FISHER all-tube receivers from 1961-66 are cheap and sound wonderful!

seller has a case for additional cost, i may msg them about the tubes the only ones i can make out are the rear tubes and they all say fisher on the glass
ad says "us made " tubes

 

Those rear ones are the 7868 output tubes, and if they test strong, that is great. They are not easy to find. New production ones are good, but like the 7591's they can't beat the originals. My 100-B doesn't have vintage output's, but it still sounds amazing.

 

Congrats on the 800C. I have a 500b and it's my favorite piece of equipment. The original GE 7591 tubes are great, but if they blow the Russian made ones are widely available and sound quite nice. I bought a quad a year ago or so for about $100.

 

I don't know about the X-100B, but the original X-100 has about 12-14wpc. I am able to drive speakers that are 85-87dB efficient in a small room with it, and it sounds great.

I sold my 400 after getting the X-100, so you can see which one I prefer!

 

great to hear, i'm in a small room and the kef are upper 80s DB if i recall.

think ill msg them bout the cover and the tubes being vintage, right now im running a vintage yamaha amp but i crave that deeper tube sound.

 

I see you have a Yamaha CA-810.

I used to have a recapped CR-1020, which was very nice... but Fisher tubes will stomp all over a Yamaha in terms of tone, imaging, nuance, etc.

 

Yes it’s developed a hum which means it needs service so what better time to buy a new toy

Plus I’m sure the phono stage will be a huge Improvemt , though the 810 is nice because it has adjustable phono stage with 2 mm and 1 mc

 

I'm not sure it will be a "huge improvement", but it will be different, and very nice. And as I indicated above, you can roll the phono tubes to help dial in the sound you're looking for.

 

I use a step up transformer between my turntable and the phone stage of my Fisher. I'm using a mc cartridge so I needed a step up. It sounds great! When I switch to an mm cart I'll go straight to the Fisher.

 

Heard back it’s a mix of new, used and nos American made tubes from sylvania , fender, bogen
The pictures look nice, fully serviced and recapped...the price based on eBay sales does seem a bit on the high side though at 600 and no metal case I’m thinking low 500s is a lil more fair and keeps me out of trouble with the wife hah

 

Anyone know where I can get the spade to banana plug connectors seen in this listing? Anyone have experience with them?

FISHER X-100B integrated tube amplifier Original X100 X 100 | eBay

 

https://www.amazon.com/CESS-Speaker...&sr=8-5&keywords=fork+terminal+spade+speakers

 

Tubes sound good.

The price is a bit high, but given that it's a local sale you save on shipping, and you don't run the very real risk of damage during shipping. See if you can get a listening test, bring your favorite cd. Bring $600 in cash, but see if you can haggle him down to $550 or so.(assuming you want it). Vintage Fisher pieces like the X100-B don't diminish in value, particularly if they've been properly restored. And if it has, other then the occasional tube swap/replace, you should be good to go for many years. Definitely get a list of what updates he did, and if he did any updates/mods, get a schematic of his work. You'll thank me in the future for this.

Good luck.

 

thanks. and you answered my worry about maintenance required over time, if its just tube swaps i can manage that
he did offer me to come over listed and test out all the tubes, listing went to OBO so i'd wager i can get it 550 and get that back later selling if i dont want it / use it

 

I mean anything can happen with gear this old, so don't hold me to it, but generally my experience with my own stuff, and people that I know, is this stuff is pretty low maintenance once updated correctly. That last part, of course, is the big variable. Which is why you want to get a schematic from him, if possible, for the work he did. In the event something goes wrong, and you can't bring it back to him(and you should ask him about that) and you have to bring it to a local tech(or ship it somewhere) and he did some updates that are, er, creative, the tech will be able to decipher what's going on and fix it. This happens more with kits, like the Dynaco stuff, when people tend to modify the original to upgrade it. But it can happen on any of this gear so better to have all the information at your fingertips. Really try to get in writing what he did for the restoration.

Other things to look for include are the knobs original? Are they working freely without any static/noise. Is the balance between channels accurate, particularly at lower volumes? Vintage Fisher's are notorious for issues related to the on/off knob, which also controls volume. They get worn out and consequently once channel will play louder then the other at low volumes and won't even out until the gain reaches a certain level. Not a big deal for most...just adjust the balance. But you should be aware before you buy. Check the tone controls, check the phono(if he has a turntable) for hum, check the other inputs for hum. Ask him what he set bias for on the output tubes(should be 44V according to the manual).

Anyway, that's a few things to kick the tires. If everything checks out, grab it. Really fun amp.

 

Sweet. Thanks. These are the correct size for Fishers correct? I once bought some spades that were waaaaay to big to connect on the Fisher.

 

That's the same ones I use on my X-100. I think I bought them direct from China, for just pennies; hunt around on eBay too.

 

I used to use them, not just prefer bare wire. I'm careful with it so as not to cause any shorts, but I feel that I get a better connection. Of course, if you use 12 gauge or lower, that's not possible. I'm a 14 gauge man myself.

 

12 here. One of the first noticeable differences I ever noticed in terms of gear was changing the gauge of cables.

 

Can anyone who has ever sent their unit in to be spruced up send me a PM. I have a question about the process. Not the refurbishing itself, but the actual process of sending it in, etc. Thanks.

 

Regarding the on/off volume knob. As sberger points out these tend to fail over time. Not just on Fisher units but also on some McIntosh receivers like my Mac 1700. I turn both on and off by using a very inexpensive switch purchased at Home Depot.

I agreed...if everything checks out....go for it!

 

Al Pugliese " The Fisher Doctor" has a perfect solution to the on/off volume switch repair. Used it on my 500B.

 

I was actually researching the x-100b yesterday. The difference in that and the x-100 is that it’s not tube rectified and is 24wpc. It also has a headphone jack, I’m not sure if the 100 does.

Its not real easy to find good specs on the 100b.

 

The X100 does not have a headphone jack. It's a sweet amp though. Looking forward to owning one soon myself.

This is a pretty good analysis on the X100-B run by Analog Engineering Associates, a restoration shop here on the West Coast.

http://aeaaudio.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Fisher-X-100-B-PR3.pdf

 

That's exactly what I found yesterday. Hi-fi engine had next to no information.

I would be more interested in the 100 myself just for the tube rectification.