NOSValves 299A and 299B owners opinions please !

[garymd]

My 299b was a little bright before break-in and cable swapping. Afterwords, not a problem. Sounds tremendous. I don't see a problem with this question. It's much easier for Craig to get responses since he probably can't remember all of his clients. Too many to email personally.

I use the loudness button most of the time. Headroom would be a problem if I was a 100db+ listener which I'm not usually. If I want to be I go downstairs and turn on the mac.

Thanks for asking Craig. If some complain that they are too bright, there are ways to adjust via cables & tubes. Break-in period is important also. The NOS bugle boys needed a good 30 hrs of break-in before settling down.

I spent last night with Tom Longos 2003 khorns and my fisher X-100-C. What a tremendous combination. So good that I got home and hooked up the fisher to my corns and played for about an hour. I was a little dissappointed but attributed it to just having listened to the khorns. Thought I'd never be satisfied again until I owned a pair (ala Deano)! Then I hooked the 299b back up and all was well again! A full review of last night's session will be forthcoming. Probably tomorrow. Just want to say that I've never heard such great deep bass from khorns until last night.

[NOSValves]

Kelly,

I will have a Scott 299B that was rebuilt with the Russian caps here shortly.

Who's amp would this be ?? Also who put the caps in ?

Craig

[@silverfox@]

craig!

i find this a very intresting question and wonder what prompted you to ask, as you know from the very first time you rebuilt my 299a i thought it was and is a very nice sounding amp, and have always refered its sound to the acurus 125x5.ss which i have.

And after the rebliud of the first dewald mentioned that i perfered what the dewald offered.but it lacks the power of the scott.

since receiving the 299 again recently it is a lot smoother.the high a tad more promiment with a smoother mid. I find that there is something that i am missing and have been wondering if by different tubes or cap or what ever would soften the sound, its NOT BRIGHT,its probley way too natural. And with the very revealing cornwall might be my problem, as i preseve them.

please understand i have nowerethe type of gear some of these form member have cornwall 1 panosonic cd. honest but ignorent.

[NOSValves]

Errol,

Don't worry why I asked you don't want to open that can of worms. Thanks for your reply ! I was wondering how the amps are doing. Did your clever packing technique work out fine on the return trip ?

Craig

[@silverfox@]

works every time

[mace]

Sunrisets,

What did you think of the rope caulk mod on your corns? Did you rope caulk the squaker or bass bin or both?

I rope caulked my bass bins. It didn't make the sound worse and I'm not sure it made it better.

Thanks,

Mace

[blindman]

Let me begin by stating that, "tweaking my audio system is an avocation, not my vocation". By that I mean, I only have a limited amount of time each week to pursue this hobby, so I tend to take baby steps.

Kelly was correct when he clarified my comment regarding my Moondogs and my Scott 299B. I did not say I preferred the Scott over the Moondogs. I like both of them, each for different reasons. I am currently using both, one for vinyl and one for cd's. All I have to do is swap the speaker leads. My comment about the sound of the Scott was my attempt to direct a comment about that system to the originator of this thread. My mention of the other systems that I own was meant to help form a foundation for my opinion. I have several very divergent systems to choose from, and the Scott is one of my favorites. Who knows, I might even like the EICO's if I ever get one of them to work. Now that I have taken the time to read this thread more thoroughly, I realize that my comments may have been out of place since I have only heard one Scott, and the one I have was not rebuilt by NOSValves.

I use the Scott to listen to vinyl since it has a phono section. For obvious reasons I do not hook up the turntable directly to the Moondogs. I suppose I could try to use the preamplifier in the Scott to feed the Moondogs, but I haven't pursued that approach. Sometimes I only have time to actually l-i-s-t-e-n to music and no time for tweaks

I acknowledge that my Moondogs perform better with a preamplifier. I have been trying to find one that I liked...and I just haven't found it yet. As I mentioned before, I have several options on hand. The AH' Njoe Tjoeb cd player has a volume control, and I have to keep it throttled back or else it is just plays way too loud for my taste. For those who wonder how much power a 3.25 SET amp can put out, it can almost be too much when using Klipsch speakers. Unfortunately, I can readily discern a difference in the quality of the playback when it is played with the volume reduced. It just doesn't have the "oomph" that is present at louder volumes. Please note that I understand the argument that a louder playing volume produces more "presence". What I am trying to explain is that I believe that I should be able to listen at low volume without losing the "oomph". It seems to me that with a preamp I can turn up the volume on the Njoe Tjoeb to regain the "presence" while at the same time use the volume control on the preamp to select my preferred listening volume and maintain the "oomph".

