33klfan Posted December 24, 2006 Share Posted December 24, 2006 Well, after 2 days at 4 hours a piece with listening, i can say i'm continuing to enjoy the scott 299. The bass is sounding much better now depending on the recording, it can sound pretty tight with no need of a subwoofer. I'm quite impressed with what this little amp can do. I was hoping it would smooth out the mids a little bit more than it does. Some cd's i notice more improvement than others with smoothing out the mids. Some voices to me anymore just have a grainy sound. I mainly let it at volume 2 and that's usually plenty loud. I don't know if i wasn't paying attention before with my sx-980 or not, but there was one part on a song by five for fighting that i never noticed before and it stood out like a sore thumb when i heard it tonight. It was like a guitar frette or however you say it. I've listened to quite a few cd's. Some of the heavier rock cd's aren't as snappy in certain parts with heavy guitaring but i still liked it. The biggest thing i notice is the vocals never seem to get lost as they are always out in front of the music no matter what i played so far. It does feel like you're a couple rows back as compared to front row with ss, which is a differenty style of listening that i enjoy. It doesn't hurt your ear so much. I have yet to listen to records which i will soon, so i am anxious for that. This is mainly helping with my decision if i should get a 233 or not. I'm just not sure now if i should wait and save more money and get something a little more upscale or just be satisfied with the scott. I like making big jumps at a time, but if the scott is on par with equipment around a $1000 then i'll stick with the scott. All as i do now, is my setup for bass beats the heck out of that $5000 setup i listened to at my stereo shoppe. That system had a little more wide open feel, but that could have to do with speaker placement and maybe a little higher end gear that was set up, but for bass, nah. I want to put my speakers up ear level and some type of sound barrier material on the wall to deaden the first frequencies (that trick with the mirror). I'm not sure what sound material to use for that though. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wuzzzer Posted December 24, 2006 Share Posted December 24, 2006 www.foambymail.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOSValves Posted December 24, 2006 Share Posted December 24, 2006 33klfan, I kind of lost track what 299 did you end up with? Craig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
33klfan Posted December 24, 2006 Author Share Posted December 24, 2006 Well, i'm actually borrowing it from Thebes. He's loaning it to me while visiting family. I have it till wednesday. It's so nice of him to let me experience a scott in my room. I'm still thinking about that 233 or just wait and save to get something better. I dont know if that's possible though without spending a lot more. If the 233 is smoother than the 299 in the mids, then i would love it even more. I'm still trying to decide if it's a huge difference over my pioneer. I wish i could do an A/B comparison. I do notice some differences than from the pioneer with certain recordings. My speakers probably aren't the best for that scott either even though the sf-1's are sounding pretty nice with the scott. It surprises me with the power it has for such a small amp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garymd Posted December 24, 2006 Share Posted December 24, 2006 I can't remember if Marty's 299 was refurbished by Craig or not. If not, you have yet to hear what this baby is capable of. However, I do seem to recall that amp sounding very nice with his KGs in the basement. I had a similiar impression when first using my 299b. Definitely set me back a couple rows. It's a wonderful little amp. Can't do what VRDs, BBXs and the like can, but for the money, you can't beat it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
33klfan Posted December 24, 2006 Author Share Posted December 24, 2006 Yeah, he said Craig rebuilt it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audio Flynn Posted December 25, 2006 Share Posted December 25, 2006 Glad to hear you are enjoying the experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOSValves Posted December 25, 2006 Share Posted December 25, 2006 Well, i'm actually borrowing it from Thebes. He's loaning it to me while visiting family. I have it till wednesday. It's so nice of him to let me experience a scott in my room. I'm still thinking about that 233 or just wait and save to get something better. I dont know if that's possible though without spending a lot more. If the 233 is smoother than the 299 in the mids, then i would love it even more. I'm still trying to decide if it's a huge difference over my pioneer. I wish i could do an A/B comparison. I do notice some differences than from the pioneer with certain recordings. My speakers probably aren't the best for that scott either even though the sf-1's are sounding pretty nice with the scott. It surprises me with the power it has for such a small amp. Something doesn't sound right to me. The Scott should sound very, very different from the Pioneer I mean a stark difference. While I will agree the SF-1 are not ideal for the Scott and the Pioneer may have a much easier time driving them but nonetheless the two should sound very different. What are you using as a source? The 233 would indeed be a much better match for the SF-1's though. At one time I had SF-2 and liked the extra control a 299C I had rebuilt for a forum member had with them over the 299A I owned at the time. I went on to a 299B and it did a bit better then a 299A with SF-2. Then I switched to Heresy speakers and the 299B was in its glory. Then I went to Lascala's and it was really able to sing. Then I went to............. Man it just never ends. Also where do you have the Loudness switch above the volume control set too? What speaker taps are you using? Craig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audio Flynn Posted December 25, 2006 Share Posted December 25, 2006 Well, i'm actually borrowing it from Thebes. He's loaning it to me while visiting family. I have it till wednesday. It's so nice of him to let me experience a scott in my room. I'm still thinking