Finally a Fisher Tube!

This seems to be a nice clean amp. Walnut case is getting re-finished. I pulled the tubes, Deoxed the pins and sockets. I've cleaned the unit pretty extensively.
Running a cheap Sony Cd through my test speakers (lil klh's) it really sounds nice. This is the Fisher X-101-ST. I'm hoping this will be an upgrade to my Bogen AP-30, which is sounding very nice these days. I've always wanted an old Fisher, and this came in at '59 I believe. I still have not tested all inputs, but I have a Knight tubed reel 2 reel and pre, a nice Lafayette Tube Tuner, Knight MPX unit, a worthy CD player, and several TT's to choose from. All working nicely with the Bogen.
So, I'll be getting this serviced before I go all out with this old beauty. I'm hoping to keep the current sound as original as possible. I'm wondering which caps/etc. must be replaced for safe operation. The large old orange cap seemed a bit sweaty...I know that's a must. The big cans? Mandatory Transistors? It still has the Fisher Funkin' tubes in the Phono stage. I'm thinking the mismatched output tubes are looking weak.
I'd love to hear all input on this baby!
Thanks in advance!
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Very pretty unit. I’ll be interested to follow any journey you may take. What did you mean by transistors?
 
Fisher's first integrated stereo amplifier. Earliest version with ganged tone controls. This one actually follows the Sam's schematic for it (for the most part), where as later versions deviated significantly from it, with Sam's never providing an updated schematic for the later versions . Lots of early stereo standards hadn't been sorted out at the time of manufacture, so there's no Tape Monitor switch, but provisions to monitor one channel were made through the use of a special monitor interconnect cable that could be plugged (or not) into the single, special Monitor jack offered. The monitor cable was special in that it had a long pin RCA plug on one end, so that when inserted into the special monitor jack on The Fisher, the internal signal path was automatically broken, and the monitor signal inserted in its place. Surely a cumbersome way to monitor a 3 head mono recording deck, but it must be remembered that stereo recording decks didn't even exist at that time, and 3 Head mono decks were so rare as to be virtually non-existent at the time as well. So even in this primitive state, the monitoring feature of the X-101ST was ahead of its time. LP and 78 EQ only appears as a single input in the left channel, with RIAA 1 and RIAA 2 having different input impedances to accommodate the wide variety of non-standardized magnetic cartridges of the day. No doubt it's a great sounding unit. But besides its restoration (and depending on your use plans), you'll have to familiarize yourself with its early stereo features to gain maximum enjoyment from it.

Good luck with it!

Dave
 
Thanks Tim, Hopefully we will remain storm free this year neighbor! I'm refinishing the walnut case now, that really ups the ante in the looks dept.!
The brass faceplate has some really light scratches in the clearcoat. I'm wondering if anyone here has experiences shooting another coat of lacquer or reducer on that to remove those?
Dave, Very nice info you have there! I do have the Knight R 2 R and KP-70 pre, I'm planning on using it for tape playback only. I have a nice Sui R 2 R for recording new albums, I love playing on the Tube system. Funny, I have some small Microphones that came with the deck. I'm thinking they are crystal? can't find at the moment. I'll have to have a look around for that cable tho. I'm hoping the RIAA 2 will work ok for stereo turntable playback with my modern MM carts. That's kind of worrying me as past threads on this unit I've seen seemed to indicate some lacking sound with a turntable.
I'm also wondering if anyone has paired this unit with a moving coil Cart, and a SUT.
I'm planning on using this unit for playback of R 2 R, CD, Turntable, and FM with MPX. I have some nice Jensen Stereo Directors, I'm currently restoring. The cabinets have my attention at the moment. Yes, it did amaze me on testing with the cheap speakers, I'm refraining from hooking it up in the system before servicing. That big Orange cap seemed a bit sweaty!
 
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