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

Here's an (awful) snapshot of my 500-TX. Late night and fluorescent lighting do not make good photos... Not quite as ugly as the solid state 400 Steve posted IMO, but still pretty bad. The Tune-O-Matic just kills it. It looks better in person, though. The walnut cabinet is lovely.

 

I've had the misfortune to hear some early transisorized amplifiers (Sansui, Dynaco) and was amazed at the awful sound. It seems it took a while before SS sounded good - you could argue there is an analogy with the progression of digital sound.

I rarely see people seeking out and paying lots for vintage solid state amps, or early CD players, for their sound anyway!

 

The better tube HF gear is much in demand and there are still some diehards that build tube homebrew transmitters and linear amplifiers. The dynamic range of the tube front ends is better than the common solid state equipment today and there are no PLLs, hence no phase noise.

 

I loved my Fisher 500B! I remember I put on one of Ray's DCC aluminum Greatest Hits discs through that thing and both my brother and my dad stood there with their chins on their chests! Neither one of them are audiophiles in the least, but they were astounded at how real Ray's voice sounded to them. My brother offered to buy the Fisher from me on the spot! I hadn't had it long so I declined. A couple of years later, after constant nagging from him, I finally gave him a great deal on it. I already have a McIntosh MC240/MX-110 system which I absolutely prefer, but that was a fun little piece that did some pretty amazing tricks with voices.

Here's a photo of my, or rather, now my brother's 500B:

 

Roughly speaking, how long can one leave his/her hi-fi powered off before this becomes a concern? I often go weeks and even months without listening due to a variety of circumstances. Thank you.

 

Personally I wouldn't worry about weeks or even a few months as long as the amplifier is stored in a dry place. However old electrolytics can become unstable at any time, it's just the nature of the beast. Eventually they will go bad. The paste inside the electrolytic stages drys out with age.

Sadly, a lot of old tube equipment gets stored in a damp basement or garage etc., where moisture might collect in the transformer windings. One of the best things about exercising tube equipment regularily, is that it keeps the transformers free from this type of abuse. For me, I can't think of anything worse than losing an output transformer.

 

Oh, I bet you could if you really tried.

Good thread Steve, thanks for the info.

 

Nice thread!

The 400 I have now was on the curb waiting for the trashman. It was in one of those large console units. I came back with a screwdriver and carefully took it out.
After having it professionally rebuild for about 300-325 which was two-three years ago, I feel like I've got a true piece of vintage audio. BTW, it can hang with my wooaudio wa3 headamp (which is a point to point tube unit - Bendix 6080WB/Amprex6922)

 

Sure do, unfortunately I've never posted a pic so I'll read up on how to do that and then post some.

 

In context, I can't. But then I do all my own electronic work, so there is no labor expense.

 

That's a wonderful payoff, isn't it? I've had quite a few of those experiences over the years since I got my 800-C, but now that I have my Large Advents hooked up to it, I need to bring all of those people back to hear it again!

 

Ask around, you can get this stuff given to you. I have a Scott 222C, a Harmon Kardon A500 and a Fisher tube tuner that were all free. It's all still out there. The A500 is a great headphone amp. I rescued it from a trash heap.

 

Excellent thread Thanks for this 411 Steve!

- Sushimaster

 

+1
Makes me want to brush up on my very rusty EE skills and bust out the old soldering iron , although it was all SS transistor theory by the time I started college.

 

Years ago I would call up those stand alone TV repair stores asking if they had any old vacuum tubes lying around. One particular call, a woman answered the phone and I asked the usual question. Her response, we repair VCR's and TV's....we don't sell any vacuum cleaner parts!!

 

my 30A monoblocks are some of the most beautiful amps I've ever heard. I think Steve might have just resurrected the Fisher brand as a collector's item.

 

All this talk has me wondering would one of these Fishers power my Tetra 305's with 88 db sensitivity, with a long run of speaker cable 15-20 feet ?

 

Of course, but you probably won't shake the rafters. I have a 35 wpc tube amp that powers 87 dB speakers just fine and gets loud, but not stadium loud.

 

As long as you're using thick (12 or thicker) gauge speaker wire, 15-20 ft is no problem.

 

Results...

Has anyone won any of the Fishers ???? Or has anyone bid on any listed ?
I see some still available any would like to bid but ... if someone here is trying I will not bid against them.