Scott 299 Integrated Amp

So. I scored a beautiful and (appareantly) untouched 299, today.
It came from an Estate Sale.
It was powered up when I got there to check it out. Not hooked up to anything, but powered up and running.
All Tubes (stock) glowing happily. All lights lit up/working.

I know I don't want to run or mess with it until I have my tech go through it...but, it's killing me.
I want to hear it now.

 

Congrats! It's a vintage piece that's very well thought of. Unfortunately, I've not heard one.

It's not a good idea to have a tube amp powered up without a load connected. That said, if the price was right, I would have purchased it too.

 

When he called and told me he had some old stereo components in the sale, I told him exactly that - 'Don't power anything up.'
He didn't listen.

I don't think it was running for more than 5-7 minutes, as I made sure to get there 15 min earlier than my appointment...but, I am still gonna sweat it until I get it into the shop.

I have seen a few mentions of people restoring these here and modding them, but I haven't seen anything re. what actual mods people are doing to them.

 

I wouldn't sweat 5-7 minutes. I'll bet it's fine.

And assuming it still works fine (and I'll bet it does) don't mod it. Just have any out of spec parts replaced and retube it if the tubes don't test strong.

Can I ask what you paid?

 

I gave him $300 for it. He's a good resource for me and I try and give him as much as I can for anything he finds me.

...and it looks almost new.
Not a spec of corrosion or even dust on the chasis. Clean cover. No dings, dents or wear on it.

 

I had a Scott 299c for decades that I inherited from my Dad, who bought it in 1961. It needed a complete rebuild, so I sold it, which I now regret.
Mapleshade Audio rebuilds and mods these things and sells them for many times what you paid for yours. Perhaps you can get some info from them. A lot of their products are snake oil, but H.H. Scott is the real deal.

<b>Click here for photos of our modded Scott Tube Amps</b>-shop.mapleshadestore.com

 

Stay far away from Maple Shade. They are horrific. A bunch of ham fisted hacks. Just find a good compitent local tech, kind of hard to do, or send it off to a respected tech. Check out Audiokarma for lots of resources and info about Maple Shade modded amps.

 

I was mostly wondering what mods people are doing to get an idea of what weaknesses I might be dealing with in making this emminently usable rather than sproadically usable.

I have a good tech local to me (and a couple of amp (guitar) guys) that I know well.
The tech is going to get it, tomorrow and I will have him power it up, and go through it to make sure everything is good. Looks like all of the Tubes are the original HH Scotts. So, I will have him check those to see how they are performing.
Then I will spend a little time with it and decide if I want to get crazy or just enjoy it until something else comes my way.

 

Please don't mod it. It's a good amp for a reason.

 

Well I'm still sitting in a Scott that I want to do a full restore on but I've done a Fisher integrated and had my own Fisher 500c restored by NOS Valves. Things I learned that seem pretty universal for these vintage units.

Get rid of the selenium rectifier and replace it with silicon diode and a pair of thermistors to slow the inrush current.

Drop the grid resistors to 220k and replace the caps with .1uf caps. It will allow you to run new output tubes without worry of cooking them and preserve the sound. Fisher and Scott ran their output tubes to the limit. All caps and electrolytics should be replaced before they tank while your using it.

That's the basics. They're are other things you can do like adding 1/4 watt resistors to each output tube so you can check bias and well a lot more.

Those values above would be perfect for a Fisher . I have had people tell me they're the same for Scot but having really checked into yet. Go to Audiokarma.org and check out the Scott board. It's one of the best places to go for this kind of info.

 

NICE amp. Listen to others, no need to mod it, just restore it, get some suitable speakers and enjoy! Put it somewhere where you can see it when you listen. Those vintage Scott's are beautiful to look at.

 

Nice score! Of course we need pics!

 

Thanks guys.

I will get some pics taken as soon as I get it back from m Tech. He's gonna go through it and see if he can get it up and running with a min of changes. Check all the NOS tubes and then I will know where I am starting from.

Got lost last night reading all of the Restoration Threads over at AudioKarma. Extra thanks to whoever made that suggestion!

 

DO NOT MOD ! Just get it working up to original spec. The 299 is one of the best sounding amps EVER made regardless of price. Have collected and restored vintage amps my entire life but my 299s have been my go to in my highest end system for decades. Music just jumps out of these with a life like palpability and 3D presentation that never fails to amaze ! With good speakers in a good sounding room, extremely hard to touch...period, throw in a killer phono section just to make it even more awesome !

 

OK. My Tech gave me the rundown on what is needed to get this thing up and running.

One of the Output Tubes (7189) is barely kicking. So - any suggestions for sourcing a couple of matched sets of 7189 Tubes?

Thanks in advance for any help.

-G

 

www.thetubestore.com - Preferred Series 7189 (Premium EL84) Audio Tubes

 

Thanks HiFi Guy!

 

Great amp.

Scott 299 is one of the best vintage amps!

 

Finally got this back. Going to do a little cleaning and re-shelving and then hook it up and trest it out.

Probably be a day or so before I get some pictures up, though. Thanks for all of the help, info and linkage.

 

Oh, my.

I just set this thing on an old rack I dragged up from the basement, hooked my MMF5 up to it and my Focal 908s.

Grabbed a copy of Satriani's Not of This Earth and threw it on there...

I am blown away at what is coming out of my speakers...this little thing has no problem driving these speakers, either. That's for sure!

Couple questions for the 299 owners:

Where are you grounding your Turntable?
Which Mag Input should I be using for my MIMC Star Cart when I hook this up to my Clearaudio?

 

I have a vintage Scott 222C, Sounds GREAT!, I am having a new found fondness for the small power tubes, as their tone is incredible.

 

On the topic of Scott 299's, I have a 299b and I need to check the bias on it (and I'm not an electrician and I'd rather not electrocute myself). Are there any deeply explained directions on how to safely do this (and better yet, a video showing how to do it?). THANKS for any advice!!!

 

^^^. Bumping this thread in hopes to reach the morning viewers and an answer to my question from last night.

 

I hope it's ok to post a link to a different forum here. If not, mods feel free to remove and I'll PM Chris C.

Have a read through this thread on AK. It has a ton of info on biasing a 299B:
Would someone mind walking me through biasing an HH Scott 299B amplifier? | Audiokarma Home Audio Stereo Discussion Forums

Also see here:
Scott 299B vacuum tube amplifier restoration

 

I love my 222c. The gent that restored it added this mechanism to bias the tubes:
Alternate Individual Bias Adjustment Modification | Audiokarma Home Audio Stereo Discussion Forums