Wanted: Croft Micro series preamp [Archive]

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dub

01-05-2011, 08:22

Hello!

I am interested to buy a Croft Micro or Super Micro series preamp without any major problems.
I would be thankful for any offers.

Regards,

Marc

John

01-05-2011, 08:33

Contact HIfi Dave of Radlett Audio he has one for sale ex demo at present and seems a really decent guy

Volante

01-05-2011, 09:15

also there are a couple for sale at Emporium - see their ebay listings.

if you want new and you are near London you can also ask Adrian at Audioflair (www.audioflair.co.uk/) who sells quite a lot of Croft stuff - a good guy to deal with - he sometimes has them ex-demo

but I agree that Radlett are also good to deal with so you have a few options

good luck

John

01-05-2011, 09:20

Yes agree around Adrian very helpful guy and lves his Croft gear

DSJR

01-05-2011, 09:38

Unless they've been butchered by third parties messing about with "better" pots etc, these units are utterly reliable and very long lived.

The GREAT thing is that Glenn will ALWAYS have his old stuff back to refurb if necessary and I understand he doesn't charge a fortune either. There's an update to the old phono stage I understand, which makes it less sensitive to loading from the line buffer. Glenn would explain..

Good luck :)

dub

01-05-2011, 10:04

Thanks for the quick replies.

Concerning the sale of a used Micro A: Would you say it's comparable to the new 25?

I am also considering to invest a little more and look for a used Super Micro, too.
But only if it's worth the additional money. Does any one of you have personal experience with the actual difference in sound quality between the entry level models and those one step up?

Cheers,

Marc

Volante

01-05-2011, 10:17

needless to say it's really best to listen to a couple side by side as so much depends on your own ears (as well as accompanying equipment and the room acoustics and so on).

anything with an upgraded power supply is going to sound better than one with a standard power supply as a generalisation

Marco

01-05-2011, 11:13

Hi Marc,

On your next visit, could you please add your basic location to your profile, as this is now required of all members - cheers! :cool:

You should also pop into the Welcome area, say 'hello', and tell us what system you're using and what music you like, before using the Classifieds section :)

Marco.

dub

01-05-2011, 11:39

Hi, Marco!

Location added.

I will show up in the Welcome section soon.

Thanks,

Marc

Marco

01-05-2011, 11:40

Thanks, Marc :)

Marco.

DSJR

01-05-2011, 12:33

Glenn's current preamps seem to have a "fresh" kind of reproduction, full of life and "verve," for want of a better term. Vintage valves may mellow this out a little, although I haven't done this. The more expensive Albarry preamp sounds genteel, controlled and super-refined in comparison (with all the Harbeths, I liked the series 25 "R" driving the Albarry Monoblocs, which gave a wonderful compromise I thought).

My own Series 4PP had a dynamic gentleness to it which I found a bit too safe with bog-standard valves and found a pair of Jan 5841A's in the line stage (mine has more valves inside) brought things back to "neutral" when input was crudely compared to output. The phono-stage valves are lively CV4004 (12AU7) modern look-alikes and sound great in their role. Glenn made other suggestions which have beefed everything up as well, making the "PP" as acoustically transparent to the signal as I need. he also has suggestions for updating the phono stage output to make it less load intolerant, which I'll get him to do at some point.

The thing is, if you buy a standard Micro and ask Glenn's advice, even with his modest service/update charges, you'll receive back a product far better than it was when new, as Glenn has some tricks up his sleeve which further refine what was there originally and, believe me, the original was NEVER a slouch in any shape or form :)

Volante

02-05-2011, 08:22

Marc , I assume you have read the older reviews of various Croft preamps on the croft website which is occasionally update but frankly it would be easier to ask Adrian at Audioflair - he will give you an unbiased view of their respective merits..

http://www.croftacoustics.co.uk/reviews/9_rev.html

DSJR

02-05-2011, 11:29

dub

02-05-2011, 16:16

Thanks for all the input.

So I will consider the Ex-demo 25 from Radlett. Will get in contact.

Otherwise I am still open for offers from AoS members. Maybe someone would sell a Super Micro, too...?

Marc

Marco

02-05-2011, 23:53

I will show up in the Welcome section soon.

Still waiting, Marc! I sincerely hope you're not just using AoS as your own personal resource service....

Therefore, could you please "show up" in the Welcome area on your next visit, before you post anywhere else? ;)

Cheers!

Marco.

dowser

04-05-2011, 16:04

http://www.croftacoustics.co.uk/reviews/5_rev.html

This one is a Colloms summary of the original Micro I was going on about...

An owner sent his old one back to Glenn and for well under £150 from memory, Glenn upgraded the power supply, taking this little gem to fully modern decent standards...

I bought a second hand Micro II (mid-80s, same as one in the review you linked to), had it shipped to Glenn who updated output stage to latest spec and replaced a microphonic valve, then had it shipped to me in Dublin, Ireland.

That cost less than £150 all in (and very happy I am too with it) - is that what you're thinking about? :)

I've since replaced it's smoothing caps, and fitted some wanky output caps (that I'll soon swap back to the original Glenn spec items to properly compare difference) - cannot see me ever parting with it, sound in my system is great.

Richard

DSJR

04-05-2011, 19:03

The one I seem to remember had the power supply upgraded - tricky in the small case - with valve regulation I think.. I think it was catalogued in PFM, but it was a couple of years ago now...

dowser

05-05-2011, 10:07

Thanks. Indeed - there is not a lot of space inside! Just checked my records - I had the valve HT regulation changed at same time, the original neon bulb voltage reference fades with age, I had it replaced (rather than using a lower quality zener as the reference). It was also the two phone stage valves I had changed. And it actually came to £165 all in for the Micro itself, Glenn's work and the shipping to me.

Glenn's customer service is second to none!

Cheers, Richard