Fisher 400, 500, 800 tube receivers--Got some questions, help please!

Just when I thought I was out, you're pulling me back in!

I am eyeing an 800 on ebay right now that is fully restored. The bidding is at $400. There's also one on ebay that needs lots of work, and is at $125. I wonder which would be cheaper in the long run?

A lot of this depends on how much I can get for my Marantz, too. As a lowly public school teacher, I don't have the cash to own both. Gotta sell one to pay for the other.

 

I've heard the 500 and 400. The 500 sounded better than the 400 to me with the X200/KX200 sounding better
than either of them. The 800 sure is a nice looker.

 

IMO it would be easier ( and possibly cheaper ) buy a fully restored one

I got a great deal on mine as it was a bit of a mess, but it is now up & running after finding a good tech

it sounds fantastic by the way

I also use an old marantz SS as a daily player that is on nearly 24/7, it's a tank

I use the 400 for non-generic/background listening

 

I would get a fully restored one done right.

 

action pact covered it pretty well.

It's just like buying a 1965 Mustang that had been sitting in a garage for 25 years. You'd really just need a good mechanic to check it out, before you'd feel comfortable to go blasting down the Turnpike at 70mph.

 

Agreed. At least you'll know what you're getting.

 

I would also vote to buy a Fisher that has been professionally restored, instead of buying an unrestored one. However, my advice is to carefully consider how much restoration was done to the receiver before purchasing. Ask questions of the seller and carefully weigh the responses you receive. A lot of sellers will advertise their receivers as having been "professionally serviced." Many times this means they took it to a technician who did the minimal effort to get the unit working again. They may have replaced an obviously-bad capacitor, resistor, or tube...but they may not have fully restored the unit for long term use. Some of the ticking "time bombs" (like the selenium rectifier) may still be in place. Sure, those components might continue to work for a while longer, but they will eventually fail...sometimes with catastophic results. So be sure to ask for a list of what was restored or replaced. At a minimum, the selenium rectifer should be replaced along with the electrolytic capacitors. Different restorers have different philosophies about how many other capacitors should be replaced. Some will keep many of the old capacitors in place as long as they are working within specifications. Others will opt to replace most of them, to ensure the receiver has a long life ahead of it, with minimal effort needed for maintenance. Some will argue that replacing most of the capacitors will also impact the sound of the unit (reducing the "vintage" character of the sound). Others will argue that a full restoration will get the amplifier to sound as close as possible to the day it left the factory...and that the "vintage" sound is actually the result of several out-of-spec components degrading the sound.

Also note that the tubes that come with the unit will also help determine the value. A Fisher loaded with original vintage tubes in excellent condition will be worth more than a Fisher filled with modern Russian tubes.

Another option instead of buying a Fisher 400/500/800 receiver is to look at the Fisher X-100, X-101, X-202 integrated amplifiers...especially since you only plan on using this unit for vinyl. There is less circuitry to these units (since there is no AM/FM receiver) and they can sometimes be found more cheaply and are easier to restore.

 

Besides my Fisher 500C I own a Fisher X-100-C integrated amp that I use in a dedicated mono system. I think it puts out a whopping 22 wpc but that's plenty for my needs for that system. Great little unit.

 

Same here. Love my 400 but also own the X-100-C. Plus having both of them means that I can go from the 400's 7868 outputs to the 100-C's 7591's. Best of both worlds. I even have a Fisher tube tuner when I'm opting just for the integrated.

Agree with everything that has been said on restoration. Either get the unit restored but from somebody that you know is reputable is doing a complete restoration, and will be available if something goes wrong. There are some great folks out there who do this, and paying more up front will make the purchase that much more enjoyable for you down the road.

400






X-101-C

 

Similar story here...I run both a Fisher 400 and a Fisher X-100 (the "A" model). My listening room is pretty small, so there is plenty of power to generate enough sound from my speakers.

 

@sberger Jealous...very jealous.

 

Yup, me too. My room is 9 x 12, and the Fisher's 28 WPC into my 85dB efficient KEF LS50's is A-OK.

 

Thanks. The 400 I got shortly after our Host started the thread a few years back on Fisher's. Found it perfectly restored on the auction site. Back then they were still flying a bit under the radar so it was less than what you typically see them for now, but you can still find them restored for $1000 or less, and to me that's still a very nice deal seeing that they also make a good investment. I also picked up a 500C that I liked, but not as much as the 400. When it came time to trade one of them for a pair of Klipsch Cornwalls the 500C was the choice.

The X-101-C I got from an Audiokarma forum member with the handle sony6060 who does Fisher restorations. You can do a search for his posts over there as he has written some very interesting things regarding tube rolling. He also is a good person to perhaps contact to see if he might have anything for sale.

 

Good advice on the Fishers.

Slightly OT:
Trashman- is your X-100 the one with 7189 outputs + 12Dw7's. I have one & it's a sweetie. All 17wPC!

 

Yeah, I have the early X-100 with the 7189 (EL84) output tubes, along with two 12DW7 and four 12AX7 preamp tubes. It's also tube rectified, which is nice too. If I had to choose between keeping my 400 or my 100, I might have to pick the 100 (but it would be a tough pick, no doubt).

 

Fisher expert 'audiodon' (on Audio Karma), who services my 400 for me, answers the question "Which Fisher is best?" this way:

"Whichever model I'm listening to at the moment is my favorite."

 

I am in the same boat.
Lucky enough to keep both.

 

http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=589486

No affiliation with the seller.

 

@sberger Can't access the page

 

Oh sorry there's a subscription fee of $25 to be able to use AK's Barter Town. Well worth it.

Anyway, there's a restored Fisher 400 up for sale. Looks nice.

 

Not necessarily. I have used a pair of ADS L420 speakers driven by a Fisher 400 receiver. Very nice combo and can play without distortion at surprisingly high levels. The L420 is a 6inch 2 way (dome tweeter) in an acoustic suspension cabinet.

 

To the original question-

Fisher 500s receiver was Fisher's 1st stereo AM-FM receiver. 6bq5 output tubes and 5ar4 rectified. However AM and FM were mono only and required the use an MPX decorder for FM stereo.
Fisher 600 receiver. Upgraded version of the 500s
Fisher 500b/800 receiver. First to use 7591 output tubes and SS rectified. 500b and 800 both had onboard FM MPX stereo decoders. 800 was AM-FM 500b was FM only
Fisher 500c early. Upgraded 500b with better output transformers and different cosmetics. Used the Fisher Golden Cascode FM section
Fisher 500c late. Same as above, but used 6cw4 Nuvisters in the FM section rather than the Golden Cascode Design. Some believe the earlier 500c sounds better.
Fisher 800c is the same as the early 500c with the addition of AM.
Fisher 400 simplified version of the 500c, with the Golden Cascode FM section, less complex preamp section and the amp uses 7868 tubes rather than 7591. Smaller transformers than the 500c.

IMHO purchaseing a carefully restored 500c will be cheaper than buying one in as-is condition and then haveing it restored by someone else.

 

Most of the time the restored Fisher is cheaper, but sometimes people get lucky. I did. My 800-C cost me $5. I have $200 more in it. A cheap score.

 

Well, duh, but that kind of deal rarely happens nowadays.

 

Doesn't happen except rarely. Estate sale netted me that score.