Scott 299 c

[H-D Rider]

Hello gents ,   of all the scott amps is the 299c the one too have ?.    I know you guys will steer me straight . always have .

Edited December 5, 2014 by newtune

[Zim.]

x

[The Dude]

I have a 222c that was rebuilt by Craig at NOSvalves, it sounds wonderful with my Heresies. 

[H-D Rider]

Thank you Zim, corrected the post , I would use will belles , chorus 1 or 2`s or forte`s  . just trying to see what is worth playing with . Liking the old american stuff . clean ones are hard to come by . just got my 500c back from Craig . Have not set it up yet .  but will soon .  

[wldrns1]

Hello gents ,   of all the scott amps is the 299c the one too have ?.    I know you guys will steer me straight . always have .

I have a 299 gen2 (some call it an A but not labeled that way) rebuilt by Craig/NOSValve this fall. 17w per channel. Powering Heresy's (and using 2 self-powered subs-via amp center channel jack/RCA splitter) in a 12x18x8 family room. Using a free db App, the most I see Rock when cranked up is 83db. You have to stand close and be yelling for another person to hear you. Plenty. True party/bar volume if you need that. With 85db being the hearing damage risk level, I'm very satisfied with both the volume, SQ and fact of not being able to exceed the safety level. Even with the amp on 2, my wife says the volume is too much competition to sit and talk. I pretty much agree. Touchy lower but can be turned down more to acceptable. Unit was built in an era of mostly inefficient speakers so not a concern back then. What I do for super low volume is (abhorred by some) hook up my tablet with TuneIn etc via headphone jack to an A/B switch (A component tuner/B device) and use the tablet volume rocker to get VERY low if needed.

 

Overall, the Scott SQ is wonderful thru-out volume range with most any genre. 

 

A 299c would be nice but by itself, may be even more difficult to control for low volumes...don't know/just guessing. Speaker efficiency will determine. If a problem, consider using a device like I describe above. It's not a big deal. Any of the 299 series would be nice. I love the styling too.

Edited December 5, 2014 by wldrns1

[Rhetor]

I am running a 299C rebuilt by Craig on a pair of K-horns . . .

It is whisper quiet and sounds barely audible when volume barely turned on or blow you out of the house at 1/2 volume.

I simply love the setup for 2 channel or even 2.1 running the powered sub off the center when I want to get a little extra thump at reasonable volumes.

[SWL]

222c here with KLF-30's. Sweet.

[Rivernuggets]

299-C, also restored by Craig.  This one is an anomaly in that it says '299-C' on the face plate but the innards are identical to a 299-D.  Craig said this one puts out ~35 watts per channel.  Powering different sets all the time depending on mood.

Haven't heard other Scotts yet, but am very happy with the sound out of this unit.

[muel]

I have the 299b (nosvalves restored).  I love it!!!

It has a little less power than the C or D but drove my Cornwalls to any level I wanted.  Next step (big step) from the Scott would be VRD's.

 

I used some Harrison Lab attenuators between the Scott and my Havana Dac to get the volume control and sound quality where I wanted it.

http://www.parts-express.com/harrison-labs-6-db-rca-line-level-audio-attenuator-pair--266-242

[jcmusic]

I have a 299A second edition that Craig did his Deluxe build on about 8 years ago, this is in my vintage system with Forte' II's and a Scott tuner more than enough power and sounds sweet!!!

[wldrns1]

I have the 299b (nosvalves restored).  I love it!!!

It has a little less power than the C or D but drove my Cornwalls to any level I wanted.  Next step (big step) from the Scott would be VRD's.

 

I used some Harrison Lab attenuators between the Scott and my Havana Dac to get the volume control and sound quality where I wanted it.

http://www.parts-express.com/harrison-labs-6-db-rca-line-level-audio-attenuator-pair--266-242

muel: Very happy here but could you write about the attenuators? Craig mentioned these to me. Layman's terms please. Things like why decided to use them, what they accomplish etc. I understand attenuate means to reduce. Thx.

[wldrns1]

Thank you Zim, corrected the post , I would use will belles , chorus 1 or 2`s or forte`s  . just trying to see what is worth playing with . Liking the old american stuff . clean ones are hard to come by . just got my 500c back from Craig . Have not set it up yet .  but will soon .  

A 500C?? Nice! If you're collecting, a Scott 296 is rare for collecting's sake.

[H-D Rider]

Duder , how many watts on the 222c ?