My reason for saying this is because I have tried using my EICO HF-85 in-line with the Njoe Tjoeb and the La Scalas, and noticed a very remarkable and pleasing improvement when listening at lower volume levels. But...my Eico preamp suffers from a serious "buzzing". While it is not noticeable most of time while music is being played, it becomes quite noticeable and annoying during "quiet passages" while listening to classical music. (Note: I attribute the buzz to the original capacitors probably needing to be replaced, a ground loop problem, and/or maybe I should try some tube rolling.)

I also tried using the preamplifier out jacks in my Macintosh MAC 1900 and I was not impressed. Maybe that was more psychological than anything else though. I may have become biased toward a preference for an "all tube system". That probably also explains why I did not care for the sound during my experiment using the Dynaco PAT-4 as a preamp.

My last attempt to supply an active preamp for my Moondogs was when I purchased a McIntosh MX-110 preamplifier. Alas, it arrived Dead-On-Arrival just like all of my EICO HF-81's.

Maybe my first lesson should be to stop trying to be the lowest bidder on EBAY. Does the phrase, "you get what you pay for sound familar?"

I didn't return the DOA items to the sellers because; 1) I paid VERY little so caveat emptor comes into play big time here, and 2) they came loaded with G-R-E-A-T tubes (which I tested on my tube tester and they are easily worth three or more times what I paid for the entire amps/preamps).

Meanwhile I thoroughly enjoy listening to my Scott when I listen to vinyl. And this is the big selling point...it was completely rebuilt B-E-F-O-R-E I put it to use! I believe this is very important for units this old. And doubly important since it ended up being a "plug-and-play" unit when it came into my possesion. Either they work when I get them, or referring back to my opening sentence, they go into storage for the inevitable post-retirement project(s).

One of the main reasons I purchased the Scott 299B was that I need a phono preamp, and from what I've read on this forum, I came to believe that the Scott would perform admirably for this task. It has and it does.

[NOSValves]

Blindman,

Are you any good at all with a soldering Iron ? If so I have a very cheap and reversible mod you could try that will allow you to use your 299B as a preamp. All you will need is a Interconnect and do some simple soldering inside the 299B. Also the HF85 should be easy to fix there not expensive at all to rebuild and sound pretty darn good once done. But either way if you like email me your number and I could explain the procedure to turn the 299B into a descent preamp for you moondogs.

Craig

[blindman]

Thanks for the offer, Craig. That is what I have come to appreciate about this forum, the interest in helping each other if not concretely at least in the offering of an opinion when an opinion is all that is asked for.

Are you familiar with the parable about the cobbler? (The cobblers children had no shoes.) During the 1980's I was employed as a soldering instructor at Texas Instruments. When I soldered all day for a living, I reached a point where I was not really interested in soldering during my "leisure time".

Last year I built my Moondogs from kits. One component at a time. Literally. Each evening I would prep and install one wire, or one capacitor, or one resistor, etc. Needless to say it took awhile before I was finished

I have thought about buying an Ultrapath preamp kit from Ron Welborne, and I still might, but in the meantime I tried to find pre-built Plug-and-Play preamps. Unfortunately all of them were Dead-On-Arrival.

I'd like to try using the Scott 299B as a preamp, so I'll send you a Private Message with my home phone number. Just don't get too disappointed if it takes awhile to hear from me regarding the outcome of the modifications. If I maintain my normal pace, it ain't gonna happen over night

By the way, other forum members have helped me obtain copies of the "Dope From Hope" papers and replacement "Pie Slice Emblems". Many of you probably know who those members are that I'm referring to. I found this site just two years ago, and I can not describe how much I have learned.

[mobile homeless]

Blindman, see a new thread dedicated to your Tjoeb 99 output. I thought this subject important enough to have its own thread for search ease.

kh

[Piranha]

What about 272 and Mark III owners?

[Piranha]

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On 1/24/2004 1:36:44 PM Ryan C. Inman wrote:

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On 1/24/2004 1:31:57 PM Piranha wrote:

What about 272 and Mark III owners?

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Don't think you'll find many 272's on the forum, I think just you and smilin have one, they are pretty rare. EL34's sound awesome, you'll definitely prefer it over the 299D, plus you can shake the walls down with it

-Ryan

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I thought that you and Craig owned one as well. What I really want is a 296. I am waiting patiently for one of those.

[Deang]

I've owned both a NOSvalves 299A and 299B, and used them on Cornwalls. They were both smooth, punchy, and fast. I wouldn't charactize either as "bright". They might be "warm" in comparison to some solid grate, but in comparison to other tube amps I've owned, I would say they are on the slight dark side of neutral. Very good sounding amps on the Cornwalls.

