mark1101

Since I have a couple of lower powered Scotts and have begun looking at the higher powered ones, my philosophy has changed some. I have also gained a little knowledge of the operation of these tube amps. Bottom line, they are pretty easy to troubleshoot and fix, with the exception of some of the intermittent problems. And, most of the important components get changed out in a rebuild, which you most certainly need with any of these old amps. That being said, I look for the "broken" ones, or the ones the seller describes, as "needs work". Again, you need to be careful. But as long as the iron is still good, I have found you can bring them back up to snuff. That is "you guys" can. Bottom line, you don't need to buy the best looking best performing to end up with a really nice sounding unit. The old beat up ones will sound just as good once rebuilt. So you can save a few bucks on the initial purchase to help defray the rebuild costs. I also see many graduating the Scott integrateds to these new fruit flavored separates and custom builds. Nice to know the possible next steps from all the forum pioneers.

Gullah, As you know a snipe will never beat out an = or higher Ebay proxy bid already placed. You just didn't go high enough. But, and this is just my opinion, you did just fine. I think those were a tad high. I've seen nicer pairs go for less (and more). I know they were local. That's the worst part. Hang in there, you'll get 'em.

Awesome, absolutely awesome .

Check that Doc. I see you do not have the same amp as we do. I hope you get yours straightened out. Alternately, Smilin and others look to have some finely tuned Scotts up for sale. Smilin's 272 sounds very tempting.

Doc, I think I have the same 299 unit as you and Gary. Mine is a NOSValves rebuild. The only hiss I get is when a source is playing. If I put the CD on pause, and turn up the volume all the way as far as it goes, and put my ear to the speaker, you can just barely tell the amp is on. You can hear a barely detectable hiss, no hum at all. You have to get right up to the speaker with your ear (I.E. Las and Corns). Now when a CD is playing there is hiss, period. My 222 operates about the same. Good clean sound from the amp. Are you saying you have hiss in the same situation as I describe above?

Is it possible to configure a Lascala like a Khorn for the 30Hz. Bass? Why does the LaScala have the lack of bass of a Khorn? I understand the cabinet differences. However, is that the frequency response difference between the two? Can you put a Khorn network in a Lascala and realize any improvement? Thanks

HH Scott mid-fi tube amps are exceptional distortion devices. Auricaps ruined the vintage sound I used to have. Bose Rule.

Yes, over 40s can go too. C'mon. Ya play it. Why not go see it? When was the last time? Anyone interested in a non-equipment listening / discussing / partying / barbequeing experience in (gulp) Tenessee ??? Go Dawgs!

Gary, It's "girlfriend acceptance Factor" for now. I haven't gone down yet! (But the ship is sinking fast). The LaScalas will be banished to the basement as well. I'm sure of it (too big) Just when you climb out of the basement, your back in it. Oh well. Maybe I can get a garage bay just to stay above ground (222 and heresys if I'm lucky). Trust me, those corns will someday get the custom veneer job and probably still be basement material. I'm done.

I am venturing to it this year. Is anyone else? Bonnaroo.com

Better a song than that image of Craig and Smilin' that's still stuck in my head!

White Rabbit ???

Hey Gary, In order to realize the full ugliness, check out another angle. These are old basement pictures. They have since been cleaned up significantly and actually reside in my livingroom right now. However, they need to go to the "veneer guy", no doubt. One thing I can vouch for is that the "insides" are very nice still. Perfect performance. I do not worry about the looks that much knowing they are 31 years old, and can be restored fairly easily. But I fully agree, they get the UGLY award. Nice LaScalas though, huh?

Well OK...for the newbie.

Nice decorator model there!!!! Those are some of the nicest I've seen. I have vert decorators. I won't even show the embarassing pictures after seeing those. But they sound great.

Georgie, Athens is doing well with lots of growth. Weather is getting nice now too. Nice town for music too as you probably know. Rolling Stone voted it #1 College music scene in the US. Having lived here for 4 years, I can vouch for its excellence.

The Walmart superstores are popping up all over down here in Georgia. Here in the Athens area the Walmart, believe it or not, has the best meat and seafood in town. Better and cheaper than Kroger, Publix, all those places. Go figure. And a very large and fine selection. Everyone *****es about the Walmarts but they eventually end up inside at some point. You'd be foolish not to. I do agree on one point, some items are not that much cheaper. I didn't know about the website downloads though. I will have to check it out.

I will probably never be "done". Sometimes I think I'm done, then I start buying again. Or, I find a single component that I want that then Prompts further purchases. I guess that's the fun of it all. One thing though, the Heritage are always there. It's always the "other" components getting changed out.

Dr Who, Your last point "oh crap..." seems to confirm that you can take a sub standard copy of an original, and improve it by simply making a better copy of it. If that is true and you agree that you actually did it, then what the author of the article said can be true to a degree. For me, I just thought the whole thing was interesting. No arguement here to put up. I can't say if I will go out and buy black CDs or not. I think the guys that don't see much of a difference probably have the better set ups and more optimized procedures. Just my guess. You guys can finish up here, I'm done beating this horse. But thanks for all the info both ways. Again, very intereesting.

Max, Thanks for the clarification. There are so many different software programs that read/write CDs with different algorithms. That may account for either more or less accurate extraction from the source CD to begin with. There is so much variability one can introduce here. Bottom line, I believe the author of the article points out some of this important variability. Further, that minimizing the negatives, and accentuating the positives in the copy process can in fact produce a copy either superior to or inferior to the source. Superior being possible only because this is digital information. Thanks for your taking the time on this. I think it is very interesting, and the results make complete sense to me given the great variations in PC hardware, software algorithms, PC performance, and media differences.

After re-reading Max's experiment, question. Max, are you verifying that you improved a store boughten CD by simply copying it to a black CD-R???

I guess he's implying that the media can be the problem and still hold the correct data. Transferring the exact data to a better media (Black CD) using a better writing process (I.E. better player, slower speed, external writer, software tweaks, etc.) can improve the sound. Can someone verify copying a redbook CD using this method and see if it improves? I'd do it myself but I'm in too much of a hurry to find out the answer.

I am very interested in what people on this forum find out trying to replicate this test. Of particular importance was the statement in the article which implied that you can take a store boughten CD that doesn't sound that great, and re-record it, to improve it. Did I read that correctly? That would imply that the correct data is on the original but doesn't sound good. Re-recording "properly" makes it sound better. How can you improve on your source, if your source is poor and you simply copy it? Someone explain that one. By the way I experimented myself to see how good my Audigy sound card was and A/B'd wav files copied off a CD onto my hard drive, and having the CD itself in my rack system player. No comparison. The CD player blew away the PC playing the .wav file. By a long shot. So, Audigy 2 ZX A/D converter is not a match for my Sony or JVC players.

Well, my signature looks like crap and makes no sense now since it is multiple systems. Looks like a change is in order.

Happy Birthday Paul. Thank You Very Much.