Console with dual mono amps?

Mazlem

Well-Known Member
I was at a guys house recently an saw a Fisher console. Didn't have time to open it up an he couldn't remember the model, but I checked the sticky here an it looked a lot like a modern Electra III or maybe a modern Philharmonic. Hopefully he'll get back to me in the next week or so with the model# an pics. The thing I'm wondering is, he said it had dual mono amps; did any consoles come with those?
 
Dual mono is worth it even if it's Solid State. I dunno about the console ? It was HiFi to have dual mono, for sure. It might also be a amp for the bass ?
 
garww it's definitely tubed or this guy wouldn't be interested. He mentioned wanting to take the amps out but I'm hoping to reach an agreement for them to stay in.

Perchdog, the basic styling is like the Premiere provincial; single-piece cloth for each speaker section with the Fisher logo on the top-right, and a fairly basic wooden middle section, with the top opening up. Unless I'm mis-remembering, the feet are like the Electra III and Philharmonic I.
 
The dual mono amp with separate pre-amp configuration is fairly rare in Fisher consoles. The '58 President is the only one I can think of off the top of my head though I feel there must have been at least one other model. What you do see a fair amount of in Fisher consoles is the combination of tuner, stereo pre-amp and a mono power-amp on one chassis and a stand-alone mono power-amp for the second channel. The 1960 Custom Electra III you mention fits that description (I have both those chassis in my basement awaiting restoration - the 610-ST and the 30-A - my Sister-in-law has the cabinet - they will be reunited eventually). I have heard this un-restored console in operation and I was very impressed.

I believe this configuration was developed as a stepping stone toward stereo. You'd buy a single-box consolette with a stereo pre-amp to obsolescence-proof your purchase in case that nutty stereo fad turns out to be the future . . . in which case you'd run down to your local Fisher Salon and pick up the matching auxiliary speaker with its own mono power amp. Plug and play without the embarrassment of having to drag a perfectly good, low mileage console to the curb while your neighbors look on and laugh.

Oddly, there are a few non-consolette consoles, like the 1960 Custom Electra III, with this chassis configuration and I figure it must have been a stop-gap measure until Fisher completely committed to a stereophonic future. One odd aspect of the 610-ST is its solitary 2.5 ohm speaker connection. I still don't know what to make of that. Works just fine with the console speakers, though.

Now if you can find a matching pair of orphan auxiliary speakers with the excellent 30-A mono power-amps to hook up to something like one of the 400 series pre-amps - that would be really interesting.

Incidentally, all Philharmonics had all-in-one chassis so it's probably not that model.
 
Apparently I can forget it; he's set on keeping the amps for himself, and the cabinet will likely go to a friend of his who's been eying it for a couple years.
 
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