HH Scott 299 "A" and Headphones

L

Love Command

New Member
Hi all!

I've been having the urge to add a decent headphone setup to my system for my late-night listening pleasure. Problem is there is not a dedicated headphone out with my receiver and no recommendations in the user manual.

However, there is a "Recorder Out" RCA connection. I figure this is my best bet. However, I haven't found anywhere if this is a line level output or something else (forgive my ignorance).

My question is if anyone here has added headphones to their 299A or if anyone can help me figure out if it's doable. Will I need a headphone amp for this?

In the mean time, I'll start cruising the forums for budget-ish headphone and amp recommendations.

Thanks!
 
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To what extent do you want to add headphones? To adding a permanent jack mounted in the amplifier by <gasp> drilling a hole? I wouldn't want to do that to my 299.

But, how about just an external jack attached to the speaker outputs that could be removed at any time? I could warm up to that. :yes:
 
Love Command said:
Hi all!

I've been having the urge to add a decent headphone setup to my system for my late-night listening pleasure. Problem is there is not a dedicated headphone out with my receiver and no recommendations in the user manual.

However, there is a "Recorder Out" RCA connection. I figure this is my best bet. However, I haven't found anywhere if this is a line level output or something else (forgive my ignorance).

My question is if anyone here has added headphones to their 299A or if anyone can help me figure out if it's doable. Will I need a headphone amp for this?

In the mean time, I'll start cruising the forums for budget-ish headphone and amp recommendations.

Thanks!
Click to expand...

I added adaptors to the back of my 299A so I can plug speakers in with banana jacks. I have a headphone cable that also terminates in banana jacks. When I use headphones, I just unplug the speaks and plug in the headphone adapter.
 
I just run HPs off the speaker connections. The HPs I use like this like a lot of power, so no dropping resistor is used when I wire up the female HP plug.
 
The tape outs are just the raw signal of what source you have chosen on the input selector switch so they will not work for headphones. To use head phones with the 299 you will need to do some creative modifying. I suggest something creative like mentioned by Dadbar rather then drilling value killing holes..it could even be done with a switch box.
 
If you get a this jack from Parts Express, it is easy to wire up.

http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=092-134

There are three tabs on it to solder speaker wires to that can then be connected to your lower power tube amp.

Tip tab = left channel

Ring tab = right channel

Sleeve tab = common ground (both of the negative wires from your amp will be connected to this tab

If your amp needs to be attenuanted via the speaker outs because your HPs are too sensitive for its power output, you can build this kind of adapter.

http://sound.westhost.com/project100.htm
 
In my case, I've built an external box following the schematic found for my Fisher X-100-2. ( http://fisherx100a.files.wordpress.com/2008/11/fisherx100ax1003.pdf )

A switch connect a 60 ohms 5w resistor between common and positive to disable the speakers. I used bigger wattage though, 47ohms@25w. The headphones are routed through an additionnal 180 or 220 ohms resistor (I don't remember the exact value I've put for the correct listening level!).

The only drawback is that the headphone out is always on (exactly like it is on my Fisher).

I've built two of these boxes, one is used with my HF-81 and the other with an Heathkit AA-100.

I even added the circuit internally on two of my "cheap amps": a Sparton 6BQ5 SE and a Fleetwood console pull (6AQ5).

I guess that if Fisher did it this way, it was ok circuit-wise.
 
There is no real drawback to the signal being always on at the headphone jack as long as the headphones are not inserted and the speaker switch is in the on posistion those parts are just hanging there doing nothing... the 60 ohm resistors actually loads the output section more appropriately when shutting off the load from the speakers and also attentuates the signal to the phones in a flick of the switch. Scott did it in a similar manor of the later models that had headphone jacks with speaker on/off switches. Prestty simply external box to build that will do the job real well.
 
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