Scott Pro100b, to keep or not to keep

[ScottGuy]

Hi:

I have a pair of Scott Pro100b speakers in very good condition. I purchased them used about 20 years ago and barely used them. They have been in storage for at least 10-15 years. I am planning to assemble a vintage audio system from the late 70’s to early 80’s. Therefore, I retrieved the Scott’s to clean them. They are in solid condition as can be seen in the photos. All drivers are original. The woofers were re-foamed around 2005. A few scratches but nothing major. Cabinet’s structure is very solid and very very heavy.

Being the speakers about 40 a year’s design, I wondering if it is worth investing in another, more modern speakers. I am looking at similar JBL’s and Cerwin Vega. Something like the Klipsch Cornwall. Those CV’s and JBLs are quite expensive, in the $2000-$6000 range. Power handling is important as my receiver is rated at 160 watts. I know specs do not necessarily translate to better sound, and the definition of better sound is not the same for everybody, but looking at the Pro100b specs, they are excellent even by today standards. Supposedly the Phillips tweeters are very good

So what do you think? Which of the alternatives bellow will you choose?

1. Keep the Pro100b’s. To obtain significantly better speakers you will need to invest a lot of money.

2. Move to another sets of speakers. The Pro100b are an old design. You can find better sounding speakers with a reasonable investment ($1000-$2000).

3. Keep them but upgrade the drivers/crossovers. This will be the best bang for the dollars.

Thanks in advance.

 

[woofercooker]

Nice Scotts. I had the 197b speakers years ago. I would keep them. They are pretty rare and if you recap the crossovers, they should sound like new. And cheaper than getting new/used JBL-CV- Klipsch speakers..

 

[Ds2000]

Nice Scotts. I had the 197b speakers years ago. I would keep them. They are pretty rare and if you recap the crossovers, they should sound like new. And cheaper than getting new/used JBL-CV- Klipsch speakers..

My neighbor had a set of the smaller ones from this series (310). Excellent for the few hundo they cost him. Impressive design and use of air coil inductors. Nice! Keep them, recap at your leisure. These are some of the ‘good stuff’.

 

[NH-MAN]

I would think the biggest factor is do you you like how they sound.

Tough to ask such questions when probably greater then 99% haven't heard them before and they will just say its just a Scott get something else

If you are gonna get something else I would keep those around for awhile to make sure you like their replacements better.

Recap them and give them a chance.

 

[ScottGuy]

Thanks for all the feedback.

Nice Scotts. I had the 197b speakers years ago. I would keep them. They are pretty rare and if you recap the crossovers, they should sound like new. And cheaper than getting new/used JBL-CV- Klipsch speakers..

How do you compare the 197b's with others speakers?

 

[swechsler]

3. Keep them but upgrade the drivers/crossovers. This will be the best bang for the dollars.

Depends on what you mean by "upgrade". Don't replace the drivers, that's opening a can of worms and you're unlikely to improve on a speaker that was designed by a speaker engineer, at least not without a lot of knowledge and research (and remember that this was Scott's top of the line model in 1980, $1320/pair). Regarding the crossovers, you could certainly upgrade them by using better quality components, but typically capacitors are the only parts that need replacement. This is a relatively inexpensive fix.

Don't worry about the power handling capability, that's not really a significant specification (it's telling that Audio Magazine's annual equipment directory doesn't even include that spec). Even though your receiver is rated at 160 watts (presumably per channel, RMS, between 20hz-20khz, yes?), you're never actually putting out that amount of power for any significant amount of time. At a normal listening level, your average output power is probably only around a watt, and even very loud, it's probably no more than 10 watts.

Set them up, experiment with placement (this can make a huge difference in a speaker's sound) and then see if you can determine if they're lacking in any particular area. Once you do that you can make the decision if an upgrade is the correct way to proceed.

 

[ScottGuy]

"Scott's top of the line model in 1980, $1320/pair)"
They certainly looks like a $4000 dollars speakers by todays inflation. The construction quality is top. The enclosure is extremely ridgid and heavy. The veneer is top quality as well. They are 40 years old and still look very good.
Im not an speakers expert by any means and never have any other speakers to compare. So hopefully some with experience with the Pro100b can share his opinion with me. Thanks you guys for all the feedback provided. So far the consensus is to keep them and recap the crossovers.

 

[woofercooker]

Thanks for all the feedback.
How do you compare the 197b's with others speakers?

It's been a long time since I heard the 197b. I only had the Mach One and Jensen LS4b speakers to compare to. All of these speakers are sealed. I thought the Scotts sounded best overall. They are not too forward, plenty of bass, but not "boomy". The Machs were louder, but didn't go as low in frequency as the Scotts. Maybe someday I'll come across some 197b or Pro 100/Pro 100b and be able to compare them to my MCS and Optimus speakers. It would be a blast for me.

 

[ScottGuy]

Hi. Following the advice provided in this thread, I refurbished the crossovers of my Scott Pro 100b speakers. I changed everything except the coils. I bet on the speakers and invest like $300 on the crossovers. Jantzen silver z caps for the tweeters and Jantzen superior z caps for the mids. All resistors replaced with mills non inductive resistor. Internal wire replaced with #14 gauge oxygen free pure cooper. The sound improvement was dramatic to say the least. I dont remember hearing so much details and clarity from those speakers before. Very very happy with the investment. Thanks for the advice. Here is crossover schematic diagram for future references

 

[Nat]

This is long after the fact, but I was bemused by your considering something more modern than the Scotts, like the Klipsch Corwall. Isn't the Cornwall a 1960s design? If so, it is significantly older than the Scott. But age cannot wither, etc. when a speaker is good - look (actually listen) to an antique like the Altec 604.
Glad you like the Scotts. I had the Pro 70s for a while.

 

[lasstss]

[

Hi. Following the advice provided in this thread, I refurbished the crossovers of my Scott Pro 100b speakers. I changed everything except the coils. I bet on the speakers and invest like $300 on the crossovers. Jantzen silver z caps for the tweeters and Jantzen superior z caps for the mids. All resistors replaced with mills non inductive resistor. Internal wire replaced with #14 gauge oxygen free pure cooper. The sound improvement was dramatic to say the least. I dont remember hearing so much details and clarity from those speakers before. Very very happy with the investment. Thanks for the advice. Here is crossover schematic diagram for future references

Ok this is fairly old but
The schematic is helpful. I have a pair of Pro 100b's that I bought new. They are in very good condition. I had to get the cones replaces on the 15" drivers as they disappeared one day. I have some newer speakers, the quality is not in the same realm.

 

[goodolpg]

[

Ok this is fairly old but
The schematic is helpful. I have a pair of Pro 100b's that I bought new. They are in very good condition. I had to get the cones replaces on the 15" drivers as they disappeared one day. I have some newer speakers, the quality is not in the same realm.

Did you have them re CONED or reFOAMED?
Surrounds commonly disappear with age.
Cones don't. Not normally at least.

 

[lasstss]

No they were reconed. I thought at the time that it would be best. Not sure if I had the option. It was quite some time ago. The switched were broken and I replaced a few but wasnt sure if I got the wires right. Now I can check it.

 

[crispycircuit]

These are a great piece of audio history and are rare as hell... I never saw a pair in person and would love to hear a pair...Hook them up to a Scott LK-72 and be in love....

 

[coonmanx]

The Scott speakers that used the Philips tweeters were very good. I have a much smaller pair of Scott S166 speakers that I use in a living room system for playing CDs. They sound wonderful.