NOSValves

I pulled this thread off the HH Scott List Server and think it could do anyone thinking of a used tube amp some good. It is written by one of the most knowledgable HH Scott Amp restorers or any brand for that matter Bill Bittle. I think he rates right up there with Mdeneen in Knowledge of the inner workings of Tube Amps. My experience in the last couple of months has shown me that I don't care what name is on it EICO , Fischer , Marranz doesn't matter if its 40 years old it NEEDS WORK TO BE RIGHT !!!!! Hi all, Most vintage equipment that is properly repaired and restored will generally perform as well or better then any modern tube amplifier, and will handily outperform most all solid state equipment in all sonic respects save brute power. I do not make this statement lightly. I have worked on several very expensive modern amps from companies like Conrad Johnson, EAR, Sonic Frontiers and a few odd ones as well as guitar amps from companies like Matchless. Vintage stuff is generally better wired and sounds better. That is not to say the modern gear is bad, far from it. These companies I mentioned make real REAL fine equipment. But, our vintage Scott amps were made and designed at a time when vacuum tubes were at their peak. The best and the brightest electrical engineers drooled at the prospects of working for companies like H.H. Scott, Fisher, Marantz and the like. Such is no longer the case. The biggest problem I see is that too many people formulate opinions of vintage gear only after hearing some unit that is in sad electronic condition. 40+ year old coupling capacitors and leaky electrolytic capacitors do not make for good sound. Couple that to a batch of resistors that have drifted in value as well as several weak tubes and you end up with an amp that works, but sounds about as good as a Fisher Price close n play. (or a modern surround sound receiver from Walmart). I'll put one of my restored 222C's or 299C's up against any amp in their power class and easily hold my own with respect to sound quality. No, these amps are not cheap. An unrestored 299C will set you back close to $300.00. An electronic restoration will set you back as much as $200, and if the amp needs a full set of tubes, you can just about double that figure. But, you end up with an amp that will probably run another 30 - 40 years with little more then a few new tubes and an occasional cleaning and bias touch up. Price a stand alone tube preamp with a fine phono stage as found in the 299C. Then price a very good quality 30+ watt per channel power amp with really nice output transformers. We are probably talking between $1500 and $2500 for modern production equipment, and you do not get the cool retro / classic looks of the Scott, not to mention the appreciating resale value not only in the U.S., but in Japanese and the Hong Kong hifi markets. Quality is not cheap. As with most things you get what you pay for. The parts I used to restore my 299C's cost more then an entire modern surround receiver. But these two 299C's would sell for far more then I have in them if I was ever inclined to sell them (Which I am not!) and the sound is to die for especially with a turntable. The only thing that really bothers me is the growing number of people who are selling vintage equipment that is in real bad need of work, but which they tout as being in "excellent working condition". When a person buys such a unit and has nothing to benchmark it against, they are left with a sour taste in their mouth because they assume two things. The amp is in proper working condition, which it is not, and that they got a good deal, which they did not. When they compare the amp's sound to other equipment, it's shortcomings begin to show up. So, they blame the amplifier and move on to something else never realizing that if they had taken the amp to a skilled tube hifi technician, he or she could have made the amplifier work correctly again and most probably given the owner back an amplifier that would bedazzle them with excellent sound. Bill B. ------------------ HH Scott Tube FM Tuner LT-110B HH Scott Tube Amp 222C HH Scott Turn Table P-87 Sony DE-975 AV Receiver Sony NS-900P DVD Sony CD 5 DISC C315 Syenrgy SF-2 mains KSC-C1 Center Channel KSW-15 Sub SS-1 Surrounds Promedia 5.1 for the PC This message has been edited by NOS440 on 03-22-2002 at 11:08 PM

