (aluminum body) + Well Tempered 12" tonearm clone + Denon DL103R (wooden body), ASR Mini Basis Exclusive HV, Marantz CD6005, LAB12 DAC1 SE+, Hattor BIG passive + active pre, Lab12 Suono power amp, Falcon LS3/5a Gold Badge, LAB12 Gordian, Belden 8428, Black Cat Red Level Triode, LAB12 Knack MkII

    System 2: Roksan Xerxes original (HiFi Inspire plinth) with Maxon ReMax motor + Audiomods Series6 + Ortofon Cadenza Black microridge retipped, ASR Mini Basis Exclusive, Marantz CD6003, Croft Micro25R + Series7R monoblocks (110W/ea), Harbeth SHL5 Plus 40th Anniv.

    System 3: Marantz CD6003, Croft SuperMicroII ('R' spec by Croft, Tesla E83CC in phono)+ Series7, Snell Type EII (with bypass caps, new internal wiring, WBT nextgen 0703Cu), Mark Grant HDX1, Atlas Hyper 3.0

  9. #39
    Join Date: Nov 2010

    Location: Yorkshire

    Posts: 9,302
    I'm Andrew.

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    Quote Originally Posted by pankon View Post
    Are there any SUTs that from experience go well with Croft valve phono stages, and what would their cost be (either new or s/h)?

    Thanks.
    Croft SUT's go very well with Croft amps!
    SS
    CD Teac VRDS25X(Audiotuned) DECK 1210 Mat Crystal Audio Mods MN Base/Bearing/Platter+Ebony armboard Feet Isonoe PSU Paul Hynes SR7EHD-27XL/DCSXL Ag DC lead/3 Stage Regs/Recap PCB+No Pitch/Strobe/Light ARM SME V(Kondo Ag Rewire&Tags) MC Cadenza Black FGS CABLES Arm Yannis SPD-4 IC Yannis 222 Litz+Ag bullets Power WAR PRE ATC SCA2 SPEAKERS ATC 50ASL STANDS Atacama PHONO Sugden Masterclass PA4 SUT Ortofon ST80SE POWER PSAudio P10

    VALVE
    PRE
    Croft Epoch(Modded) AMP Sondex S100 (Modded) SPEAKERS Tannoy 15"MG+RFC Warwick cabs+ Ref XO + Batpure supertweeters DECK Garrard 301 Mat Teunto Bearings 401(Bastin) Plinth Bamboo Arms 3009/3012 PSU Eagle+Tachometer MC Ag Meister II/FGS + Ortofon SPU MONO CABLES Arm Yannis 420.5 Litz+ SpeakerPC Tripple C+WBT-0681 Ag IC Oyaide FTVS-510 AgWBT 0110Ag Phonostages Paradise(4 Box Mega-Modded) / Croft Musicmaker



  10. #40
    Join Date: May 2015

    Location: Greece

    Posts: 249
    I'm Panos.

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    Quote Originally Posted by REXTON View Post
    Croft SUT's go very well with Croft amps!
    Croft SUTs??? That's a first IMHO! Never heard of such a thing before.
    System1: Lenco L75 with custom plinth, SLAT, sph bearing, SG4 external power supply + Alfred Bokrand AB-309 tonearm + Denon DL103R (aluminum body) + Well Tempered 12" tonearm clone + Denon DL103R (wooden body), ASR Mini Basis Exclusive HV, Marantz CD6005, LAB12 DAC1 SE+, Hattor BIG passive + active pre, Lab12 Suono power amp, Falcon LS3/5a Gold Badge, LAB12 Gordian, Belden 8428, Black Cat Red Level Triode, LAB12 Knack MkII

    System 2: Roksan Xerxes original (HiFi Inspire plinth) with Maxon ReMax motor + Audiomods Series6 + Ortofon Cadenza Black microridge retipped, ASR Mini Basis Exclusive, Marantz CD6003, Croft Micro25R + Series7R monoblocks (110W/ea), Harbeth SHL5 Plus 40th Anniv.

    System 3: Marantz CD6003, Croft SuperMicroII ('R' spec by Croft, Tesla E83CC in phono)+ Series7, Snell Type EII (with bypass caps, new internal wiring, WBT nextgen 0703Cu), Mark Grant HDX1, Atlas Hyper 3.0

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