Croft Micro 25 Basic pre amp - advice

[Leftfield]

As I have already posted on AOS, my trusty Roksan Kandy KA1 integrated amplifier has developed a fault. Following a string of emails to potential repairers it appears that this may not be a cost effective repair (if I can find someone who can actually repair it).
This has me thinking about a possible replacement. I already have a Roksan Kandy L3 power amplifier which started my search for a pre amp to pair with it. Following some (a lot) of online research the Croft 25 Micro Basic gets very good reviews, particuilary amongst Aos members. With this is mind, is anyone able to shed any light on a few questions I have.

1. Can I pair the croft basic with the solid state Roksan power amp?
2. If so, will this have enough power to drive my Pmc FB1+ speakers as I'm led to believe these require a powerful am!p to drive them.
3. What is the phono stage like on the croft? I am currently using a Graham Slee Era V gold and psu1 into the Roksan. However, to fund a new amp purchase I may need to sell this and use the onboard stage. Has anyone compared the two?

Sorry for all the questions but there isn't a Croft dealer within 100 miles of me so a demo is almost impossible. From what I have read about the sound the croft delivers I think I will like it but as always would appreciate any views from others whose hi fi experience is far greater than mine. Thanks Simon.

[Zoidburg]

Have you spoken to roskan themselves? They checked over a kandy of mine about 5 years ago when it developed a fault.

[Spectral Morn]

Have you spoken to roskan themselves? They checked over a kandy of mine about 5 years ago when it developed a fault.

Contact Henley Designs https://www.henleydesigns.co.uk/home-c1 UK Roksan distributor and they will be able to help.



Regards Neil

[hayche]

The basic Croft does not contain the protection circuit so you need to turn them on and off in the correct sequence so you do not get a nasty thump through your speakers. I forgot which order tho :(

[hifi_dave]

The Croft should do the job for you and it does have an excellent MM phono stage. Do bear in mind, however, that the Basic is no longer made, so s/hand is your only option.

[DSJR]

I'm thread crapping again, but it's my experience of the Kandy that there's a whole raft of MUSICAL information you just haven't heard yet. Loads of 'Hifi noise' certainly, but not music, sorry.

My recommendation is perhaps a bit left field, but I'd look out for a half decent pro amp (Alesis RA300 or 500 are one possibility and of course the rather interesting Crown XLS-1500? as used and liked by jerry [Jandl100]) and use it with a passive preamp and external phono stage if necessary. Amps like this are very good sounding, believe it or not, have the low-bass control a wayward transmission line like the FB1 needs and should have no character of their own to stamp all over the music.

Apologies, but just my view on possibilities. A Croft Series 7 power amp won't have the bass control you need for a transmission line as the output impedance is rather high and the response of the speakers will be changed I think.

[Barry]

The basic Croft does not contain the protection circuit so you need to turn them on and off in the correct sequence so you do not get a nasty thump through your speakers. I forgot which order tho :(

Preamp 'on' first, 'off' last.

[Arkless Electronics]

As I have already posted on AOS, my trusty Roksan Kandy KA1 integrated amplifier has developed a fault. Following a string of emails to potential repairers it appears that this may not be a cost effective repair (if I can find someone who can actually repair it).
This has me thinking about a possible replacement. I already have a Roksan Kandy L3 power amplifier which started my search for a pre amp to pair with it. Following some (a lot) of online research the Croft 25 Micro Basic gets very good reviews, particuilary amongst Aos members. With this is mind, is anyone able to shed any light on a few questions I have.

1. Can I pair the croft basic with the solid state Roksan power amp?
2. If so, will this have enough power to drive my Pmc FB1+ speakers as I'm led to believe these require a powerful am!p to drive them.
3. What is the phono stage like on the croft? I am currently using a Graham Slee Era V gold and psu1 into the Roksan. However, to fund a new amp purchase I may need to sell this and use the onboard stage. Has anyone compared the two?

Sorry for all the questions but there isn't a Croft dealer within 100 miles of me so a demo is almost impossible. From what I have read about the sound the croft delivers I think I will like it but as always would appreciate any views from others whose hi fi experience is far greater than mine. Thanks Simon.

What's the issue with the faulty amp? I repair amps and may be able to help.

[Leftfield]

Thanks all for the posts. Some news. One of the engineers i emailed got back to me today suggesting he may be able to repair the amp. Dropped off lunch time and had an update few hours later stating repair complete (faulty transistor/capacitor in the power supply). Now this should be good news, but I can't help feeling a little disappointed that I won't be 'shopping' for a new pre amp. I had already emailed Glen Croft who sadly confirmed my Roksan power amp is not a good match for the Croft pre.
DSJR - I read your post with interest as I know nothing about passive pre amps. The power amps you suggested can be purchased for a relatively modest outlay but what passive pre would suit? And what differences am I likely to notice ? It may be that I am still on the lookout for new amplification but will at least have something to sell first!

[Macca]

You could keep the Croft pre and get a Croft 7 power amp. That's a good sound.

Dave's suggestion of a passive pre with a professional power amp like the Crown will be a bit more neutral in a 'studio control room' way. It really depends on your own tastes.

[DSJR]

You could keep the Croft pre and get a Croft 7 power amp. That's a good sound.

Dave's suggestion of a passive pre with a professional power amp like the Crown will be a bit more neutral in a 'studio control room' way. It really depends on your own tastes.

He's got Eff BEE 1+ speakers - depends on how the OP likes his bass as to how the otherwise lovely Series 7 will work ;) Transmission Lines have little to no control in the augmented low end, as tightening the bass removes the extra extension - usually :) Oh yeah, Bryston amps were/are used in PMC's designs...

[Haselsh1]

It may/may not be relevant but I had an Alesis power amp a few years back that I used with a Creek passive and the power amp was only OK if the gain knobs were set to full power. If you reduced the gain with the knobs the sound was massively distorted and unlistenable. It was such a shame because I wanted to buy a second and bridge them giving hundreds of Watts per channel with immense bass control.

[DSJR]

Doesn't happen with the old Crown 'D' series, although I understood that the input impedance varied from 13k to 25k over the gain-pots travel. Doesn't stop me now using a passive preamp to feed them with music (gain controls on power amp set to one o'clock) and getting a great sound for my needs.