That's it Chris I'm not going to be your adopted brother anymore !!!!!! Great Post !! DVois Just incase you don't know that link is to Mobil Homeless's Web page. He's a fellow member of the forum so I think we all have been there. Its a good link though ! ------------------ HH Scott Tube FM Tuner LT-110B HH Scott Tube Amp 222C HH Scott Turn Table P-87 Sony DE-975 AV Receiver Sony NS-900P DVD Sony CD 5 DISC C315 Syenrgy SF-2 mains KSC-C1 Center Channel KSW-15 Sub SS-1 Surrounds Promedia 5.1 for the PC This message has been edited by NOS440 on 03-21-2002 at 07:24 PM

mdeneen I asked him the same question in another thread here's what he did to fix it. "Turned out the problem was just an intermittent ground on the "-" end of one of the speaker terminals. When I got it working, it sounded wonderful. Have it taken apart now for sanding, painting and polishing I love this stuff!!!" ------------------ HH Scott Tube FM Tuner LT-110B HH Scott Tube Amp 222C HH Scott Turn Table P-87 Sony DE-975 AV Receiver Sony NS-900P DVD Sony CD 5 DISC C315 Syenrgy SF-2 mains KSC-C1 Center Channel KSW-15 Sub SS-1 Surrounds Promedia 5.1 for the PC

JoshT Well I can't say for sure about heresy IIs. But my 1985 Heresy I's I bought from Jobman sound absolutely awesome on my Vintage HH SCott PP amps. I have 2 of them. I was using them in my HT room with current Klipsch Synergy Speakers and I thought those sounded great and they did !! But the Heresy's are just awesome. I don't even fire up SF-2's for music anymore which is a shame. Don't hesitate to go the TUBE route new or Vintage. Craig ------------------ HH Scott Tube FM Tuner LT-110B HH Scott Tube Amp 222C HH Scott Turn Table P-87 Sony DE-975 AV Receiver Sony NS-900P DVD Sony CD 5 DISC C315 Syenrgy SF-2 mains KSC-C1 Center Channel KSW-15 Sub SS-1 Surrounds Promedia 5.1 for the PC

Chris that looks really good. I still wish I was your brother LOL !!!! Hey you can adopt me ------------------ HH Scott Tube FM Tuner LT-110B HH Scott Tube Amp 222C HH Scott Turn Table P-87 Sony DE-975 AV Receiver Sony NS-900P DVD Sony CD 5 DISC C315 Syenrgy SF-2 mains KSC-C1 Center Channel KSW-15 Sub SS-1 Surrounds Promedia 5.1 for the PC

In one word TUBES !!!!!!!!! ------------------ HH Scott Tube FM Tuner LT-110B HH Scott Tube Amp 222C HH Scott Turn Table P-87 Sony DE-975 AV Receiver Sony NS-900P DVD Sony CD 5 DISC C315 Syenrgy SF-2 mains KSC-C1 Center Channel KSW-15 Sub SS-1 Surrounds Promedia 5.1 for the PC

deang Sorry to hear of your loss. On the speaker front I would most defenitly try spreading them apart and then play with tow in slightly. I found that it really help the sound stage to get them apart at least 8' and 10' or more would probably be even better. But it looks like you room would need a jack hammer to go much more than 10' LOL. Enjoy your trip Craig ------------------ HH Scott Tube FM Tuner LT-110B HH Scott Tube Amp 222C HH Scott Turn Table P-87 Sony DE-975 AV Receiver Sony NS-900P DVD Sony CD 5 DISC C315 Syenrgy SF-2 mains KSC-C1 Center Channel KSW-15 Sub SS-1 Surrounds Promedia 5.1 for the PC

Yea that was what the mail was saying. I already have a LT-110B which is the kit version of that tuner. I was wondering what you wanted for it and also if you have hooked it up to see if it works good ?? I'm not in needing it in a big way but like the game show if "The price is right" LOL !!!! Let me know ------------------ HH Scott Tube FM Tuner LT-110B HH Scott Tube Amp 222C HH Scott Turn Table P-87 Sony DE-975 AV Receiver Sony NS-900P DVD Sony CD 5 DISC C315 Syenrgy SF-2 mains KSC-C1 Center Channel KSW-15 Sub SS-1 Surrounds Promedia 5.1 for the PC

