Fisher Allegro A9 - comments?

[thornev]

I found an A-19 (not an A9.. couldn't figure out how to edit the title) for sale. It brings back memories of the portable that was my first stereo. Can anyone comment on the sound of the subject device as far as bass and treble? I know portable speakers are never going to be as good as my AR-2Ax's, but are they reasonable? (I know...subjective). I welcome any comments at all. Seller is asking $1,000 which is a bit rich for my blood. Comments? For me, it would be fun to have the ease of opening it up and playing my 1500 records. Right now it's a bit of a hassle with all my rack mount stuff, turntable and wires to my 500-C. Thorne

PS - Anyone know what speaker components are in each detachable speaker? Found out: 8" woofer and 4" tweeter. Maybe some good replacement speakers to improve the sound?
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[vendo81]

The Allegro actually surprised me when I restored the one I have. Good sound for such small speakers. The speakers hang on the main unit without wires using the hinges for the 2 speaker leads. Very clever design. They do have long wires with plugs if you want to extend them. I took a photo of the speakers inside when i was restoring it. I'll dig the photo up and post it.

 

[walyfd]

For 1k, it better be autographed by Avery himself...

 

[tubeactive]

That is crazy expensive ! Is the cabinetry in solid rosewood or zebrawood ? Why so expensive ? This has the PP ELL80 amp, using only two ELL80s in push pull, right ? That's a cool, simple amp, around $300. value restored. Which turntable ? A Thorens ? I didn't think so...

Sometimes, these consoles can easily be upgraded with better components. Usually, they are coming from very motivated sellers, wishing the sizable furniture out of their homes. Perhaps, you can find a nice, woodgrain, slide-door cabinet which fits your needs. I know I have a genuine Barzilay walnut console we use as a "storage" cab in the computer room. It was the size which would have two speakers detached, placed on each side or anywhere you would want your ARs. Just for kicks and giggles, in a few months, we are inheriting some antique cabinets. The Barzilay will have to go very reasonably...I am in central NJ...

Be cautious when prices are not attractive...If the condition and inside units are very collectible, a high price might be understandable. But, the Allegro was not close to "top of the line" status.

 

[thornev]

He came down to $650 and he said he put 33 hours of restoration into it. It's a Garrard turntable. I might pull the trigger. They are rather rare.

 

[tubeactive]

It sounds like you are already stoked and ready. Cabinetry beautiful ? All working well ? You won't have to re-restore anything and/or modify the insides to accommodate your LPs ? Good Luck with your new console !

 

[larryderouin]

$650 is still high, even with "33 Hours" in it. Granted they are almost rare as hens teeth, but it's not a hi end unit. Honestly I wouldn't go any higher than $400. for a pristine one.

 

[thornev]

I am stoked. Hardly a scratch on it and any there were, he fixed them up so you cannot see them. In pictures it looks gorgeous.

 

[thornev]

Got it for $600. Very happy.

 

[vendo81]

Glad you got it. The Allegro is pretty good sounding for Fisher's lower end unit and definitely has that mid century look to it. I used to listen to mine often but haven't since I put a stereo with separates in the spare room about 6 months ago. I rarely used the Garrard turntable as I didn't trust it with any of my better records.

You did OK as I was thinking about $500 - $550 for a nicely restored one. Not having to ship is a plus.

 

[thornev]

Well, my audiokarma friends, I now have in my possession a partially restored Fisher Allegro A-19 in a gorgeous walnut cabinet. Everything works, but there is a loud 60Hz hum when the turntable is turned on. When I put a Stanton 500 cart in the turntable arm, I hardly get any sound I guess because that cart's output is considerably less than the stock cart. So I will need some help once I get into the back of this beauty, replace what hasn't yet been replaced and go as far as I can on my own. If anyone has tips to share about restoring an Allegro, I'd appreciate any and all help (vendo81?). The FM sound with headphones is utterly amazing for a portable (which is not at all portable at 90 lbs with no carrying handle!). Thanks, Thorne

 

[asech]

Congrats, they are nice sounding, I have one and recapped the integrated, my TT needs help, but I only use it as the patio stereo, Most of the time it's in the back bedroom(with other Fishers stacked on top)
Love the MCM look of it, and is surprisingly powerful sounding....

 

[thornev]

Thanks, asech. I'm loving the thing.

One thing I'd really like help with, you parts wizards, is how small a preamp circuit could I build for a moving magnet cartridge. I know I need voltages, but I cannot find them anywhere so it'll have to be a trial n error experiment with the capacitors and resistors values. If someone can provide a mathematical formula (or is this simply some incantation of Ohms Law?), I could plug in the likely values. I'm thinking some little circuit board that amplifies the moving magnet voltage to a level that the Fisher A-19 would find electronically suitable. I guess one way I could do it is to measure the output of the ceramic cart now and assume that's the voltage the A-19 is expecting from whatever is in the tone arm? I'm looking to improve the vinyl sound by replacing the ceramic cartridge with a moving magnet cart plus a flatly-EQ'ed preamp. Thorne

 

[thornev]

I tried a Pro-Ject preamp with a Stanton 500 moving magnet cart and the Allegro sounded pretty nice. Unfortunately, given that the turntable contains a 2-pole motor, that cart is going to be picking up a whole lotta (not LOVE) EMF aka 60Hz hum. Need to shield either the cart or the motor or something somehow. MuMetal has been recommended, but I don't know that I want to make too many permanent changes to this beauty.

 

[larryderouin]

Check the grounding of the motor to the chassis 1st. then meter out the grounds on the tonearm to the chassis. 2 or 4 pole shouldn't matter much except in W & F. Garrard usually did a pretty good job of shielding their motors when required. Bets are you've got a lousy grund or signal wire from the tonearm. Why not just get a new ceramic cart and call it a day. There are carts that get into the sub3gr. territory.

 

[thornev]

Looks like we lost some posts with the server maintenance over the weekend.

Larry - I had posted a question to you. What is "sub3gr"? Thorne

 

[larryderouin]

sub3gr = 3gram of weight at the needle or less. Expensive tho. 5grams is not out of the realm of possibility tho. The arm should be able to handle a 3 to 5 gram tracking weight quite handily. IIRC there may be a screw or thumbwheel at the back of the tonearm to set gross VTF (Vertical Tracking Force). I looked up the AutoSlim on Vinylengine.com ( https://www.vinylengine.com/library/garrard/autoslim.shtml ) and it has a wheel in the middle of the tonearm underneath. See Attachment.

 

[thornev]

I actually WEIGHED the stylus force,adjusting the screw until I got as low as 3.5G.

Sorry, Larry, I neglected to thank you for the image.

 

[thornev]

I need help. I was testing the 6HU8 tubes in my Allegro and suddenly one side of one of the pentode tubes registered as shorted. I believed it was a problem with my Hickok 600A tube tester because the 9-pin socket on it was bad. I put the 2 tubes back in the Allegro and the amp went on for a second and then everything shut down. I assumed it was the bad tube, but I just got 2 replacement tubes installed and still no power to any tubes. Nothing seems to go on. Not the FM, not the amp.

Would someone please tell me what they think is the likely place to look and some tips on how to go about using tools (I have a scope, multimeter, signal generator; no voltage generator though) to diagnose? I miss playing this thing and I want to get it back on its feet. Thank you. Thorne

 

[larryderouin]

Line Input Fuse? Power Switch?