schneiderhan
15-01-2012, 23:30
Listed on that auction site (bidding starting from 599) recently but no one jumped - so here it is on AOS with a discount for AOS members, my Croft Series 5 power amp - in excellent condition, recently serviced and with upgrades by the man himself.
Looking for £550 firm. Am taking a bit of hit on this; you won't find one of these for less than £450-500, and here for an extra £100 is an amp which has just been serviced, has £200 worth of upgrades and 8 basically brand new EL84 valves (worth nearly £80). It should therefore work reliably for some time to come without need for further attention. Perfect partner for a Croft pre-amp and a great entry into the world of valve amplification.
This is the Mk1 I believe. If I've got this right, the Mk2 had a cage which covered the whole amp, and the mark3 (or VC) was in standard hifi casework without exposed valves / transformers.
Bought last year on ebay for £500 from a seller in Greece who had bought it in the UK and used it for two years or so - and then stored it for at least ten years or so whilst he used a 300b amp instead. He sent it to me in bombproof packaging, and it is in excellent external condition as the pictures show. I used it briefly but it was clearly far from its best, sounding a bit fuzzy and soft. Off it went to Glenn Croft in April 2011 and I asked him to consider what upgrades he could perform. He first carried out a repair (Crofts are well-made amps, but amps are made to be used, not sit on a shelf) and fitted new EL84 valves (JJs) as output power was well down. Then he did some upgrades - a fixed bias output stage, modified phase splitter and front end circuitry using better components. Back it came, and it's much better - more dynamic and transparent. It's a very nice amp, as described on this forum and others - it's sweet, open, communicative and full of atmosphere.
A selection of online reviews for your reading enjoyment: -
http://www.soton.ac.uk/~apm3/diyaudio/Croft5.html
http://www.croftacoustics.co.uk/reviews/12_rev.html
http://www.croftacoustics.co.uk/reviews/18_rev.html
http://www.croftacoustics.co.uk/reviews/19_rev.html
http://www.croftacoustics.co.uk/reviews/20_rev.html
And a quote from a past owner: -
I would say the Series 5s were one of the biggest bargains of all hi-fi, and if you can find one in good shape you should be very happy for a long time. The sound is very clear and dynamic (given the limitations of the 25W power rating) and warm, but not excessively so, in tone. In my experience they run the valves very gently too: I have only had to replace one 6080 regulator valve in all that time'.
New valves and circuitry are probably barely burnt in; no more than 100 hours use since upgrade. I bought it as a natural partner to my Croft preamp. So why am I selling - well at the same time I went down the path of vintage amplification and I just fell in love with the look and feel of 50 year-old components, amps like the ST20 which this Croft is a homage to.
Postage is possible for an extra £20 (UK only, obviously) and I will pack it very well, but I would prefer it was handed over in person. I would be very happy to deliver it or meet the winning bidder halfway within a radius of 100 miles from Oxford or Cardiff for a pretty nominal fee - just ask - to make absolutely sure that it reaches the winning bidder in perfect condition.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/schneiderhan/6703513891/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/schneiderhan/6703503621/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/schneiderhan/6703497985/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/schneiderhan/6703491303/
Looking for £550 firm. Am taking a bit of hit on this; you won't find one of these for less than £450-500, and here for an extra £100 is an amp which has just been serviced, has £200 worth of upgrades and 8 basically brand new EL84 valves (worth nearly £80). It should therefore work reliably for some time to come without need for further attention. Perfect partner for a Croft pre-amp and a great entry into the world of valve amplification.
This is the Mk1 I believe. If I've got this right, the Mk2 had a cage which covered the whole amp, and the mark3 (or VC) was in standard hifi casework without exposed valves / transformers.
Bought last year on ebay for £500 from a seller in Greece who had bought it in the UK and used it for two years or so - and then stored it for at least ten years or so whilst he used a 300b amp instead. He sent it to me in bombproof packaging, and it is in excellent external condition as the pictures show. I used it briefly but it was clearly far from its best, sounding a bit fuzzy and soft. Off it went to Glenn Croft in April 2011 and I asked him to consider what upgrades he could perform. He first carried out a repair (Crofts are well-made amps, but amps are made to be used, not sit on a shelf) and fitted new EL84 valves (JJs) as output power was well down. Then he did some upgrades - a fixed bias output stage, modified phase splitter and front end circuitry using better components. Back it came, and it's much better - more dynamic and transparent. It's a very nice amp, as described on this forum and others - it's sweet, open, communicative and full of atmosphere.
A selection of online reviews for your reading enjoyment: -
http://www.soton.ac.uk/~apm3/diyaudio/Croft5.html
http://www.croftacoustics.co.uk/reviews/12_rev.html
http://www.croftacoustics.co.uk/reviews/18_rev.html
http://www.croftacoustics.co.uk/reviews/19_rev.html
http://www.croftacoustics.co.uk/reviews/20_rev.html
And a quote from a past owner: -
I would say the Series 5s were one of the biggest bargains of all hi-fi, and if you can find one in good shape you should be very happy for a long time. The sound is very clear and dynamic (given the limitations of the 25W power rating) and warm, but not excessively so, in tone. In my experience they run the valves very gently too: I have only had to replace one 6080 regulator valve in all that time'.
New valves and circuitry are probably barely burnt in; no more than 100 hours use since upgrade. I bought it as a natural partner to my Croft preamp. So why am I selling - well at the same time I went down the path of vintage amplification and I just fell in love with the look and feel of 50 year-old components, amps like the ST20 which this Croft is a homage to.
Postage is possible for an extra £20 (UK only, obviously) and I will pack it very well, but I would prefer it was handed over in person. I would be very happy to deliver it or meet the winning bidder halfway within a radius of 100 miles from Oxford or Cardiff for a pretty nominal fee - just ask - to make absolutely sure that it reaches the winning bidder in perfect condition.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/schneiderhan/6703513891/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/schneiderhan/6703503621/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/schneiderhan/6703497985/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/schneiderhan/6703491303/