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I just finished restoring these HH Scott 121c's for a friend who is an avid record collector and 78 enthusiast. One look at these mono pre-amps and you can easily see why a record guru would love them!
After a complete restore, they sound astonishing.. Quite a complicated pre- amp. The power supply was not too bad, I used 2 Panasonic poly-film filters in the first two stages that I installed behind the panel. I ordered the Panasonics because they were the only ones that would fit behind the slim rear compartment. Down stream, I used 2 JJ 50/50s and Nichicon 25/25s for the by-pass caps. The cases are custom ones I make specially for my friends, the units themselves were in nice cosmetic shape when I received them so just some minor clean up..
The couplings caps underneath and behind the panel were plentiful to say the least. These guys each have over 30 caps in each unit making for a total of over 60 for the restore.. so going all PIO was not financially practical. So I picked and chose my battles here and used the Sprague orange drops for all the low value, low voltage caps and bumped up some of the values in the high voltage, high value areas with a few PIO K40's..
I have restored the HH Scott 130 and the HH Scott LC21 preamp, which is kind of a simple version of the 130.. They are both excellent pre-amps with similar architecture. Very authentic and musical sound production with just some amazing beefy low end.. However the fidelity of these 121's and their very different design, is something even beyond those fine stereo pre-amps Scott made. The ability to finely dial in the sound on your record is impressive and not as intrusive as you might think. very subtle and delicate adjustment controls..
Obviously using two mono pre-amps, the stereo separation is just out of this world, to say the least..If you can deal with the pain of having to adjust controls on both units it's worth the trouble. These also have the amazing warm and powerful bass response that show up in the later stereo models. They look excellent as most Scott products do. Very well built and designed I can't say enough about them. The vocals and upper details just burst out on the 121's where the 130 and LC21 are a bit more laid back. The clarity and musical precision seems more accurate than most vintage pre-amps. I am so impressed I give up describing these, I have run out of adjectives, so lets just leave it there. I am trying very hard to figure how I can pack these up and get them back their owner. I have been doing some burn in on my system and I am thinking, man how can I send these back!! I have already dropped some hints that they may not be going home too soon :)
I wont kid you, these are a lot of work and planning, but well worth the investment..very unique..to start with I don't think I have ever seen any restored pairs for stereo. After I got into restoring them, I kind of figured out why you don't see them, quite a bit of work...and being "older-older" you have to replace a lot!
enjoy...
Jeff
Follow Ups:
I've got two pairs of these beauties
Beautiful work!
Congratulations- and that they sound well in your system is an even bigger benefit!
Makes me wish I had my old H.H.Scott equipment back-
Happy Listening
Hi Jeff, this posting has inspired me to purchase a pair of Scott 121C's. It took me some time to find a good pair and i am now ready to have them restored like the set here. Please let me know if you would consider taking up this project. Thank you. Min
What surprises me is there is so little discussion around Scott, from the beginning until the end. When Scott and Fisher were fighting it out, the Scott given half a chance proved the better. Sadly, HH did not have the capital for marketing where Avery's had deep pockets.
HH's error was in following Frank McIntosh's feeling towards receivers. Avery was far more realistic in this regard.
Don Brian Levy, J.D.
Toronto ON Canada
Interesting commentary, I love an unsung hero and HH seems to fit that mold.
I really think they had something special in their pre-amps after having heard all of them now minus the 122.. I have heard many of the Scott integrateds as well and I agree they are right there, and they compete with all the names you mentioned I think it's all subjective after that just different grades of good..
I feel their integrated amps have it going a bit more than their separate amps did. They seem to have sacrificed some of the romantic musical detail for power..
The pre-amps and integrated are just fabulous when restored properly..
J
The problem is,Avery's receivers and integrated amps didn't sound nearly as good as Scott,Sherwood,Pilot,or Eico but they had the name behind them.OTOH,Fisher built wonderful amps and preamps and tuners and even their 500c has a nice tuner but they could have used better amplifier circuitry like Scott did in the 299 amps and 340 receivers.They have nice iron and a nice build but they need circuit changes to sound really good.
"If it measures good and sounds bad, it is bad; if it measures bad and sounds good, you have measured the wrong thing."
- Daniel R. von Recklinghausen
Edits: 01/04/15
N/T
"Once this was all Black Plasma and Imagination" -Michael McClure
I haven't had this much lust for a preamp since I first saw a Marantz 7 in a wood cabinet.
Your cabinetry work is excellent also. Really completes the look.
I ranked the Scott units up there with Saul's except the totl tuner. There was no contest for my ears, the 4310 and 310e trumped the 10b. Had HH dumped a scope in it or went the MI-3 route today would be paying out much more than they do for a 10b.
Don Brian Levy, J.D.
Toronto ON Canada
Now I call that having a pair! Beautiful, meticulous work, but what a jumble of wires, caps and resistors. Yet the sound survives all those electron trips.
It was not easy fishing through the wire soup.. like I said, you have to plan your moves well ahead when you start work..
I will say though, it is dead quiet and clear as a bell, despite how the wires are run.. lots of circuits in there, not like the LC21 where it is pretty wide open under the chassis..
J
Beautiful units.
That along with good quality electrolytics. The vintage preamps such as these Scott monos or countless other vintage preamps will compete with most any preamp made today if properly rebuilt as these were.
"
Mikey,
yes, you absolutely need the film caps up front!! it cleans up the power with great efficiency better than electrolytic. I used the Samra formula of course, and again thanks for helping me with the logistics and planning these out.
also have to reemphasize:
"If it measures good and sounds bad, it is bad; if it measures bad and sounds good, you have measured the wrong thing."
I think you and I are on the hunt for some 121's:)
J
I have got to find a pair of these. :> )
Beautiful job you did my friend.
And those cabinets really complete the visual. Beautiful job! Makes my bare 130 look rather shabby by comparison...
Please give some more details on the woodwork.
John
thank you,
Pretty simple idea on the cabinets, just have to have some patience..Basically my cases are an homage to the originals, just better materials. Instead of the "flimsy" 3/8 thick plywood, which will de- laminate or dry out after heat and temperature change, I use high density 3/4 MDF, which is a man-made engineered product. The extra thickness gives the units more "beef" and strength. 40 degree chamfered bezel on the front is also similar to the original Scott case.
The MDF will not be affected by temperature change and drying, the material will not move like plywood or solid wood construction..Many times you see the fasteners fall out of the original cases, this is also caused by the constant expansion and shrinking of the wood fibers. These cases do not use fasteners and will act more like one solid piece.
Many times I see wood workers make "nice" solid wood cases, however, with tube gear this is kind of mistake, the joints will expand and contract, and after awhile deform. You can do these with solid wood, but you cannot use simple joinery, it makes the design more complex, and you need higher end tools and wood working skills to do that..
These cases are then laminated with rare African Mahogany veneer. The finish is tung-oil, a few coats of satin polyurethane, and then fine steel wool to even it out. The vent screen is 1/8 perforated aluminum sheet 3/32 diameter hole pattern. The size is nearly identical to Scott's trapezoid shape, it slides in a slot like the originals do.
Another reason I use this method is that my saw is not accurate enough to construct an accurate solid wood case. This design is actually more practical for audio..
cheers,
J
Sounds like you put a lot of thought into it, just like the rest of the restoration! Certainly the result is top notch. Thanks for sharing.
John
I want a pair.
"
nt
Dman
Analog Junkie
I'm a lurker and a wannabe vintage guy and these are what I now want. These two pieces are beyond beautiful. I'm sure they sound as good as they look.
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