Croft Mega Micro with seperate PSU

[Lawrence001]

Yes please, there was a lot of info on here that I looked up before purchasing a Super Micro A MK4 Octal based pre, which I really liked.

http://soundmovements.co.uk/diyaudio/Croft_preamps.html

[Wakefield Turntables]

I will put together my own article on Glenns amplifiers but it will take a fair while and I will need to consult a few others. I have intended to do this for a long while and it may end up being a collaboration as there are a few friends of mine who have a much greater knowledge of his designs than myself.

Yes please, you've been talking about doing this for some time. We need nuggets of history like this preserving. Why not write a bit at a time?

[Barry]

Agreed - and if you are willing we could put it in the Knowledge, subject to certain conditions. Your authorship would of course be acknowledged.

[Jimbo]

I am will make a start on it soon but as you can imagine it will be a lengthy exercise but I have made some enquiries today which will add a great amount of detail and authoritative knowledge of Glenns products.

[dowser]

Great pre amp - I picked up one cheap in Greece a few years back, I’ll never sell it.

[Lawrence001]

Great pre amp - I picked up one cheap in Greece a few years back, I’ll never sell it.

Images of you spotting it in a Hellenic street market and trying to bring it back safely through airport security and customs in the cabin baggage.

[dowser]

Haha - just lucky eBay browsing - low BIN price because one of the 4 HT transformers had gone OC. I rewired it so the phono stage is sharing one HT rail (as I barely listen to vinyl anymore). Really should have sourced a replacement from Glenn before he passed…

[kininigin]

I am will make a start on it soon but as you can imagine it will be a lengthy exercise but I have made some enquiries today which will add a great amount of detail and authoritative knowledge of Glenns products.

Just a thought, maybe AoS members that have Croft equipment could provide photos to go along with your article?

[Jimbo]

Just a thought, maybe AoS members that have Croft equipment could provide photos to go along with your article?

Yes that would be great if anyone has photos of Glenns early amps from the era before he launched the 25 range I would appreciate if you could send them onto me.

Some of his gear is so rare only one model was built. His 25 range was probably his most productive period and accounts for a huge amount of the Croft amps out there. Try and find a Dakshini or pair of all valve OTL mono blocks or a pair of Cypher mono blocks and they are rather rare. Most folk have heard of his Series 2,3,4,5, ( and variations) amps and I believe there was a 6 power amp before the 7 series in the 25 range.

I think some of his other amps, Epoch , Vitale, Charisma,Charisma X,Charisma Elite,Absolut 1, Syntegra, Transvalve, micro, super micro, mega micro etc are a little rarer to come across nowadays and indeed there are others but I shall eventually detail them all as much as I can and put a timeline together.

There were also many reasons a lot of the amps were developed and came about. Some evolutionary and some spurred on by personal requests and also some simply to see what could be achieved as well as special applications.

Its going to take some time and I may have to put out my findings in parts. It could be like a wikapedia style page where folk can add stuff in if they have particular knowledge or one off specials? We will see.

[kininigin]

Yes that would be great if anyone has photos of Glenns early amps from the era before he launched the 25 range I would appreciate if you could send them onto me.

Some of his gear is so rare only one model was built. His 25 range was probably his most productive period and accounts for a huge amount of the Croft amps out there. Try and find a Dakshini or pair of all valve OTL mono blocks or a pair of Cypher mono blocks and they are rather rare. Most folk have heard of his Series 2,3,4,5, ( and variations) amps and I believe there was a 6 power amp before the 7 series in the 25 range.

I think some of his other amps, Epoch , Vitale, Charisma,Charisma X,Charisma Elite,Absolut 1, Syntegra, Transvalve, micro, super micro, mega micro etc are a little rarer to come across nowadays and indeed there are others but I shall eventually detail them all as much as I can and put a timeline together.

There were also many reasons a lot of the amps were developed and came about. Some evolutionary and some spurred on by personal requests and also some simply to see what could be achieved as well as special applications.

Its going to take some time and I may have to put out my findings in parts. It could be like a wikapedia style page where folk can add stuff in if they have particular knowledge or one off specials? We will see.

There are some amps in your list i have never heard of, so will be fascinating to me to hear the details about them.

Regarding the psu in the Mega Micro, it gets very toasty and i was wondering what the valve life would typically be with say a few hours use a day? Would it be obvious if a valve is on it's way out? Can different valves in the psu affect the sound?

Valves in a psu are a new thing for me.