I've never heard stock MKIIIs, but Craig's are killer.

I plan on "hawking" here until the moderators, or Klipsch, LLC says I can't. I see a difference between someone who is attempting to support Klipsch related products in the form of upgrades and modifications, and someone whos presence here is primarily for the purpose of generating customers in a non-Klipsch "related" business. Craig naturally becomes an exception to this because he was here LONG before he started working on amplifers, and if he quit doing amps today, he would still be here. Also, if you look at this topic title, Craig comes in wanting to know what users of these amps think about them on their KLIPSCH speakers. His primary interest is the synergistic relationship between his work and Klipsch loudspeakers.

So Ryan, let me address you directly, and I will tell you how it looks to me, and what I think.

There is no denying that you pretty much showed up here out of the blue. Through interaction at the Scott forum, and/or some other means -- you discovered our existence. Did you appear here because of your interest in Klipsch loudspeakers? Maybe what is closer to the truth is that you found out there was a host of people latching on to these vintage tube pieces, and you saw an opportunity.

Your initial appearance here was marked by an obvious desire to discredit Craig's work. You hounded him at every turn, and this was so obvious that there is no point in denying it. What was the motivation for this? After a near year of this, it became obvious to you that this stratedgy wasn't working. I mean, I guess it's tough going against a perfect track record, and a multitude of estatic customers.

Then your "tone" changes. Suddenly, you begin backing and agreeing with many of Craig's comments -- and disagreement all but vanishes. This has climaxed into practically giving valuable tubes away, and offering work for near nothing. To a casual observer like me -- it looks like you are trying to "buy" the forum.

What do you say?

[Piranha]

Another well thought out post

[garymd]

I got the EXACT same impression Dean. The last straw was offering to rebuild the 299-D for young Tom, no charge. I'm happy to see a 13 yr old kid get into tubes (I even offered to pitch in) but something about all this is not on the up and up. No Klipsch speakers, trying to discredit Craig on more than 1 forum and on more than 1 occasion and trying to drum up business here after seeing how successful Craig has been. Craig does great work and charges fair prices without giving away the shop. It seems pretty obvious to me what's going on. I'd like to hear an explanation also.

[Piranha]

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On 1/24/2004 3:06:21 PM garymd wrote:

I got the EXACT same impression Dean. The last straw was offering to rebuild the 299-D for young Tom, no charge. I'm happy to see a 13 yr old kid get into tubes (I even offered to pitch in) but something about all this is not on the up and up. No Klipsch speakers, trying to discredit Craig on more than 1 forum and on more than 1 occasion and trying to drum up business here after seeing how successful Craig has been. Craig does great work and charges fair prices without giving away the shop. It seems pretty obvious to me what's going on. I'd like to hear an explanation also.----------------

I'd like to see Craig go over Erfans 340B after Ryan gets done rebuilding it for $50. How can it possibly be $50?

[Deang]

An honest response. Impressive.

I thought you liked the 299's O.K., I just thought you liked some other Scott stuff better -- at least, that's kind of the impression I got a few months back from you. Still, I think they're sweet little amps for the money. I wish I hadn't of sold mine.

C'mon dude, four Tele smoothplates for $50! Worth is determined by market value, and they are definitely "worth" more than $12.50 each.

You really need an obnoxious set of LaScalas or Cornwalls to hear these amps. I just don't see how you can properly elevaluate the sound for anyone here without them.

[lynnm]

Take it outside Boys!

I am one hell of a good Computer and Laser Printer Technician but certainly not the ultimate - I am considered as something of a star by many other well experienced technicians whom I have worked with but I recognise that there are Superstars who can run circles around me . That said If a collegue or a competitor gets rave reviews I don't feel a need to get p(i)ssy about it. If someone has a better fix or workaround I want to know about it !

If you are really good at what you do then the fact is that what others in your area of expertise do or think about your methods/ideas is an irrelevance so long as you are open to adopting those ideas/methods that will improve your own performance. In other words none of us can be the be all and end all.The fact that one is good at what they do does not mean that anyone else who does what you do differently is by definition bad at what you do.

A word to those pot-stirrers who enjoy playing "Let's You and Him Fight" - You remind me of a US governor who blamed unrest in prisons on "Outside Agitators."

[garymd]

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On 1/24/2004 3:38:01 PM Ryan C. Inman wrote:

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What was wrong with offering to rebuild the 299-D for young Taylor? Obviously, at age 13, money is a bit tight, I thought I'd cut him some slack, actually finding a Scott in nice condition costs enough money these days as it is.

