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Scott Tube amp


Calman

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 Long time (1990s) Klipsch Quartet owner looking to get back into tube amps for the warm sound ( mostly listen to Vinyl) and noticed a lot of posting on Scott

1) Any suggestions on which Scott  tube amp to pair ( 222, 299 )  &  is 18 W RMS enough? I like to blast it occasionally.

2)  Original Scott vs Refurbished. Does having a re-furbished (recapped) unit change the sound? I'm not  trying to split hairs & not sure I can even tell the difference with my less than perfect hearing, but I heard the Russian tubes sound different.  Are NOS tubes  what I should look for ?

Thank you!

 

 

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32 minutes ago, Calman said:

 Long time (1990s) Klipsch Quartet owner looking to get back into tube amps for the warm sound ( mostly listen to Vinyl) and noticed a lot of posting on Scott

1) Any suggestions on which Scott  tube amp to pair ( 222, 299 )  &  is 18 W RMS enough? I like to blast it occasionally.

2)  Original Scott vs Refurbished. Does having a re-furbished (recapped) unit change the sound? I'm not  trying to split hairs & not sure I can even tell the difference with my less than perfect hearing, but I heard the Russian tubes sound different.  Are NOS tubes  what I should look for ?

Thank you!

 

 

Welcome to the forum.

 

I own a number of tube amps including Scott 222's and 229's as well as some other Scott and Fishers tube amps.

 

WRT:

 

1). I've only owned Cornwalls and Belles and any amp 2wpc or higher sound great with both speakers and play plenty loud for me. The Scott 222B that I listen to here in Scottsdale plays too loud at 1/2 volume to play at that level without disturbing my neighbors.

2). The caps you choose when re-furbishing an older Scott tube amp will have some impact on the sound but your are taking a risk if your do not replace the the selenium rectifier and at least some of the caps on a 50 year old amp. See here for the details you're looking for: http://hhscott.com/cc/Rebuild_review.htm

 

WRT power tubes in the EL-84 family, I've tried a number of NOS tubes and I am using older Soviet  tubes in my 222B amp here that was fully refurbished a couple of years back. The older Soviet tubes sound very good to me and it is more important that you put your money into the smaller NOS European or North American tubes and rectifier tube imho.

 

There are a number here more technical than me here and I'm sure one or more of them in chime in soon on this.

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Hi Wolfbane, Thanks much! Yes, I think I need an upgrade on my Quartets- but first the tube amp. So Selenium rectifier and some cap replacement recommended- it's what I thought too.

Good to hear that the 222B is plenty in terms of power. Other than the usual eBay sites, any other places to check for refurbished Scotts hopefully not heavily modded? I found Craig Osby, Mapleshade,  Analog Engg. 

 

 Cheers!

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37 minutes ago, Calman said:

 Can you explain what you mean by the "smaller EU and US tubes"  please?

Those would be the signal tubes, rather than the power (output) tubes.  12AX7, 12AT7, 12AU7, which are the US designations, European have equivalents but different numbering configurations. 

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Is there a reason why you prefer Scott over other brands?  You can often save lots of money by purchasing amps from less renowned companies (such as Musicraft, Eico, Grommes, Sherwood, Bogen,to name just a few) which offer similar, or even better, performance.  I mention this because I just finished restoring an Eico HF-89 for a guy.  It was the first one I've encountered since the early 70s and was reminded that this amp was an unbelievable performer when it was new (circa 1960) and can still take on just about anything from that era.  Sure, it's not as pretty as a Scott, but its industrial look is one which I actually prefer (but, as all on here can tell you, I am a bit strange!).

 

 

Maynard 

hf89bottom1.JPG

hf89.JPG

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if I recall, a Eico HF-89 goes for good money in good condition...but I don't know the going current rate lately.

If a guy can find a Scotty for a good price why not. Don't know the demand and prices of the Scott integrated amps, but I picked up a LK48B with the wood case local on CL back in 2008 for 200 bucks. Along with a sort of rare Sony tuner, and some junk MCS speakers.

 

The seller's uncle was a electronics tech and built the Scott kit, and did a great job with layout. It came with all the original Telefunken tubes, along with the instruction manual.

I sunk a couple more hundred bucks into the integrated for a restore/rebuild...

 

Here's another push-pull EL34...the Altec 345A

 

 

Altec345A.JPG

 

 

 

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Hi Jimbo (nice pic), Maynard & all.  Appreciate the feedback- I got started looking at Scott's because I read about them in this forum  specifically 222s and 299s and  read that  they have a great phono stage. And they are pretty specially with the gold faces but I'm down for the 'Industrial look', if you have tubes why not show 'em? 

Would your Eico HF-89 need a pre-amp as well? Same for the Altec? I'd prefer an integrated 

I'll check out Eico's and the others you mentioned- I think Sherwoods are about the same price as Scotts (~ $500 original to $700 refurbished)  Bogens are a bit less. No more $200 Scotts !

 

If anyone has a nice Integrated tube amp for sale or sees something worthwhile ( ~ $700 max) please let me know

 

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Many power amps, like the HF-89, have input level controls and very high sensitivity which allow them to be used as integrated amps.  In the case of the HF-89, only a bit more than half a volt is needed for full power output.  You would need an external phono preamp to listen to vinyl.  Eico also made integrated amps with an integral phono stage.  As to the power you need, I recall the Quartets had a claimed sensitivity of around 97 db/w/m.  If that's the case, 6 wpc would give you a spl of around 97 db at 12 feet from the speakers.  That's awfully loud in my book!!!  Another avenue, if aesthetics are not paramount, is an amp pulled from an early 60s console stereo.  Those are often good for around 10-12 wpc which should be more than enough.  That's a very inexpensive route to take and the results can be amazing.  I restored a Zenith console pull for a local guy (about 12 wpc) and its performance amazed me (and I don't like push-pull pentode amps).  

 

Where are you located? Hearing various tube amps in your own system is always the best approach to take before making a decision. There may be forum members in your locale who could bring something over for a demo.

 

Maynard

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The days of EICO's being cheap has long past just like about any decent designed vintage amplifier. In the end the most popular EICO integrated costs about the same a a Scott but the build quality is not even close. The infamous EICO HF-81 was $59 in kit form for a reason... the biggest flaw is in the preamp and phono section.

 

           EICO power amplifier are very nice units. But again pricey and like previously mentioned would need more $ spent for a phono section. 

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30 minutes ago, NOSValves said:

The infamous EICO HF-81 was $59 in kit form for a reason... the biggest flaw is in the preamp and phono section.

 

That's why I could never understand the demand/prices for the HF-85 preamplifier. I had a '59 factory built unit. Ramped it up in bone stock form, listened to it, wasn't impressed.

I suppose I could have gave the unit a little love, and sunk some money into it...but I was more impressed for getting 300 bucks for it...

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Maynard, Thank you for clarifying that I don't need much by way of watts  to drive the Quartets and your console pull is a great option- that way I can have more than one set-up :D. I'm located in San Jose CA. If anyone is located close by and has any tube gear connected to Klipsch speakers, I'd love to connect.

 And thanks to everyone for sharing your knowledge!

 

 

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23 hours ago, mike stehr said:

 

That's why I could never understand the demand/prices for the HF-85 preamplifier. I had a '59 factory built unit. Ramped it up in bone stock form, listened to it, wasn't impressed.

I suppose I could have gave the unit a little love, and sunk some money into it...but I was more impressed for getting 300 bucks for it...

 

 

Hey you were the smart one!  I sunk $ and countless hours into an HF85 and was never impressed.

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The following integrated amps and receivers all have a phono stage, and tone controls (which I think are usually useful). 

 

  • 6L6GC  (This is my overall favorite output tube, and it fits your criteria of being “warm sounding”.)
     
    • Integrated amp:  The Scott 296 is a vintage integrated amp that is a great choice, but a professionally restored unit in good condition is out of your price range.  I also have an Altec 353A in my office – but out of your price range, and I’d suggest the Scott 296 as a first choice. 

 

  • 7591  (7591 amps can be nice warm sounding amps.)
     
    • Integrated amp:  I’m very fond of my Scott 299C integrated amp.  If you’re patient, you might find a restored unit within your budget.  I also have a Fisher KX-200 installed in my basement system, but I wouldn’t rate it as one of my favorites (though this may be a function of this particular amp).  (The Fisher X-202-B is another choice, but I don’t own one.  They can be relatively expensive.)
    • Receiver:  My 7591 receivers are Fisher 500C and 800B – both nice units.  Professionally restored units in nice condition are probably out of your price range.

 

  • EL34/6CA7  (A good choice for more power.)
     
    • Integrated amp:  My Fisher X-1000 (not the console-pull that has the same model #) is a great integrated amp, but out of your price range.  My Scott 272 integrated amp is a good choice – though somewhat rare.  I also have a mono Scott 210F – two of these would be a good choice – but it would take a lot of patience to find two.
       
  • EL84/7189  (These have a nice “mellow” sound, with less power than the amps listed above.) 
     
    • Integrated amp:  I own two 7189/EL84 integrated amps:  Scott 299B and 222C.  The 299B is probably out of your price range.  I think your best chance of obtaining a nice restored Scott integrated amp that produces at least 18wpc and is in your price range is probably the 222C (or possibly a 299A).  I don’t own Quartet speakers; the specs say 97.5 dB sensitivity.  The 222C might have enough power, depending on how loud you like to “blast it”, and how large your room is.
    • Receiver:  I like my Scott 399.  Nice mellow sound plus great looks.

 

Hope this helps.

 

P.S.  IME, Craig / NOS Valves is "the man" for electronic restoration. 

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To get back to Eico equipment once more, there's nothing wrong with the quality of their products.  Having lived only a short drive from their place in Long Island City, I had a lot of involvement with their products back in the day.  The value of their audio, test, and ham equipment was always excellent and it was not because of compromised parts quality.  They took a bare bones approach and put their dollars into the circuitry as opposed to pretty cosmetics.  The opts used in the HF-89 were, if I recall correctly, made by Chicago Transformer and are of very high quality as well.  The coupling caps were the same Ceracaps which were popular with their competitors, and there were more precision resistors in this amp (factory parts) than one sees in Fishers or Scotts.  Even more amazing is that after 56 years, most of the resistors in this amp were within 1-2% of their specified values, and none were more than 5% off spec.  People have said the same about Lafayette equipment. 

 

Maynard 

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  • 3 weeks later...

I have a Fisher x100b resto modded by AEA, custom phono section and some other bits. It's quite outstanding with my Chorus IIs. I'd give them a look, great guys and mondo knowledgeable. They usually have Fisher, Scott, Sherwood, and some others on their site.

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

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  • 2 weeks later...

From what I've seen, stay away from "Mapleshade Modded" HH Scott amps. A lot of hacking in the circuits (to save money?) and modifying circuitry - not good.  I have two 299C's, one 299D, one 272 and a 296 all redone by NOSValves and I couldn't be happier!  It also helps to have Klipsch speakers, I happen to have 2 pair of Cornscalla's. Just heaven!

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  • 3 years later...

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