Mike, Yea Tannenbaum has them and I have the Sams for it. But a good photo of a properly put together one helps even more. ------------------ HH Scott Tube FM Tuner LT-110B HH Scott Tube Amp 222C HH Scott Turn Table P-87 Sony DE-975 AV Receiver Sony NS-900P DVD Sony CD 5 DISC C315 Syenrgy SF-2 mains KSC-C1 Center Channel KSW-15 Sub SS-1 Surrounds Promedia 5.1 for the PC This message has been edited by NOS440 on 03-19-2002 at 05:06 PM

maseb John is right and steering you in the direction I would go. I have a newer Sony DD/DTS reciever and use a Scott tube Amp with my SF-2 KSW-15 Sub and the difference is nothing short of Amazing in Music. I just ran short jumper wires from my Scott to the Sony speaker terminals and only use the Scott for music and either turn the Sony off when listening to Vinyl or on for a turner using the second room preamp outs to my scott and just use the speaker off switch on the sony. This setup works great. The only problem is if you have multiple users they all have to know how to run this setup because having 2 Amps powering your speakers by mistake I'm sure could cause some serious damage somewhere. I'm lucky in the respect that I'm the only user here that would listen to the Tube Amp. So beware of this setup ( me covering my A$$). Oh and my Sony doesn't have multi channel preamp outs to do it John's way which would be much better. Craig ------------------ HH Scott Tube FM Tuner LT-110B HH Scott Tube Amp 222C HH Scott Turn Table P-87 Sony DE-975 AV Receiver Sony NS-900P DVD Sony CD 5 DISC C315 Syenrgy SF-2 mains KSC-C1 Center Channel KSW-15 Sub SS-1 Surrounds Promedia 5.1 for the PC

Jeff You have mail !! Chris Robinson How is the HF-81 doing ? I seen that you had a slight problem with the channels not putting out properly or something(at least I thought it was you). Mine has a similar problem it seems to only put out to both channel in mono but with the selector in normal mode. In the AMP 1 test mode it puts out to both speakers and sounds the same as nomal or reverse, in amp 2 nothing. But it doesn't suprise me the way its wired. Is yours relatively stock looking under the chassis ?? If so is it posible that you could do me a favor and take a close up picture of the under chassis wiring of yours ? I sure would appreciate it. Its all I need to fix the wiring and make it work right. Its sounds fairly good in the screwy shape that's its in and I bet it would really sing in good electrical shape. Craig ------------------ HH Scott Tube FM Tuner LT-110B HH Scott Tube Amp 222C HH Scott Turn Table P-87 Sony DE-975 AV Receiver Sony NS-900P DVD Sony CD 5 DISC C315 Syenrgy SF-2 mains KSC-C1 Center Channel KSW-15 Sub SS-1 Surrounds Promedia 5.1 for the PC This message has been edited by NOS440 on 03-19-2002 at 11:32 AM

I realize that my sound system is by no means "Top of the line" compared to allot of the rigs some of you folks have around here so maybe mine doesn't show the flaws that maybe in the MP3's I listen too. I wish a few of the people here that have real top of the line setups try this and see what they hear. But just like are Amps , CD players and Turn Tables you have to have a descent soundcard in your PC to get the kind of results I feel are available. I highly recommend the Phillips Acoustic Edge for music its really the sweetest sounding I've heard. It only cost a $60 to $100 depending where you buy it. Of coarse you will also need a few cables from Radio Shack to give it a try. In case you didn't notice I'm not a High Dollar wire guy Craig ------------------ HH Scott Tube FM Tuner LT-110B HH Scott Tube Amp 222C HH Scott Turn Table P-87 Sony DE-975 AV Receiver Sony NS-900P DVD Sony CD 5 DISC C315 Syenrgy SF-2 mains KSC-C1 Center Channel KSW-15 Sub SS-1 Surrounds Promedia 5.1 for the PC This message has been edited by NOS440 on 03-15-2002 at 10:14 AM