Edited December 5, 2014 by newtune

[H-D Rider]

Thank`s Guy`s , I may buy one if I could find a clean one . I would love to have Craigs vdr `s . maybe some day .

[Dr Morbius]

I'm very happy with my Scott 272 and 299D powering both my Cornscalas……………..Sound is rich and tremendous!   Better than Heaven when those tubes are lit!   Oh, and who else but Craig rebuilt them along with a spare 299C.

Edited December 7, 2014 by Dr Morbius

[muel]

 

I have the 299b (nosvalves restored).  I love it!!!

It has a little less power than the C or D but drove my Cornwalls to any level I wanted.  Next step (big step) from the Scott would be VRD's.

 

I used some Harrison Lab attenuators between the Scott and my Havana Dac to get the volume control and sound quality where I wanted it.

http://www.parts-express.com/harrison-labs-6-db-rca-line-level-audio-attenuator-pair--266-242

muel: Very happy here but could you write about the attenuators? Craig mentioned these to me. Layman's terms please. Things like why decided to use them, what they accomplish etc. I understand attenuate means to reduce. Thx.

 

There are a couple of reasons for the attenuators.  One could be if your source has a stronger signal than you would like going to the amp. The sound quality can suffer if it is too much or too little.  I don't remember what Craig said was the ideal range.   Another reason is because it can be hard to get the volume as soft as you might like.  Because of the nature of the volume control, when the volume is turned down quite low the output isn't balanced and one channel will go silent before the other.  By attenuating the source a little bit you can increase the volume control enough so that it is balanced.  Yet another reason for the attenuators is if you use the loudness switch it will gradually kick in the right amount closer to the right volume level.  The Scott is one amp where I usually keep the loudness switch on because I think it adds a little "magic" to the music!

[NOSValves]

Most of the Scott integrated amps were rated for 1/2 volt signal from the source for the high level inputs...most CD players today have around 2 volts. This causes these amps to be much louder then designed at the lower settings of the volume control. This skews the loudness contour and also tends to end up with the user having to deal with channel imbalance at low listening levels. In some cases it can even over drive the preamp section creating distortion. 6db a inline attentuators remedy all of those problems. If your source has level controls you can attenuate it with those.

[wldrns1]

 

 

I have the 299b (nosvalves restored).  I love it!!!

It has a little less power than the C or D but drove my Cornwalls to any level I wanted.  Next step (big step) from the Scott would be VRD's.

 

I used some Harrison Lab attenuators between the Scott and my Havana Dac to get the volume control and sound quality where I wanted it.

http://www.parts-express.com/harrison-labs-6-db-rca-line-level-audio-attenuator-pair--266-242

muel: Very happy here but could you write about the attenuators? Craig mentioned these to me. Layman's terms please. Things like why decided to use them, what they accomplish etc. I understand attenuate means to reduce. Thx.

 

There are a couple of reasons for the attenuators.  One could be if your source has a stronger signal than you would like going to the amp. The sound quality can suffer if it is too much or too little.  I don't remember what Craig said was the ideal range.   Another reason is because it can be hard to get the volume as soft as you might like.  Because of the nature of the volume control, when the volume is turned down quite low the output isn't balanced and one channel will go silent before the other.  By attenuating the source a little bit you can increase the volume control enough so that it is balanced.  Yet another reason for the attenuators is if you use the loudness switch it will gradually kick in the right amount closer to the right volume level.  The Scott is one amp where I usually keep the loudness switch on because I think it adds a little "magic" to the music!

 

Perfect! Low level volume behaves exactly as you describe. I keep the loudness switch on for the same reason also. Thx much.

[wldrns1]

Most of the Scott integrated amps were rated for 1/2 volt signal from the source for the high level inputs...most CD players today have around 2 volts. This causes these amps to be much louder then designed at the lower settings of the volume control. This skews the loudness contour and also tends to end up with the user having to deal with channel imbalance at low listening levels. In some cases it can even over drive the preamp section creating distortion. 6db a inline attentuators remedy all of those problems. If your source has level controls you can attenuate it with those.

Yes Craig, CD player is biggest offender. Based on your comments, the attenuators would go inline from CD to amp, correct? Problem is not real bad IMO. This tweak looks like a good idea all-around. I can check the Sangean using a VOM at the output, set to VDC, correct? The specs don't say, unless you know. Maybe 2 attnu sets req'd? Thx, Joe

[NOSValves]

The signal you would measure is AC volts and it's music so it will be bouncing all over the place making it impossible to get an accurate reading. Chances are the tuner has pretty much similar output as a CD player so 2 pairs would be the ticket.