Woodog Posted January 11, 2004 Share Posted January 11, 2004 I decided to take the plunge into tubes and back in November I scored a Scott 355 / 208 combo from ebay. After some emailed pics to Craig of the wiring, I got an okay to listen for a bit before sending it for a rebuild. It sounded bright, a bit uncontrolled, but with a neat 'sheen' to the sound. I didn't listen long... boxed it back up right after Thanksgiving and sent it off to Craig. At first, because I didnt have cables of proper length, I hooked up the Scott from the pre-out of the Harmon Kardon PT2300 preamp I had been using. There was some improvement in sound. Thursday I got some cables long enough to connect the DVD player to the Scott directly. Ah good sound. I don't actually know what I was expecting. Maybe I was expecting trumpets and the second coming, or an electric body jolt, or perhaps something hugely dramatic, but I didn't get the BAM in your face change I thought I was going to get. I'm not disappointed though. It does sound very nice. Warmth, liquid smooth meaty bass, a quality that's hard to describe. I would have to say alive. There is a pronounced 'warmth' 'bloom' 'smoothness' to the midrange/highs. I had been powering my Cornwalls with a 1979 model Harman/kardon PA200 power amp (100 wpc of clean SS juice) and the matching PT2300 preamp. I used to power Bose 901's with that combo, and that combination certainly didn't suck, but when I got Cornwalls they blew the 901's out of the water sonically. The speaker change was a much more dramatic change in sound for me, and perhaps I was expecting the same drama with the Scott. Right now I'm listening to Ahmad Jamal's 'Crystal', a great CD with a very prominent piano, lots of percussion, and a chewy, thick bass. Having majored in piano, I'm really in tune to the nuance of an acoustic sounds like. The Scott/Cornwall combo can reproduce it admirably. I only have the volume knob at 3 and it has plenty of punch! The tuner pulls in stations well, and the overall look is really cool. Plus, I can plug my electric piano straight into the amp for practicing. Last night I listened to Duke Pearson from the Mosaic CD collection. Nice and alive. After that was Mahler Symphony #4. Killer! Much more life than the Harman Kardon. I think, in hindsight, with the total cost of this being around 1000.00 (purchase price + rebuild + shipping everywhere) that there might have been better combinations available at the time, but hey, it is a good piece (I think) and this is all a journey, and I doubt I'll ever get rid of it. Craig does good work and he can count me as a satisfied customer. The only source (besides the tuner) I have currently is a DVD/CD player that cost all of $99 at Best Buy. A friend has offered me her BIC turnable (a 980, I think). I'm anxious to see how a turntable will sound with the Scott since I've heard the phono section is where Scotts really shine. Comments, suggestions welcome. As Dean has noted in another post, you all like shopping for other people. Those are my first impressions. I've been told that the sound gets better as components 'burn' in. We'll see. One things for sure, at some point in the near future I'm going to get a better CD player, use my friend's turntable, dust off the 300 or so albums I have in the basement. peace y'all, Forrest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deang Posted January 12, 2004 Share Posted January 12, 2004 Forrest, Oh yes, give it a week or two -- and things will definitely open up. New caps are horrid things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOSValves Posted January 12, 2004 Share Posted January 12, 2004 Forrest, Thanks for the kind words !! But I must add ! PWK said it the best "Garbage in Garbage out" Get some desent souces for the combo and you will freak out !! A turn table will surely be a step in the right direction but a $99 Best Buy DVD player isn't going to do that combo or your speakers any justice. Oh and like Dean said it will open up some more when you get 100 good hours on it. Craig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3dzapper Posted January 12, 2004 Share Posted January 12, 2004 Craig, you stole the words right out of my mouth. Forest, beg borrow or steal a better CD unit.Will it be as dramatic as going from B to Klipsch? No the Klipsch sound is so much more alive but, it will greatly improve your appreciation of your amp and Corns. You'll be glad you did. Rick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodog Posted January 12, 2004 Author Share Posted January 12, 2004 ---------------- On 1/12/2004 12:35:09 AM 3dzapper wrote: Craig, you stole the words right out of my mouth. Forest, beg borrow or steal a better CD unit.Will it be as dramatic as going from B to Klipsch? No the Klipsch sound is so much more alive but, it will greatly improve your appreciation of your amp and Corns. You'll be glad you did. Rick ---------------- What would you suggest? How 'bout in the <$300 range (doable right now). >$300, <$500 doable in about 3 