Favorite H H Scott Tube Integrated Amplifier

Well I did it and despite warnings of doom, the results were fantastic. I had my Scott 222 worked on by Ryan at http://www.hotglassaudio.com/. Like Craig at Nosvalves, Ryan uses the right kind of replacement parts and his whole approach is to get the amp back to its original design specs. From what I could tell, this guy knows just about everything there is to know about old tube audio. Highly recommended.

Thanks to Ryan I now know that I have a somewhat rare 222 (just 222, not an A, B, C...). He said the 222 is biased very close to class A and is one of the best sounding Scotts. He replaced all the caps and other parts. Turned out someone replaced the power transformer and tried to disguise it as being the original part. Ryan said the replacement wasn't outputting enough voltage so he set me up with a new power transformer that he likes to use. All that and a few new tubes is all that was needed.

So, how does it sound? Fantastic and very much improved. I cannot do the whole audiophile sound description thing (liquid midrange with lushness in the upper...), but in a nutshell it sounds cleaner, brighter and crisper yet lost none of the warmth that I liked so much about this amp. Is the Scott the best amp of all time? Of course not, but even though the price of a used Scott is going up a bit you could buy one, have it restored by someone who knows their stuff, and you will end up with a Jolida or Prima Luna beater at half the price.

Just picked up a 222c, needs filter caps, I'll boost them by at least 100% tightens up the bass, keeps the mids clear as the volume goes up. I'll probably go with auracaps for coupling caps- this has worked wonders on other Scotts I've moded. May raise the B+ for the line stage (see my article in Glass Audio vol 1 issue1) and then increase the load resistors.
Be glad to let you know how it comes out- been working with these and other CLASSIC amps for 20 years.

This is a very interesting thread, filled with insightful comments. I have an old Scott tube integrated amp that I'm thinking about trying to get up and running again. When I say that I "have" it, I should actually say that I have access to it -- It is somewhere in the rafters of my father's garage, where it has been stored for twenty years or so. I'm not sure of the model number, but based on my review of the HH Scott web site and my childhood memories I'm pretty sure it's a 299A or B (I think it's a B based on the cosmetics, but I won't know for sure until I get my hands on it). My dad purchased it new around 1960 or 61 and used it until the mid '80s when he replaced with some Japanese SS mid-fi receiver. (Sadly, he probably thought that he was upgrading at the time...) He tells me that it was still working when he retired it, but he recalls that it had developed a slight hum. Happily, he kept it and is not interest in restoring it himself, so it's mine for the asking. Perhaps my memories are clouded by time and nostalgia, but I still remember the incredibly great sound of my dad’s ‘60s-’70s system, which included this amp, a Scott tuner, turntable, Ampex reel-to-reel, and a pair of horn-loaded corner enclosure speakers (not Klipsch, I think that they may have been Electro-Voice). I caught the audiophile bug listening to this modest system as a kid, and I suppose I’ve been chasing after its elusive sound ever since.

Based on these fond memories and the many favorable comments here and in other forums, I'm very much inclined to restore the Scott amp. I've done a bit of research and I’ve seen nothing but positive reviews here and elsewhere for both Ryan at HotGlass and Craig at Nosvalves. Karavite, I noticed above that you indicated that you were going to use Nosvalves for your 222, but ended up going with HotGlass instead. What influenced your ultimate decision?

No one mentioned yet how good a 272 or 296 integrated sounds yet