about that 233 or just wait and save to get something better. I dont know if that's possible though without spending a lot more. If the 233 is smoother than the 299 in the mids, then i would love it even more. I'm still trying to decide if it's a huge difference over my pioneer. I wish i could do an A/B comparison. I do notice some differences than from the pioneer with certain recordings. My speakers probably aren't the best for that scott either even though the sf-1's are sounding pretty nice with the scott. It surprises me with the power it has for such a small amp. Some thing doesn't sound right to me. The Scott should sound very, very different from the Pioneer I mean a stark difference.While I will agree the SF-1 are not ideal for the Scott and the Pioneer may have a much easier time driving them but none the less the two should sound very different. What are you using as a source? The 233 would indeed be a much better match for the SF-1's though. At one time I had SF-2 and liked the extra control a 299C I had rebuilt for a forum member had with them over the 299A I owned at the time. I went on to a 299B and it did a bit better then a 299A with SF-2. Then a switched to Heresy speakers and the 299B was in its glory. Then I went to Lascala's and it was really able to sing. Then I went too............. Man it just never ends. Also where do you have the Loudness switch above the volume control set too? What speaker taps are you using? Craig True the speaker may not be able to take full advantage of the amp. My RB-5s can demonstrate the difference in an amp pretty easy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
33klfan Posted December 25, 2006 Author Share Posted December 25, 2006 Don't get me wrong. It does sound different. In fact the more i listened to it i notice a difference. It's not substantial. Maybe substantial isn't the word. I really don't know how big of a difference it should be. I mean it sounds more airy, more defined, less ear fatiguing, and decent solid bass, and i hear more good nuances. I have the the loudness off. I don't like that on, too trebly. I have it to the 8 ohm taps. I have the volume at 2. It seems to play pretty loud though. No problems with being difficult to drive the speakers. If the 4 ohm tap gives it a different sound, i can try that. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOSValves Posted December 25, 2006 Share Posted December 25, 2006 When you say "2" do you mean 2 as listed on the face of the Scott or 2:00 position? Also what are you using for a source? From the description you just gave I would say the difference must be pretty pronounced by my standards. I mean you mention just about every important aspect of music to some extent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audible Nectar Posted December 25, 2006 Share Posted December 25, 2006 Don't get me wrong. It does sound different. In fact the more i listened to it i notice a difference. It's not substantial. Maybe substantial isn't the word. I really don't know how big of a difference it should be. I mean it sounds more airy, more defined, less ear fatiguing, and decent solid bass, and i hear more good nuances. I have the the loudness off. I don't like that on, too trebly. I have it to the 8 ohm taps. I have the volume at 2. It seems to play pretty loud though. No problems with being difficult to drive the speakers. If the 4 ohm tap gives it a different sound, i can try that. Thanks. Sounds to me like he's "getting" what he is supposed to be getting. The speaker is probably somewhat limited in what it can really show in terms of the inner detail benefits and subtleties of tubes, but it sounds to me like he has a good taste of it, anyway.... Keep listening, and don't overanlyze.....sometimes it takes a while to fully understand what is happening. Different ears will focus on different aspects of music and the reproduction, but over more listening hours the differences will become more apparent. Like when you disconnect the tube amp after a longer period and slide the SS unit back into the system.....then you go, "OH, now I get it - now where's that tube amp again?" I also think that your speakers are more SS friendly - if you used a set of Heresys I think your impressions would be even more favorable towards the tube side. If you're going to think tubes long term, that's something to consider. But as it is right now, just keep listening and see what you think. It's hard to beat the Scotts for the $$$ - upgrading from that costs considerably more. They have been the source of many a forum addiction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garymd Posted December 25, 2006 Share Posted December 25, 2006 You won't truly appreciate the difference in the amps until you put the Pioneer back in after about 2 weeks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
33klfan Posted December 25, 2006 Author Share Posted December 25, 2006 I have the volume at number 2 out of 10, not 2 o'clock. I am using a rotel rcd-1072 for cd, and pioneer pl-560 for TT. And i only have tomorrow and maybe wednesday morning to listen to it. That's when i have to meet thebes and give it back. He said i could keep it longer but then i would have to worry about shipping and insurance, so even though i would like to keep it longer, i want to redeliver it in person. Yeah, i figure that's how i'll know when i put the 980 back in. I would love to try better speakers, trust me. What speakers would be a good match for a 233? Scott's don't come around local to often, so to be able to get one with a couple hours drive would be nice. The biggest thing is i think the mids on my speakers can sometimes be a little protruding, which i was trying to calm down. The 299, it helps on some recordings and not much on others. I don't know if heritage klipsch or others have smoother mids or not. Most of the time i like the sound and sometimes it's too much with certain artists. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOSValves Posted December 26, 2006 Share Posted December 26, 2006 We have two threads going on the same subject. Let's switch back to the other and only post to that one. I have a few questions listed in that other thread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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