Fisher a rich man's toy now?

If that receiver is restored properly and completely, there is no reason to have to address too many issues in the future. Now, any receiver is complex by nature, so when I tell you my simple mono amps have run almost daily since the early ninetys, that may be slightly misleading. I also use a 400c preamp that is going over a decade since total restoration. I think that tech is simply wrong and possibly prejudice against Fisher. He would probably tell you Marantz or Mcintosh are a safer bet. Having said all that, a bad output transformer is an issue to consider. They are the heart and soul of the component and something non original you replace it with may not deliver the glorious Fisher sound.
 
Hell. For what RSSteve has spent on FISHER Gear and restoration / modification of same in the last year, I could probably purchase this 1966 El Camino and maybe have a couple bucks left over. :jump: http://www.brownsperformancemotorca...altimore-c8a0c9c80a0e08be2fe3ee127b39633c.htm

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Latty,if I could ever bear to part with anything,maybe I could afford one of these:beerchug:

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Rich man's toys?

Rich man's toys start in the 6 figure region.

Good used rebuilt vintage tube gear budget should be up to $1000, if not more.
Unrestored desirable units tend to be $250-$500.
A pile of parts and tubes around $200-$300
A weeks labor to do the work $200-$500

Look up NEW tube gear prices.

I like this approach!

I justify sinking dough into an old tube piece like this:

*What would it cost to manufacture today? - The materials, and methods of manufacturing of the 50s and 60s are antiquated because they cost so much. I respect milled aluminum, point2point wiring, screen printed glass, hand tied knots on the tuning string, hand assembled, and local (American) craftsmanship and design far too much to undervalue it.

*How much does a new piece cost that is actually comparable? -If you spend the time to shop around, there are a lot of brand new tube amps that would require less attention. These pieces are fantastic, but do not have the panache of vintage equipment. When I see a 2016 Camaro on the road, I think "sure that's the easy way", a real enthusiast has the real thing, and sweat and scars to prove it.

* If I don't restore it or have it restored, I am committing an injustice to the audio world? - I owe it to the world and those who come after me to restore, maintain, sustain, and perpetuate these works of art. Celebrate the Craftsmanship of yesteryear, not the increasing profit margins of most of today's manufactures! These pieces harken from a time when Product Design and Reliability was put before process ease and corporate initiatives of "profit at all cost". (Marantz 10b)

I understand your techs perspective , but I choose to try to look at it from 10,000 feet above.
Then I justify spending 2-3x what I can ever expect to sell for. The ROI is paid in passion and pleasure, a far more valuable commodity than greenbacks!
 
My humble opinion and experience is if you really get a good tech to work on a vintage piece it will outlast most modern gear for the same value.
I find that the workmanship in the days gone was not driven by bean counters but more by the skilled people who was in general far prouder of their name on a product then today....
when you find similar kind of workmanship today (and you do ), but trust me you are going to cough up dollars and pounds ....

So I normally look at the total cost of ownership to get it done properly and look at function( is it actually good at playing back recorded music or just old ) then I look at form ....
in the end I always do it to it to keep , never to sell and turn a profit....
But again also consider how are you actually going to sell modern gear and turn a profit ? My experience is depreciation is far greater then n something modern and new... do to me that is a rather moot point...
I think you stand a better chance with vintage gear as the price is determined as low/high as someone who is actually looking for a piece that is rare etc...

Lastly some vintage masterpieces out there are real sleepers and when brought alive one has to ask wether or not we have progressed a bit backwards or just sideways over the last 50 years in audio...
 
RUN, don't walk away from this "tech". Anybody getting paid to work on something like this and tells the customer it was basically garbage 50 years ago but I'll do my best to "un Fisher" it has zero respect for you, the product or his own work. I was burned by one with a similar attitude...

Dave worked on mine and the transformation is amazing. Not only does it sing but I'm no longer afraid it'll burn down the house.
 
Totsuka: You’ve received a lot of great input from AK’ers. I’ll add my 2 cents.

I own a 500C and an 800B, but not a 500B. I’ll cut to the bottom line: If you enjoy owning vintage tube audio equipment (vs. being a flipper), and given that the receiver in question is in good cosmetic condition, then YES these Fisher tube receivers are worth paying a professional tech to restore. This is a no-brainer IMO. The assertion that these are “rich men’s toys” is ridiculous. (As someone else pointed out, we’re not talking $100k.)

Here’s my 500C (restored by Craig Ostby / NOS Valves) in my office system.

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About 6 years ago, I bought this unrestored 500C (including wood cabinet, in excellent cosmetic condition) on eBay for $545 + $65 shipping = $610. Plus $482 for a “deluxe rebuild” yields $1,092 total invested. I don’t give a rat’s patootie what someone else would pay me for it, because I don’t plan on selling. (FYI, I probably have twice this sunk into my X1000.)

Occasionally I’ve found a “bargain” by buying an amp that was already restored. However, I’ve also been burned more than once when I bought an amp that was advertised as having been electronically “restored”, and then I discovered that the amp didn’t work properly because the work was incomplete and/or substandard. Here’s two examples:

  • In one case (Fisher X1000) the seller described himself as a professional hi-fi dealer. The ad listed numerous parts replaced, and tests performed, and stated “Having the <XXXXX> Certified label means the product you buy from us meets or exceeds all factory specs and has passed a long list of tests prior to going to auction.” The amp had major issues, and I paid Craig for a complete restoration.