Well as far as MP3's go I think there are a untapped resource for quality sound source that most "audiophiles" shun as low quality sound. I myself think that a properly encoded MP3 can easily beat any red book CD in quality of reproduction and almost reach the plateau of Vinyl. I use a program called CD'n'Go suite to ripp my CD's at 224 bit rate using the Lame encoder to convert them to MP3. I than send them to either my Tube Amp(analog) or my AV receiver (digital) thru my Phillips Acoustic Edge soundcard. This setup is nothing short of Excellent . There are alot more options to clean up the sound even further. I plan to some day research this further. Just never seem to have the time. I think MP3's have received a bad wrap because so many people are getting there MP3's from various sources online and the quality is almost alway's less then optimal. If these same people would spend a little time doing there own CD's and use a top quality sound card they would start to see the light. Another Valid point for MP3's is they are a great CD backup tool. never again have to buy your favorite CD again because the kids used it for a frizbee LOL !!! Craig ------------------ HH Scott Tube FM Tuner LT-110B HH Scott Tube Amp 222C HH Scott Turn Table P-87 Sony DE-975 AV Receiver Sony NS-900P DVD Sony CD 5 DISC C315 Syenrgy SF-2 mains KSC-C1 Center Channel KSW-15 Sub SS-1 Surrounds Promedia 5.1 for the PC

JLOUNDER Thanks , You wouldn't happen to have a picture of the stands you built ?? Craig ------------------ HH Scott Tube FM Tuner LT-110B HH Scott Tube Amp 222C HH Scott Turn Table P-87 Sony DE-975 AV Receiver Sony NS-900P DVD Sony CD 5 DISC C315 Syenrgy SF-2 mains KSC-C1 Center Channel KSW-15 Sub SS-1 Surrounds Promedia 5.1 for the PC

Mdeneen I bet they sold me there last 2 Pots LOL !! I'm putting them to good use though. ------------------ HH Scott Tube FM Tuner LT-110B HH Scott Tube Amp 222C HH Scott Turn Table P-87 Sony DE-975 AV Receiver Sony NS-900P DVD Sony CD 5 DISC C315 Syenrgy SF-2 mains KSC-C1 Center Channel KSW-15 Sub SS-1 Surrounds Promedia 5.1 for the PC

Yea if I had known Jobman was selling I would of bought for sure and saved him the Ebay costs. He was great he had them professionally Packaged and didn't cgarge me for most of the cost. When you really figure that in I only paid $500 for them. I Tell ya what I really would like to have is a set of KLF-30 so if anyone has a set they want to sell send them my way. I think they would really kick *** in my HT setup for music with tube Amp up there and not take up much more floor space then my SF-2s. Of coarse if I really wanted to go nuts I would just pay 1500.00 for some RF-7s. I may do that next fall !! Craig ------------------ HH Scott Tube FM Tuner LT-110B HH Scott Tube Amp 222C HH Scott Turn Table P-87 Sony DE-975 AV Receiver Sony NS-900P DVD Sony CD 5 DISC C315 Syenrgy SF-2 mains KSC-C1 Center Channel KSW-15 Sub SS-1 Surrounds Promedia 5.1 for the PC

Well its been a few day's since I purchased these and it looks like I did the smart thing by using "Buy it Now". There has been 3 sets sold since I bought mine and they all went for over $600 so at least saved $50 this way. They should arrive here friday. Can't wait !!! Craig ------------------ HH Scott Tube FM Tuner LT-110B HH Scott Tube Amp 222C HH Scott Turn Table P-87 Sony DE-975 AV Receiver Sony NS-900P DVD Sony CD 5 DISC C315 Syenrgy SF-2 mains KSC-C1 Center Channel KSW-15 Sub SS-1 Surrounds Promedia 5.1 for the PC

maxg Oops I was confused with which Sub was said to be sold for $500 sorry ! Craig ------------------ HH Scott Tube FM Tuner LT-110B HH Scott Tube Amp 222C HH Scott Turn Table P-87 Sony DE-975 AV Receiver Sony NS-900P DVD Sony CD 5 DISC C315 Syenrgy SF-2 mains KSC-C1 Center Channel KSW-15 Sub SS-1 Surrounds Promedia 5.1 for the PC

