500-C...to buy or not to buy?

nickdinatale

nickdinatale

Active Member
Looking for some opinions from people who know tube gear better than I!

Found one for sale locally (by this I mean that I'll have to drive an hour and take a ferry), but it's for $400, paired with a pair AR 2a's. Seems like a good deal assuming everything checks out. I'd like to not buy the speakers and just purchase the receiver though. I've been looking to get into the tube game for quite a while, but nothing has really caught my eye at a price I can afford until now.

I'm currently running a Pioneer SX-828 through a pair of KLH Model Four's and AR 2ax's - would the 500-C be a good move? Or should I hold out for something else?
 
If you're looking for a tube receiver, the Fisher 500C is about as good as it gets. As for price, condition is everything. The condition of the four 7591 output tubes is pretty important too as they can be pricey to replace. Also realize, that after 50+ years, the 500C is not plug & play and will need some competent servicing to be safe & reliable. $400 for the receiver & speakers sounds pretty darn fair (especially if the Fisher has a wood case); if you can get the 500C by itself for $300 or less I think you will have done well.
 
If the 500C is cosmetically clean, anything inside can be redone. $400 is excellent. Take the speakers as well because they are as classic as the 500C and can be resold if you don't need them.
 
What he said. Thats a very good price on a very good package. The speakers will sell if you just hate them.
 
Seems like a winner unless something bad happened to the Fisher. If you look it over, the cosmetics look good and there are no obvious signs of electronic distress, go for it! DON'T plug it in to test it unless you know that it has been run very recently with no problems. Even if that's true, I wouldn't power it up.
 
You'll be into that receiver for about 1k by the time it is safely restored by a "better-than-competent" tech. Still, it's worth every penny. Once you hear what that gem can deliver through a pair of reasonably efficient speakers, you'll have to listen to all of your music anew. But, hey, don't be too troubled by the odd details that will come forward in recordings you think you know. The 500C is easily the finest tube receiver ever made, with an FM section others only wish they'd built.
 
Two months later and I can say I'm a proud owner of the 500C that I posted about. It involved a two hour car ride (each way), a trip on the Martha's Vineyard Ferry and back, a fun time carrying the receiver back on the Ferry and shuttle bus (in my arms & on my lap), and then plenty of work on it after the fact. I went with the Metalbone kit for a basic restoration, as well as cosmetic fixes such as new bulbs and the gold caps for the knobs. Right now I just have to decide what to do with the can caps, and which tubes to go with for replacements once I have the money available, but I'm enjoying it tremendously thus far.
 
Paid a much higher but fair price for mine as it recently had had some work done, had a flawless wood case, looked great, sounds wonderful, etc. Without exception the best $$ I ever spent on audio. Running ADS L710 off of the 4 ohm taps - sonic bliss indeed.
 
Dang you guys are getting me drooling. I've got a 500B waiting in the queue that needs a complete cleanup and refurb.
 
nickdinatale said:
Two months later and I can say I'm a proud owner of the 500C that I posted about. It involved a two hour car ride (each way), a trip on the Martha's Vineyard Ferry and back, a fun time carrying the receiver back on the Ferry and shuttle bus (in my arms & on my lap), and then plenty of work on it after the fact. I went with the Metalbone kit for a basic restoration, as well as cosmetic fixes such as new bulbs and the gold caps for the knobs. Right now I just have to decide what to do with the can caps, and which tubes to go with for replacements once I have the money available, but I'm enjoying it tremendously thus far.
Click to expand...

Congratulations! I too just acquired a 500C and am enjoying it to the max. Are you using it with your 2ax's? I have been rotating mine with same, plus Klipsch Cornwall's. Can't figure which combo I like better. They both offer different flavors.
 
sberger said:
Congratulations! I too just acquired a 500C and am enjoying it to the max. Are you using it with your 2ax's? I have been rotating mine with same, plus Klipsch Cornwall's. Can't figure which combo I like better. They both offer different flavors.
Click to expand...
I actually haven't hooked the Fisher up to my 2ax's yet! I've had my KLH Model Four set hooked up to it the whole time. I've definitely been meaning to though. I'm guessing the Cornwalls sound pretty nice on the Fisher though.
 
nickdinatale said:
I actually haven't hooked the Fisher up to my 2ax's yet! I've had my KLH Model Four set hooked up to it the whole time. I've definitely been meaning to though. I'm guessing the Cornwalls sound pretty nice on the Fisher though.
Click to expand...

I got my Dynaco MKIII's back from repair/restore purgatory last week, and have been using them as the main driver for both the Cornwalls, and 2ax's(mostly because it's been such a frustrating journey with them that now that they are seemingly all good and sounding very good, I can't bear to stick them on the shelf, and I don't want to sell them...yet), with the 500C's phono and tuner and aux input for streaming. The biggest difference between the the 500C and MKIII's is the channel separation, which is much more defined with the MKIII's, which, I suppose, would be expected. A little more power, but not really that big a deal, especially with the Cornwalls. Bottom line is that I could live with either as my only amp forever.

A picture in the evening with the MKIII's in back, a Decware CSP2 preamp in front, and the 500C below.

1110171653.jpg
 
Jim McShane for OUTPUT Tubes. New stock, you have a choice of EH7591's or Tung-Sol 7591 Re-Issues. I'd recommend the Tung-Sols mainly for the size as they match the originals for size. Otherwise the differences in performance between them in minimal. See Dave G.'s and Steve Lafferty's treatise on 7591 tubes performance pitting NEW old stock (Dave purchased these new back when they were being made and used them 1st time for the testing) against the NEW Stock tubes (including JJ's which did poorly). http://www.tronola.com/html/7591a_tubes.html Also this article by Dave will clear up why most all of us modify the output sections of the 400/500/800 receivers so they operate correctly and safely. http://www.tronola.com/html/maximize_tube_life.html
 
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