Did you ask Craig why he volunteered to rebuild the amp for nothing after my original offer fell through?

I'll tell you something right now, I didn't make that offer to promote myself, that's for sure. Today, I sent Craig a package full of capacitors and $35 in cash to help with the 299-D rebuild for Taylor. I offered to rebuild that amplifier for him, because at age 13, I didn't have the money to buy one, and I would've loved to have one. Anytime I can help someone out, I'll go out of my way to do it, and I sure as hell don't have to explain why to anyone else.

Do you know what it actually costs a technician to rebuild a 299-D, Gary? Have a look below:

H.H. Scott Model 299-D:

(3) 32-32 uF @ 500V JJ Electrolytic - $26.85

(8) 0.1 uF @ 600V Coupling Capacitor - $3.92

(2) 0.047 uF @ 600V Cutoff Filter - $0.98

(4) 0.022 uF @ 600V Coupling Capacitor - $1.96

(1) Silicon Bridge - $0.99

(4) Plate Resistors - $0.99

(2) Cathode Resistors - $0.50

(2) 25 uF @ 25V Cathode Bypass - $0.50

Total In Parts = $36.69

This price is for a total rebuild using typical modern components. As you can see, I could've rebuilt Taylor's 299-D for little cost. I don't know what other technician's charge, but I charge $175 per integrated amplifier for a total rebuild.

Anything above $175 is a ripoff in my view, unless a customer asks for specific components that cost more. I use vintage Good-All film/foil capacitors, JJ Electrolytics, and Allen Bradley resistors. I've heard every component made in these vintage Scott's, and the parts I use sound the best to me. Notice I only mention vintage Scott's here, not other makes and models. These prices are for the basic H.H. Scott line of integrated amplifiers.

Obviously, I'm not the only person impressed with my work or component selection, because last night, I got seven rebuilds from this forum alone, some are repeat customers. I can understand you defending your friend Craig, but until you hear and see my work in person, I suggest you keep your opinions to yourself, you can't possibly comment about the type of work I do.

Ryan C. Inman

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Ryan,

There was nothing wrong with offering to rebuild the amp for Tom. I thought that was a nice gesture and probably a bad example to use. I'm glad to hear you, for the first time, admit that you're here to promote your business. I'm sure you do fine work. That wasn't the point. This is a klipsch forum and it DOES help to own klipsch speakers especially when rebuilding amps for use with klipsch speakers. You must admit that your tenure here and your correspondence with Craig has been a Jekyl and Hyde sort of relationship. I will always defend Craig, yes. He's done much for me as have many others on the forum. I try to help other forum members when I can also. I never make a cent doing so. I've actually spent more than a little $$ helping out others here.

Because I am friends with so many on the forum, it troubles me when I see 2 of them going at each other. It happens all the time and I try my best to keep out of those battles. Maybe it's none of my business but it just seems like your attitude has flipped 180 degrees from one week to the next and apparently I'm not the only one to notice. If your intentions are honorable and you really haven't tried to discredit anyone's work, here or elsewhere, I apologize for saying anything. There's more than enough rebuilding work to go around and I wish you the best.

[wrench_peddler]

My lascala's sound great with the 299a. They are slightly brighter with my Onkyo SS HT. I run my 299 with everything flat except the bass which is up one notch. For background listening, the vol. is set at .5. When I want to crank it up, I run it up to 4 or 5. Everytime I listen to the system I hear new things that impress me. Echo's from the recording studio, fingers on strings, bows on strings, breathes being taken, a foot going down on the pedals of the piano. Things I never heard before. I don't know if Craig fixed em or screwed em up, but I sure am enjoying them.

PS, for a little personal note. Craig built my amp for another list member and I bought it from him. The only money I have given Craig has been for a transformer to try to get the hum/buzz out of my amp at idle. The transformer didn't fix it but it did add a lot more bass than I had before the change. Craig has called me a couple of times and emailed me many more times than that to help me with the change and a few other questions I had about the amp. The time he spent helping me out has been worth at least 10 times what he charged me for the transformer. I am not happy with the fact that the hum/buzz is still there but the 299/lascala's sound so good that they aren't idle for long. I only wish pride would take a back seat when it comes to Craig and Ryan. If there is a dissagreement between the two of them, I wish they would settle it by private email. They both lose respect from the fans in the stands when they try to out-yell each other on the list. I for one, couldn't care less if it is push/pull, triode/diode, ac/dc, rectumfried or apple pied. Just keep fixin em and let us enjoy our Klipsch's without all the background noise.