TheRed1
Console Conservationist
What are the odds? It's definitely Audio Karma - I just don't know what I did to deserve this. Some of you may remember this post from last year wherein I indicated my favorite Fisher console and just how good I thought it would look in my living room.
http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?p=3679090#post3679090
So last week I get a PM from Larry Derouin with a heads-up on a DC Craigslist posting in the antiques category titled: "Fisher Radio Furniture Piece". It's only 15 miles away. It appears to be a Fisher Contemporary. Looking closer I note the rectilinear EM84 tuning eye which signifies the stereo 1959 Contemporary II (C-810) with the R-30S chassis vs. the round 6E5 tuning eye of the R-20 chassis in the '57-58 Contemporary C-800.
Finally made it out there on Friday. Nice old split-level from the early '60s backing onto a golf course. Excellent Fisher territory. House had a 'For Sale' sign in the front yard with an 'Under Contract' pendant hanging underneath. There was a pest control car in the driveway. I got the lady's number from the exterminator and went to find a pay phone. (One of the very few times in my life that I wished I had a cell phone.) Amazingly I found a pay phone but I just got her machine. So I doubled back to the house and there was a mini-van out front that wasn't there before. She was running a little late and I was probably a few minutes early. I walked up to the van as a very petite woman got out and we introduced ourselves.
It developed that she was an estate agent selling the property for the heirs of the deceased owner(s). Most of the home's contents were slated to be donated to a charity organization. Fortunately they don't deal in old consoles. She said something about how the Fisher's looks led her to believe that it might have been a high-quality piece. So she listed it as an antique on Craigslist.
It was plugged in and she said she had tried it out and that the radio worked. She turned it on to show me and sure enough it crackled to life. Amazingly both dial lights worked! Actually, it works great! The controls need some cleaning but the radio, in typical Fisher fashion, pulled in even the weakest stations with outstanding mono clarity. Now the R-30S chassis, being a '59 model, doesn't have MPX, but it has a stereo pre-amp like the 610-ST. Already, my mind is chanting its new mantra: "Gotta find a 560! Gotta find a 560!" Then the petite woman says to me: "I think there's an extra speaker that goes with this radio in the basement - you'll take that, too, right?"
The basement location worried me for a second but it was a dry, finished walk-out basement. The matching mahogany 560 Stereo Companion turned out to be in even better shape than the C-810. Though, I don't know if the 30-A in it is in working order. But it probably is since it looks to be in excellent condition. I will need to borrow a variac from somebody to test it. As I was carrying it out to my car I heard something rattling inside and set it down to investigate. Inside I found 3 identical old-style (1960s-70s) gas caps with a black bull logo in the center (Torino?). Weird. But there were also 3 RCA 6BQ5 tubes in boxes - and they appear to be unused. Excellent! And there was also one deceased looking EZ81 floating around loose.
So I drove home with the 560 in the back seat of my car and borrowed my wife's SUV to retrieve the C-810 on Saturday. The lady said that she was starting to get some more responses to the Craigslist post and had told them that if I didn't come back for the C-810 that she would offer it to them.
But thanks to Larry, I believe I was the first one to respond to the ad which was already two days old at that point. Larry, you must be one thorough Craigslist searcher for things Fisher to have found that one. Do you wade through all the Fisher-Price listings, too? If so, I'm glad you do. I owe you big time now. What's your dream console so I can keep an eye out for you?
My wife likes the Contemporary II. In fact, I think she loves it. I certainly love her for tolerating my madness. But she has grown tired of the French Provincial Premiere - always claimed that it smelled funny. It's on its way out - of the living room, at least. I may even need to de-acquisition at some point, though I would hate to see it go.
The cabinet of the Contemporary is pretty scratched up with a few pretty good dings. I will need to refinish it before it goes on display. Fortunately the days are getting warmer and I am highly motivated to start our living room make-over. I need to start looking for a pipe. I don't smoke but I suppose I will have to start in order to become that guy in the Fisher catalog. I have some of my Dad's old, narrow ties from the 50s so I'm covered there. Might need to lose a few pounds, too - though the smoking should help there.
Oh, and now I need to start thinking about building that long, low record cabinet. That should be fun. I wonder if I can really build one so slender, without supports under the bottom and still expect it to hold 100s of records without warping under the weight.