  • In another case (Scott 296) the Seller stated “It has been completely refurbished by <XXXX>. This amp is in excellent working order and needs nothing.” This amp didn’t work properly. I had to file an eBay dispute to get a refund.

The safest approach, and the one that will cost the least in the long run, is to have one of the pros perform a complete electronic restoration.

I own more than 2 dozen vintage tube amps – all restored. Plus, many professionally restored antique radios – mostly TOTL models that cost much more than these hi-fi amps. In the pic of my office above, the Scott 299B and Altec 353A were also restored by Craig. The 1936 Philco 680 was restored by Michael O’Brien. The 1941 Hallicrafters SX-28 was restored by a Hallicrafters expert (“Nick”). I have antique radios and vintage hi-fi in every room of my house. IMO anyone who thinks that $1k is an extravagant amount of money to invest in a nice vintage tube amp is in the wrong hobby. :) Of course, if you learn electronic repair, then you could do the work yourself and save some money.

Bottom line, my advice is to send the receiver to Craig Ostby / NOS Valves (or another one of the experienced techs on AK) and contract for a complete restoration (i.e., what Craig calls a “deluxe restoration“). I don’t know off the top of my head if the 500B has adjustable bias. If so I’d ask the tech about the possibility of adding top-chassis bias test points. By having a professional tech perform a complete electronic restoration (vs. fixing just what is broken today), then the failure-prone components will be replaced, and the unit won’t be back in the shop every year. And you’ll be enjoying beautiful music.
 
I decided to keep it and have Craig restore it. Trying to find the OPT, one guy on a different forum has a OPT from a 800b, but not sure if it will work for the 500B, I saw a tech out of texas on youtube using the top chassis bias test points and that was a really good mod. I"ll ask Craig about it. Thank you.
 
totsuka: see post #15 for 500b & 800b part #'s. Don't worry about the suffix's Just make sure the PART # is T-860-116
 
Is that a Hallicrafters SX-28 I see lit up?

Yes - The 1941 Hallicrafters SX-28 was restored by a Hallicrafters expert (“Nick”). I'm not knowledgeable about ham radio - I bought it because I think its a handsome radio. Earlier I had it installed in the basement connected to a "super sloper" antenna in my attic. While I could pull in SW from all over the world, I didn't find any broadcasts that interested me.

Here's a close-up of the Hallicrafters SX-28 "Super Sky Rider" sitting on my workbench:

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Just for fun, here's another one of my radios - the early 1930s Stewart Warner "Painted Lady" that was restored by Michael O'Brien:

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I'm going off-topic. My point is to agree with others who have said that - at least for some of us - this hobby isn't about being sensible, reasonable, prudent, or any of that other boring stuff. :)
 
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Way cool! And I imagine that your Yellow Lab will keep anyone from messing with your cars!

He is a brute at 92 lbs. of pure muscle, but is such a mellow dog he would probably want to play fetch with an intruder over acting like a guard dog. Now our other ankle biting mutt is another story, he's already tasted flesh from my brother, and ex wife's husband. :thumbsup: :rflmao:
 
While I could pull in SW from all over the world, I didn't find any broadcasts that interested me.

This is unfortunately why most of my old gear gets little use. I have a WWII Navy receiver made by EH Scott that is simply a marvel in making things as heavy and over-built as humanly possible. Its a fine shortwave tuner and all, but I just don't find myself compelled to listen to it much. Some of my other old radios have good shortwave tuners too, same deal with those.

That sure is a nice looking set. Nice that you've got the matching speaker for it too. Those aren't common.
 
This is unfortunately why most of my old gear gets little use. I have a WWII Navy receiver made by EH Scott that is simply a marvel in making things as heavy and over-built as humanly possible. Its a fine shortwave tuner and all, but I just don't find myself compelled to listen to it much. Some of my other old radios have good shortwave tuners too, same deal with those.

That sure is a nice looking set. Nice that you've got the matching speaker for it too. Those aren't common.

I own one E.H. Scott - a 1934 Allwave 15 in the Tasman cabinet. (In case anyone didn't know, E.H. Scott and H.H. Scott were not related.)

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Back on topic - the nice thing about the late 1950s and early '60s hi-fi tube amps is that they can sound wonderful - with no apologies or qualifiers. I love my old radios ... and I own all of the Philco "High Fidelity" radios plus a number of TOTL Zenith radios .... and people are surprised at how good they sound for 1930s technology ... but the '50s and '60s tube hi-fi amps (and receivers) are capable of sound quality that will beat most amps built today ... which is why AK'ers on this sub-forum love them ...
 
He is a brute at 92 lbs. of pure muscle, but is such a mellow dog he would probably want to play fetch with an intruder over acting like a guard dog. Now our other ankle biting mutt is another story, he's already tasted flesh from my brother, and ex wife's husband. :thumbsup: :rflmao:

Nice lawn too! I am afraid I judge a person more by their grass.... well done sir!
 
Heck you guys would think I'm nuts for the money I have in my 800C X202B and FM 200B, I know I'l never recover it. However, all mine were restored by our own Fisher expert Dave and havent had a single issue with them now. They get used, daily and enjoyed immensely. I suspect they will outlive me and then some! :)

If you go to Dave instead of a doctor, u might live longer also!
 
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