months. thanks, Forrest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garymd Posted January 12, 2004 Share Posted January 12, 2004 Forrest, My scott was very bright at first. Better than SS but not a huge leap either. I upgraded my cables, got better sources, waited for break-in and now the sound is oh so much better. A good TT is a wonderful thing and a good CD player made a big difference also. Once you do all those things, you will start hearing instruments you never knew were in the recordings. The soundstage (which you didn't mention and was one of the areas of most significant improvement) will get better also. Give it a month and let us know what you think. My first impressions were varied also. To me it sounded like I had cotton in my ears. Like Dean said, it really will bloom once broken in. I hope you have decent cables too. You don't need to spend a fortune but cheapo ones sound lousy. Just some thoughts. - Gary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3dzapper Posted January 12, 2004 Share Posted January 12, 2004 Forrest, Take a look at this Sony CDPM 333 ES, #357.95 and highly reviewed. Plus it is upgradable by other firms for even finer sound in the future if you want. http://www.reliableaudiovideo.com/sonycdpcx333es.html Rick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOSValves Posted January 12, 2004 Share Posted January 12, 2004 ---------------- On 1/12/2004 10:10:58 AM 3dzapper wrote: Forrest, Take a look at this Sony CDPM 333 ES, #357.95 and highly reviewed. Plus it is upgradable by other firms for even finer sound in the future if you want. http://www.reliableaudiovideo.com/sonycdpcx333es.html Rick---------------- This looks like a nice option to me. Even the CDP=CA70ES is going to be a major upgrade ! I think these can be had on the Net for just over $200 new. Althought I think I would shop for a SCD-222ES and add SACD to your options. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodog Posted February 10, 2004 Author Share Posted February 10, 2004 ---------------- On 1/12/2004 9:43:22 AM garymd wrote: Give it a month and let us know what you think. - Gary ---------------- Well folks, it's been a little over a month, and goodness the combo sounds sweet now. I don't understand this notion of 'break in'. Electronics are electronics as far as I'm concerned, and it works or it doesn't. But with time the sound got cleaner and cleaner. The soundstage is well defined. PLENTY of power, almost too much to be honest. Most of my listening is at low volume levels. Last week I was playing Ahmad Jahmal's Crystal again, and the sweet sound pouring from the Corns just made me smile. I've yet to get a better CD player, the Sony CE 775 I had my eye on didn't pan out, the seller is non-responsive to my offers to PAY NOW. Oh well. I'm gonna put $50/mo away and by this time next year will buy a quality unit. At the moment the Tile Guys are cutting/pounding/stomping and making a racket. I asked if they liked rock and roll... they both like the DEAD, so the cat (freaked) and I are in another room, door closed, and the system is putting out some serious db's. It sounds perfect in here, painful in the other room. I have a feeling that any acoustic flaws I hear are the result of cheap sources. I was also able to pick up an extra quad of NOS 7591's from Ryan, THANKS! ($50.00 what a deal!!) happier by the day! Forrest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodog Posted February 10, 2004 Author Share Posted February 10, 2004 Had to make a quick run to the hardware store so I didn't get to add that I was wondering if I had just gotten used to the sound. I hooked up the old power amp and it sounded really flat. The music just retreated back into the speaker boxes, and all was like stale bread and day old beer. I think with me liking music at lower to moderate levels, I'd probably like SET. However, for now I know that whatever the future holds, there'll be tubes involved. Forrest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audio Flynn Posted February 10, 2004 Share Posted February 10, 2004 PWK said it the best "Garbage in Garbage out" Get some desent souces for the combo and you will freak out =============== Good amplification generally magnifies deficencies in the source components. I have other ideas in the near term, I can provide. E mail me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3dzapper Posted February 10, 2004 Share Posted February 10, 2004 "We could send another man to the moon. But we'd be better served if we had the vision to send millions of healthy, well-educated children into the future. -- TomPaine.com" Where will those millions use their talents if mankind does not strive to expand his horizons? Rick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodog Posted February 11, 2004 Author Share Posted February 11, 2004 You should never try to teach a pig to sing. It'll waste your time and annoy the pig. Forrest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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