A few photos of my new 1959 Contemporary II model C-810-M (R-30S chassis) and its Stereo Companion model 560-M (30-A chassis). The changer is a Garrard 121 Mk. II - I was hoping for 120 since I don't have that particular Garrard and the one in the ad looks like it. But you can't always go by the ads - or maybe it's not original.
http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?p=3679090#post3679090
So last week I get a PM from Larry Derouin with a heads-up on a DC Craigslist posting in the antiques category titled: "Fisher Radio Furniture Piece". It's only 15 miles away. It appears to be a Fisher Contemporary. Looking closer I note the rectilinear EM84 tuning eye which signifies the stereo 1959 Contemporary II (C-810) with the R-30S chassis vs. the round 6E5 tuning eye of the R-20 chassis in the '57-58 Contemporary C-800.
Finally made it out there on Friday. Nice old split-level from the early '60s backing onto a golf course. Excellent Fisher territory. House had a 'For Sale' sign in the front yard with an 'Under Contract' pendant hanging underneath. There was a pest control car in the driveway. I got the lady's number from the exterminator and went to find a pay phone. (One of the very few times in my life that I wished I had a cell phone.) Amazingly I found a pay phone but I just got her machine. So I doubled back to the house and there was a mini-van out front that wasn't there before. She was running a little late and I was probably a few minutes early. I walked up to the van as a very petite woman got out and we introduced ourselves.
It developed that she was an estate agent selling the property for the heirs of the deceased owner(s). Most of the home's contents were slated to be donated to a charity organization. Fortunately they don't deal in old consoles. She said something about how the Fisher's looks led her to believe that it might have been a high-quality piece. So she listed it as an antique on Craigslist.
It was plugged in and she said she had tried it out and that the radio worked. She turned it on to show me and sure enough it crackled to life. Amazingly both dial lights worked! Actually, it works great! The controls need some cleaning but the radio, in typical Fisher fashion, pulled in even the weakest stations with outstanding mono clarity. Now the R-30S chassis, being a '59 model, doesn't have MPX, but it has a stereo pre-amp like the 610-ST. Already, my mind is chanting its new mantra: "Gotta find a 560! Gotta find a 560!" Then the petite woman says to me: "I think there's an extra speaker that goes with this radio in the basement - you'll take that, too, right?"
The basement location worried me for a second but it was a dry, finished walk-out basement. The matching mahogany 560 Stereo Companion turned out to be in even better shape than the C-810. Though, I don't know if the 30-A in it is in working order. But it probably is since it looks to be in excellent condition. I will need to borrow a variac from somebody to test it. As I was carrying it out to my car I heard something rattling inside and set it down to investigate. Inside I found 3 identical old-style (1960s-70s) gas caps with a black bull logo in the center (Torino?). Weird. But there were also 3 RCA 6BQ5 tubes in boxes - and they appear to be unused. Excellent! And there was also one deceased looking EZ81 floating around loose.
So I drove home with the 560 in the back seat of my car and borrowed my wife's SUV to retrieve the C-810 on Saturday. The lady said that she was starting to get some more responses to the Craigslist post and had told them that if I didn't come back for the C-810 that she would offer it to them.
But thanks to Larry, I believe I was the first one to respond to the ad which was already two days old at that point. Larry, you must be one thorough Craigslist searcher for things Fisher to have found that one. Do you wade through all the Fisher-Price listings, too? If so, I'm glad you do. I owe you big time now. What's your dream console so I can keep an eye out for you?
My wife likes the Contemporary II. In fact, I think she loves it. I certainly love her for tolerating my madness. But she has grown tired of the French Provincial Premiere - always claimed that it smelled funny. It's on its way out - of the living room, at least. I may even need to de-acquisition at some point, though I would hate to see it go.
The cabinet of the Contemporary is pretty scratched up with a few pretty good dings. I will need to refinish it before it goes on display. Fortunately the days are getting warmer and I am highly motivated to start our living room make-over. I need to start looking for a pipe. I don't smoke but I suppose I will have to start in order to become that guy in the Fisher catalog. I have some of my Dad's old, narrow ties from the 50s so I'm covered there. Might need to lose a few pounds, too - though the smoking should help there.
Oh, and now I need to start thinking about building that long, low record cabinet. That should be fun. I wonder if I can really build one so slender, without supports under the bottom and still expect it to hold 100s of records without warping under the weight.
A few photos of my new 1959 Contemporary II model C-810-M (R-30S chassis) and its Stereo Companion model 560-M (30-A chassis). The changer is a Garrard 121 Mk. II - I was hoping for 120 since I don't have that particular Garrard and the one in the ad looks like it. But you can't always go by the ads - or maybe it's not original.
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