I hate to tell ya this. But there is no way I'll pay 1300.00 for a sub to mate with a $500 set of speakers. What happened to $500 ?? I'll just buy a KSW-12 or 15 they can be had for 310.00 and 450.00 plus shipping. There just can't be a $800 to $1000 difference in the Subs. I'm not saying the REL wouldn't be better just not worth it to me ! Craig ------------------ HH Scott Tube FM Tuner LT-110B HH Scott Tube Amp 222C HH Scott Turn Table P-87 Sony DE-975 AV Receiver Sony NS-900P DVD Sony CD 5 DISC C315 Syenrgy SF-2 mains KSC-C1 Center Channel KSW-15 Sub SS-1 Surrounds Promedia 5.1 for the PC This message has been edited by NOS440 on 03-13-2002 at 02:19 PM

That does seem like a deal. Not sure what they come with is it right and left channel for 12.99 or is 12.99 per channel ?? ------------------ HH Scott Tube FM Tuner LT-110B HH Scott Tube Amp 222C HH Scott Turn Table P-87 Sony DE-975 AV Receiver Sony NS-900P DVD Sony CD 5 DISC C315 Syenrgy SF-2 mains KSC-C1 Center Channel KSW-15 Sub SS-1 Surrounds Promedia 5.1 for the PC

I will most likely try this mod for more bass. But I don't even have my speakers yet. So it will be at least a month before I mess with them. I have to listen to them in there stock form first and with and w/o a sub. Craig ------------------ HH Scott Tube FM Tuner LT-110B HH Scott Tube Amp 222C HH Scott Turn Table P-87 Sony DE-975 AV Receiver Sony NS-900P DVD Sony CD 5 DISC C315 Syenrgy SF-2 mains KSC-C1 Center Channel KSW-15 Sub SS-1 Surrounds Promedia 5.1 for the PC

soundog Drive man!! Rent a Uhaul whatever just bring those bada$$ speakers ------------------ HH Scott Tube FM Tuner LT-110B HH Scott Tube Amp 222C HH Scott Turn Table P-87 Sony DE-975 AV Receiver Sony NS-900P DVD Sony CD 5 DISC C315 Syenrgy SF-2 mains KSC-C1 Center Channel KSW-15 Sub SS-1 Surrounds Promedia 5.1 for the PC

I can't believe there are no dealers that sell it online there has to be !! ------------------ HH Scott Tube FM Tuner LT-110B HH Scott Tube Amp 222C HH Scott Turn Table P-87 Sony DE-975 AV Receiver Sony NS-900P DVD Sony CD 5 DISC C315 Syenrgy SF-2 mains KSC-C1 Center Channel KSW-15 Sub SS-1 Surrounds Promedia 5.1 for the PC

SH!T Its almost 1:00 AM here you woke up my whole House !!! I should of read the entire thread ------------------ HH Scott Tube FM Tuner LT-110B HH Scott Tube Amp 222C HH Scott Turn Table P-87 Sony DE-975 AV Receiver Sony NS-900P DVD Sony CD 5 DISC C315 Syenrgy SF-2 mains KSC-C1 Center Channel KSW-15 Sub SS-1 Surrounds Promedia 5.1 for the PC

There goes my wallet !!!! ------------------ HH Scott Tube FM Tuner LT-110B HH Scott Tube Amp 222C HH Scott Turn Table P-87 Sony DE-975 AV Receiver Sony NS-900P DVD Sony CD 5 DISC C315 Syenrgy SF-2 mains KSC-C1 Center Channel KSW-15 Sub SS-1 Surrounds Promedia 5.1 for the PC