Cheers guys. Maybe I'll be able to haggle him down... Alternatively, if anyone sees one come up for 400 quid or less somewhere, PM/email me ASAP!!
Really liking how it sounds. The Croft is a bit too laid-back in the highs and woolly in the lower register (though it sounds very refined and natural with classical music and the like). The EAR is a bit "uptight" - the upper mids and treble seem to be somewhat emphasized and it never really seems to relax and "breathe" when the music requires it to. It is very clear and dynamic and tight in the bass and is really lively with lively music, so great fun to listen to but never quite sounds convincing and it gets a bit tiring after a while. I've heard EAR described as the Naim of valves this description seems to fit rather well.
By comparison the ATC sounds very clear and clean and neutral, but also a bit restrained in the mids and positively rolled-off in the bass (at least compared to the valve boys). It also sounds a bit flat and hazy in the upper frequencies.
The Audio Innovations on the other hand has a lovely balance - very balanced in fact! Not too laid-back, not too lively - just right! It's a really great combination of easy-to-listen to and involving that very few bits of hifi seem to nail. It's possibly just slightly bright for my tastes, but it doesn't seem like a deal-breaker. In any case it makes the sound really come to life - vocals especially, and rhythmic, percussive elements come across almost as well as with the EAR but without the overemphasis or tendency to get tiring over time. It's also got very big, very deep, very tuneful and textured bass - much more so than the ATC. I suspect it may not be entirely accurate/neutral, but it sounds great and my [infinite baffle] ATC speakers are quite far out from the wall so they could use a bit of a boost down there.
So yeah, I think I like it. One factor that seems to affect all of the valve pres to some degree is a tendency to sound unconvincing at high volumes, at least compared to the ATC pre. I'm not certain, and it'll take some more experimenting (particularly with the L2, which I've only had a day) but it seems as if the frequency response has been tweaked to sound good at low- to mid-level volumes, but which causes them to sound "wrong" at more realistic levels. The ATC sounds great when driven loud and not so good at lower volumes. It kinda suggests the valve pres have a bit of a "loudness" curve in their frequency response... Could be my imagination and like I say I'll take some time to decide for sure.
In any case, all four pres are excellent in terms of sheer sound quality. It seems like it's really just down to personal preference and system synergy which one you go for. I'd say the ATC has the edge in sheer clarity and cleanliness - the others all sound a little "rough around the edges" by comparison. But then it's cleanly beaten by all the valves in sweetness and smoothness of treble and mids (perhaps not surprisingly...) The EAR and Audio Innovations also definitely have the edge over the other two in punchiness/liveliness/drive/groove, whatever you want to call that! Makes them a blast to listen to.
It's also quite surprising how different they sound to each other. You wouldn't think a preamp would make that much difference, but it really does - perhaps more than any other component bar speakers (and record decks...)
Oh, and it's also worth mentioning that I've been doing all of my listening using my CD player as my record deck has been in the shop for servicing for the past two bloody weeks.
From what I hear the EAR and Croft both have excellent phono stages, so that may end up being a factor in the final decision, but I won't know till I get my deck back which could be a week or more... sniff....
Dunc
)
