Greetings from Wales - any Croft experts here?

[Brandon]

Hello all
Just logging on and I hope to be able to visit on a regular basis and share ideas (although I think I'll be asking more than advising for sometime yet!:))

I am getting back into hifi after several house moves and currently tweaking my system like the rest of you. To this end I recently picked up a Croft valve pre (micro A) and power amp (series V) for what I believe is a bargain price (£120 plus spare valves). However this is my first forray into the world of valves and I am a complete numpty when it comes to setting things up.
has anyone a copy of the handbooks or any general tips - frankly I don't know what my line switch or PU mean and with two volume controls it's all a bit of a mystery- any advice would be gratefully received?

[DSJR]

Hi and welcome :)

Fantastic price which is well under half the price the preamp goes for these days.... :stalks:

You'll be very pleased to know that Glenn is only too happy to refurbish his previous production and he doesn't charge the earth either :)

Try the following -

http://www.croftacoustics.co.uk/

http://www.soton.ac.uk/~apm3/diyaudio/Croft_preamps.html



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The Series V should be regarded as a sort of modern day Quad II I think, with a similar "organic" midrange, tuneful but slightly loose bass and a clear, lively treble - IIRC from a long time ago :) Certainly great with sealed-box speakers and carefully matched ported ones I think.

Ask away for more info - many of us own and love Croft here :peace: :cool: The old stuff is so good and can easily be updated, there's no need to ever feel the need to wholesale change to the current ones, unless the "R" series appeals ;)

[DSJR]

In terms of operation, Croft preamps of this period were mainly used by vinyl record lovers. because of this, the switches for PU and Line were there as much to separate them, the line settings then allowing selection of Tuner, CD/Aux and Tape on the secondary swiches. Having separate switches for left and right channels can appear to be a pain, but my own personal take on things is that Glenn wanted to keep the left and right hand channels as separate as possible. It certainly gave his products an "identity" all their own and in use, it's not a problem. Separate volume controls are actually a good idea in theory and again, easily got used to.

Use the central MUTE switch when changing records, or switching from PU to Line...

Interconnect choice isn't crucial on Crofts and any reasonable interconnect should be quite suitable to start with. many good ones on ebay and Mark Grant makes some superb ones at various prices, his basic £25 approx one being an ideal starter with no "side" to its performance at all.

http://markgrantcables.co.uk/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=43_1&products_id=51&zenid=6foll24s3kab1roflmgdqoh4d0

Speaker cables should be sensible 2.5mm stranded copper IMO and this is readily available for around £2 to £2.50 per metre.

http://markgrantcables.co.uk/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=46_21&products_id=169

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Fisual-Super-Pearl-2-5mm-Speaker-Cable-White-/380169878365?pt=UK_Computing_CablesConnectors_RL&hash=item5883e3fb5d

The thing is in my view, get the Crofts wired up and running well, before messing around with loads of often expensive tweaks :)



P.P.P.S. PLEASE can we have some details of your music tastes, rest of system and a little about yourself in the Welcome section, otherwise the Forum Police will get ya :lol: