H.H. Scott 299

[The Dude]

Haven't seen any post on this classic for a while, so I thought I'd share mine. Recently received from @NOS Valves after he performed one of his deluxe rebuilds. I once had a 222c refurbed from him and i now remember what I've been missing all these years. This thing  sounds amazing and is amazingly clean sounding, no hums or hiss even with the volume all the way up and no music playing.  Man this sounds so good with my Heresys, I don't know how to explain it, natural, clean. I'd say this integrated amp compares to my Diy ACA. 

 

Please excuse the mess as I recently started to convert one of my kids old rooms into a study.

 

 

[mark1101]

I use an HH Scott LK-72 which I think is similar to a 299C.  It was a DIY kit from 1960.  I have had that unit for close to 20 years and I use it regularly still with some Heresys like you are doing.  My experience has been similar.  Clean clear sound, virtually dead silent, and a very noticeable 3D sound stage.  Somewhere in this forum are the performance measurements after John Warren replaced the power transformer and other parts several years ago.  I think he even developed his own version of the LK-72 after servicing my unit.

[The Dude]

17 hours ago, mark1101 said:

I think he even developed his own version of the LK-72 after servicing my unit.

I followed that thread of him building his own version.  I would love to hear one some day.  

[Schu]

Craigs completely restored Scott compares to an do it yourself Amp Camp Amp?

[CWelsh]

Nice post! I don't know much about the 299C so I had to look it up. Sounds like your experience with the Scott is similar to mine with my Fisher X-101-B. I even relate to what you're saying about the comparison with the ACA. Between the Fisher and the ACA, I can't say that one is better than the other. They are very slightly different, for sure, but I couldn't say one is clearly better than the other.

[mark1101]

I never heard an Amp Camp Amp, but I will say that my HH Scott LK-72 has a definite vintage sound to it.  It does not sound at all like my NBS/VRD more modern tube setup.

[The Dude]

On 9/4/2024 at 10:03 AM, mark1101 said:

but I will say that my HH Scott LK-72 has a definite vintage sound to it.  It does not sound at all like my NBS/VRD more modern tube setup.

That is interesting, I some day would love to hear that NOSValves set up. 

[DoubleJ]

Hi,

 

If I hook a powered subwoofer to the "derived" channel on my Scott 299c, will the subwoofer control be from the amp only?

 

Just trying to figure out if I will lose the ability to adjust volume/crossover settings at the subwoofer.

 

Thanks

 

JJ

[Edgar]

From the schematic, it appears that the center channel is derived from secondary of the output transformer. So the volume control will also affect the center channel.

[DirtyErnie]

I did this on a 222C, It was great!  Once you have the sub level set, you control the whole system from the Scott's volume knob.
The down side is the preamp stage definitely doesn't pass subwoofer frequencies to the power amp unless you change a couple of capacitors.  The roll-offs seem to start at about 50Hz and down.   
It was definitely worth it to have the sub hooked up, though.  KG2.5's don't get below ~50Hz.

[Dr Morbius]

I myself am a huge fan of Scott amps, last 18 years I continually put them up against McIntosh amps ( both companies use similar transformers ) and when NOS Valves upgrades the capacitors it’s like being in heaven when listening, ESPECIALLY on Klipsch Heritage speakers.

[The Dude]

Anyone ever notice any difference when rolling tubes?  Currently have some 7189a International ServiceMaster and Chinese 12ax7s.  I was thinking some Sovtek EL84ms and JJ Gold Pin ECC803s?

[82 Cornwalls]

I don't have a 299, but I do like 6P14P-EV tubes (Soviet era) that are inexpensive.

I'm very pleased with the ones I bought from a Ukrainian tube vendor for my SET.

[tube fanatic]

18 hours ago, The Dude said:

Anyone ever notice any difference when rolling tubes?  Currently have some 7189a International ServiceMaster and Chinese 12ax7s.  I was thinking some Sovtek EL84ms and JJ Gold Pin ECC803s?

My personal experience is that it doesn’t make much difference except as to noise or microphonics.  Even within a given brand there can be noticeable differences.  Some tubes may be more gassy which can increase noise.  Back in the day, we would choose tubes for amp or preamp service by tapping them with the eraser end of a pencil.  And, if I recall correctly, Sylvania once offered a “tapper” for checking the microphonics.  I would not make decisions based on claims that a particular brand will have a certain sound regardless of the equipment in which they are used.  There are no tubes which will sound “smooth as silk” in every piece of equipment! 
 

Maynard

[SWL]

22 hours ago, The Dude said:

Anyone ever notice any difference when rolling tubes?  Currently have some 7189a International ServiceMaster and Chinese 12ax7s.  I was thinking some Sovtek EL84ms and JJ Gold Pin ECC803s?

I have a few 222c's and these Scott integrateds are a tube rollers dream. With the 11 tubes total, different tube types+different combinations you get different results. I've had a blast over the years rolling tubes in these things.

 

The 6P14P-EV (gold grid) sound great in my system as well as all the other 6P14P-EV do but original 7189's are the cats meow. Unfortunately they are getting harder to find and are pricey.

[Dr Morbius]

I had my Scott amps modified by Craig at NOS Valves to use the 6U8A instead of the 7199’s which are hard to find, and if you do find one they are pretty expensive. My Scott’s sound fantastic!