birchoak
Hi-Fi Nut
I saw the innards of an RS-2015 here:
https://www.usaudiomart.com/details...dio-standard-vintage-monster-stereo-reciever/
I've been curious about the beast ever since. The outsides of a receiver may look great, but I when I see a clean internal design, something laid out with Mr. Spock's beautiful logic, I sit up a bit straighter in my chair. The enticements for me:
1. Illuminated power meters. I love 'em. Probably not super accurate and I don't care.
2. Illuminated red light for volume level. Reminds me of HAL 9000; as long as it doesn't try to kill me, I'm in.
3. Clean, symmetrical internal layout. Fisher took pride under the hood. Here are the right and left output boards. Look how easy it is to access the bulbs. Look how easy it is to access...everything.
4. Massive toroidal transformer. Just because. I can't hear the difference, but look at that thing.
5. Heat sinks galore, proudly thrusting their fins into clean, outside air. The best way to keep those output transistors healthy for a long, long time?
6. PRE/MAIN jumpers for maximum flexibility.
7. Onboard graphic equalizer to really tweak your sound. Yes, I tweak my sound. I'm just like that.
8. Knobs and levers look to be solid, milled aluminum = a highly pleasing tactile quality?
9. I bet that loudness switch really, really works. Yep, I'm a loudness switch guy. Probably got a hearing issue.
10. 150 watts RMS? Are you kidding me? Should have plenty of dynamic headroom.
11. I'm guessing sound is strong and authoritative, with plenty of low-end grunt, but do enlighten me.
And then I saw a Fisher RS-1080 somewhere here on AK. I don't care that it's even more watts (quite frankly, Fisher would have had me at 80 watts) but the face is a cleaner design and I know those sliders on graphic equalizers invite dust entry (more so than a mere switch or dial). 170 watts. Oh my. Ok, maybe I am impressed by the wattage in the cottage. And the glowing aquamarine display. It draws me in like, well, a moth to a bug light. There, I said it out loud.
So what do these creatures from the audio Jurassic sound like? Are they as well built as I think they are? Are they reliable (comparatively speaking, of course--anything this old is way past its design limits)? Owner impressions?
https://www.usaudiomart.com/details...dio-standard-vintage-monster-stereo-reciever/
I've been curious about the beast ever since. The outsides of a receiver may look great, but I when I see a clean internal design, something laid out with Mr. Spock's beautiful logic, I sit up a bit straighter in my chair. The enticements for me:
1. Illuminated power meters. I love 'em. Probably not super accurate and I don't care.
2. Illuminated red light for volume level. Reminds me of HAL 9000; as long as it doesn't try to kill me, I'm in.
3. Clean, symmetrical internal layout. Fisher took pride under the hood. Here are the right and left output boards. Look how easy it is to access the bulbs. Look how easy it is to access...everything.
4. Massive toroidal transformer. Just because. I can't hear the difference, but look at that thing.
5. Heat sinks galore, proudly thrusting their fins into clean, outside air. The best way to keep those output transistors healthy for a long, long time?
6. PRE/MAIN jumpers for maximum flexibility.
7. Onboard graphic equalizer to really tweak your sound. Yes, I tweak my sound. I'm just like that.
8. Knobs and levers look to be solid, milled aluminum = a highly pleasing tactile quality?
9. I bet that loudness switch really, really works. Yep, I'm a loudness switch guy. Probably got a hearing issue.
10. 150 watts RMS? Are you kidding me? Should have plenty of dynamic headroom.
11. I'm guessing sound is strong and authoritative, with plenty of low-end grunt, but do enlighten me.
And then I saw a Fisher RS-1080 somewhere here on AK. I don't care that it's even more watts (quite frankly, Fisher would have had me at 80 watts) but the face is a cleaner design and I know those sliders on graphic equalizers invite dust entry (more so than a mere switch or dial). 170 watts. Oh my. Ok, maybe I am impressed by the wattage in the cottage. And the glowing aquamarine display. It draws me in like, well, a moth to a bug light. There, I said it out loud.
So what do these creatures from the audio Jurassic sound like? Are they as well built as I think they are? Are they reliable (comparatively speaking, of course--anything this old is way past its design limits)? Owner impressions?
