Mike,

In the case of Croft, some of the best gear I’ve owned over the past 30 years. Sadly, Glenn passed away last year and I’m not sure if the company will exist anymore. I hope it does because the performance/value was always huge. One of the best phono pre-amplifiers.

Van Alstine is also a mystery to me. Only read about it. Never heard it.

Audio Note is a tough one. I owned one of their DAC kits back in 1999 and I never should have sold it. It was really good. I bought it in Canada and it was worth keeping. I’ve heard 3 levels of their products and agree with you that the pricing raises an eyebrow.

I do think their entry-level and second tier products are really good.

Best,

Ian White