One-Offs: H.H. Scott Art Statements. The Type 3900 and R44S Receivers One area of interest to a forensic audion archivist is the placement of thought pieces within a broader line of manufactured items. Often touted as the best where only the best will do, many thought pieces remain that: concepts that make it to production here and there, mostly to satisfy the desire of a select group of employees to build something unique and special (to themselves at the least). Promised in 1969, the 3900 certainly qualified as an audio product for the discriminating individual. It employed the 12 filter i.f. stage that later found its way into the 433 and by 1974, in all of Scott's premier line of receivers. Aside from stellar tuner specifications (1.7 uv with 30 dB of quieting - still superior performance 30 years ex post facto), 20,000 uf of storage in the power supply for a sixty-five watt complementary circuit (or just about the right amount by today's standards), and a final kick at the can for Scott's Dynaural circuit, there's not much to say, but that the power stage made its way into the 387, and that the phono circuit and assembly is straight out of the 386. The 3900 was the last receiver from Scott to provide the kind of balance mode functionality that was first introduced in the Type 130 pre amplifier and the Type 299 integrated amplifier. The top line receivers, the 348-388 and the 348B-388B offered mode switching as did the 260 series of integrated amplifiers and post-USA Scotts like the A436.   The 3900's only other claim to fame are its dual meters that are multipurpose. One meter gives the wealthy listener a visual indication of audio balance. I inherited a meter of this type, and find it to be an inferior method to measure stereo difference. I find that the conventional arrangement provides the best result, particularly if you are able to see the meters in 3d. Should you be able to, balance information is indicated by the skew and the height of the meter needle(s), the needles which of course, continue to be seen and interpreted by the brain as one meter. Skew corresponds to channel, and the degree and direction of the rise indicates the channel with greater amplitude. Practiced viewers can distinguish which portion of the frequency range is increasing in amplitude. Sum up... The Type 3900 Receiver is... It is hard to say much about a receiver that probably didn't exist. It has the appearance of a 386, with a better tuner and more power. It seems likely that the amplifier boards are identical to those in the 386. Extra capacity and higher voltage, nice fittings. Etc. My guess is that there are a few working models out there. When one comes up on the eBay, it will end up commanding $30.00 at the most. Almost a one of a kind. The Type R44S Receiver The R44S was promised as a production unit to be expected from Scott by 1980. Its beauty shot filled the pages of French audio magazines back in 1977, and I was intrigued. Here was a tuner that used a keypunch to select stations, with a large LED display for a readout. Very 433ish I thought. (I wanted a 433 as early as 1971. An ad for it appeared on the inside front cover of Audio Magazine's August '71 issue). The electronics complement is similar to the Alpha pre amplifier that Scott sold at that time. It's hard to guess whether the tuner employs a tuning capacitor, or is a variation of the T33S's digital frequency synthesis. The latter is possible, since keypad entry modules were becoming commonplace, and adapting one to the T33S wouldn't be difficult. However, the digital tuning capacitor used in the 433 and the T33S is dimensionally inconvenient for a receiver that, like all other conventional chassis receivers (and the R44S certainly looks like one), requires a certain amount of real estate, notably the driver and output circuits, the preamplifier that is required for gramophone and tuner pre amplification, plus the requisite tuner circuits that any high end instrument will provide. On the other hand... A tuning capacitor of very high quality may be employed. Indeed, if AM is provided as seems likely, an analog front end would be rigeur. Or, perhaps Scott designed a digital circuit for AM, and if so, most certainly designed a new circuit for FM. Toss-up... The Type R44S Toss-up because there are usually two choices at every decision turn. Toss up as to whether the R44S was a cosmetic job, and little more. It looks cool. I suppose the place to look for working models would be Woburn, Mass., or Belgium. Perhaps the mockup awaits circuits. If I come across one of these mystical Scotts, I'll revise this article. I'll give you some facts. ed.