Couldn't pass up on this puppy. No love for it in a long, long time. In a condition that only Avery could still love. No tubes, no shields, bent up, and complete with pitiful repairs and modifications. But those wonderful (essentially) SA-100 OPTs and PT were good, and the cosmetic issues can be dealt with if I can either find a good front panel, or get this one re-screen.
Since it's a toy, I'm in no rush, and can tinker along with it at whatever pace strikes me. But the potential for this baby is tremendous. It is basically a 400C preamp and an SA-100 power amp glued together on one chassis. Except that it isn't -- because where as the 400C has one fixed internal network to roll off the lowest end garbage, the X-202 -- with Avery's eye ever and always drawn towards console duty for his integrated units -- includes no less than four such networks. The results are basically that the low end performance of the X-202 is well off the mark from what it could hit.
I have no intention of re-engineering this unit as I recently did with the X-1000 recently, but with no chance of this unit ever being charged with console duty, coupled with the superb OPTs on this unit (the best Fisher ever offered in their 7189 offerings), removing these networks will maintain the whole of the Fisher sound from the mid-bass on up throughout the rest of the upper register, while giving the unit some new found freedom to handle today's more demanding low end material.
To that, adding EFB(tm) will cool the unit's operation down significantly (like the SA-100, the X-202 includes the very same bleeder resistor regulation for the output tube screen grids that heats up the underside of the chassis considerably), add some horses in the power output department, drop distortion significantly, and cool the output tubes down with a notably lower required quiescent current draw as well.
Besides righting all of the previous inflicted wrongs to this guy, addressing these two areas of the X-202 should let it still have all the sonic qualities that a Fisher has, except have them on steroids. This plus the longer tube life that EFB will provide should make for one world class X-202 -- even if the front panel won't let it look like it! Pics include:
1. This is the unit after two days of using precision tools (a crow bar), detail tools (a hammer), and gentle coaxing (a few choice words), just so the transformers appear straight, the output tubes don't lean in towards the OPTs, and the can caps (bad as they are) don't look like the leaning tower of Pisa. You know something is up when you have to bend the bottom plate pretty significantly just to get the screws in -- and not because it's hitting something underneath! All appears pretty good now. This was not the fault of the packing or shipper. This has been like this a loooong time.
2. The front panel is toast. No markings left on the selector switch, it's missing some jewels and the jewels it has are in the wrong position, and a lot of pock marks and some outright rust cover the majority of the panel. It works, but if anyone has a line on a good one -- or even a good one that comes attached to an otherwise beater unit, I'd appreciate hearing from them.
3. The knobs are filthy, but based on an initial effort with one, should clean up OK.
4. The cathode jumpers are missing, as is the phase reverse switch wiring, and the remote volume control plug has been hot wired. One benefit is that the (no great loss) damping control wiring has also been removed. Since this feature is never used anyway, this frees up two terminals in each channel to use as cathode test points so that the DC balance controls can be accurately set with a meter, without any physical modifications to the unit, rather than setting it by ear.
5. The repair work in the power supply is, well, something else to be sure. One section in the main can cap went bad (love that ooze), so we put in one new section in to fix it. Like those air connections? Both the terminal strips that the two B+ power resistors are connected to are broken, but what the heck, one still works, and an air connection works for the other. The bias supply components have all been replaced, so dependability should be guaranteed -- to fail for certain! At least there is silicon in the bridge now anyway, but the air connected sand dropping resistors and the goofy filter cap replacement components/installation all speak for themselves. However, there are somewhat new (as in newer than the original) output stage coupling caps! Finally, the removed cover on the power switch tells that tale, while hopefully, the 12A 32 volt fuse installed was only used to ensure that the power transformer actually did work (it does).
So, this thing was in need for a good home for sure. Oh yeah. It hasn't got any feet either. Anybody got a line on some good replacements?
Comments welcome as anyone sees fit.
Dave
Since it's a toy, I'm in no rush, and can tinker along with it at whatever pace strikes me. But the potential for this baby is tremendous. It is basically a 400C preamp and an SA-100 power amp glued together on one chassis. Except that it isn't -- because where as the 400C has one fixed internal network to roll off the lowest end garbage, the X-202 -- with Avery's eye ever and always drawn towards console duty for his integrated units -- includes no less than four such networks. The results are basically that the low end performance of the X-202 is well off the mark from what it could hit.
I have no intention of re-engineering this unit as I recently did with the X-1000 recently, but with no chance of this unit ever being charged with console duty, coupled with the superb OPTs on this unit (the best Fisher ever offered in their 7189 offerings), removing these networks will maintain the whole of the Fisher sound from the mid-bass on up throughout the rest of the upper register, while giving the unit some new found freedom to handle today's more demanding low end material.
To that, adding EFB(tm) will cool the unit's operation down significantly (like the SA-100, the X-202 includes the very same bleeder resistor regulation for the output tube screen grids that heats up the underside of the chassis considerably), add some horses in the power output department, drop distortion significantly, and cool the output tubes down with a notably lower required quiescent current draw as well.
Besides righting all of the previous inflicted wrongs to this guy, addressing these two areas of the X-202 should let it still have all the sonic qualities that a Fisher has, except have them on steroids. This plus the longer tube life that EFB will provide should make for one world class X-202 -- even if the front panel won't let it look like it! Pics include:
1. This is the unit after two days of using precision tools (a crow bar), detail tools (a hammer), and gentle coaxing (a few choice words), just so the transformers appear straight, the output tubes don't lean in towards the OPTs, and the can caps (bad as they are) don't look like the leaning tower of Pisa. You know something is up when you have to bend the bottom plate pretty significantly just to get the screws in -- and not because it's hitting something underneath! All appears pretty good now. This was not the fault of the packing or shipper. This has been like this a loooong time.
2. The front panel is toast. No markings left on the selector switch, it's missing some jewels and the jewels it has are in the wrong position, and a lot of pock marks and some outright rust cover the majority of the panel. It works, but if anyone has a line on a good one -- or even a good one that comes attached to an otherwise beater unit, I'd appreciate hearing from them.
3. The knobs are filthy, but based on an initial effort with one, should clean up OK.
4. The cathode jumpers are missing, as is the phase reverse switch wiring, and the remote volume control plug has been hot wired. One benefit is that the (no great loss) damping control wiring has also been removed. Since this feature is never used anyway, this frees up two terminals in each channel to use as cathode test points so that the DC balance controls can be accurately set with a meter, without any physical modifications to the unit, rather than setting it by ear.
5. The repair work in the power supply is, well, something else to be sure. One section in the main can cap went bad (love that ooze), so we put in one new section in to fix it. Like those air connections? Both the terminal strips that the two B+ power resistors are connected to are broken, but what the heck, one still works, and an air connection works for the other. The bias supply components have all been replaced, so dependability should be guaranteed -- to fail for certain! At least there is silicon in the bridge now anyway, but the air connected sand dropping resistors and the goofy filter cap replacement components/installation all speak for themselves. However, there are somewhat new (as in newer than the original) output stage coupling caps! Finally, the removed cover on the power switch tells that tale, while hopefully, the 12A 32 volt fuse installed was only used to ensure that the power transformer actually did work (it does).
So, this thing was in need for a good home for sure. Oh yeah. It hasn't got any feet either. Anybody got a line on some good replacements?
Comments welcome as anyone sees fit.
Dave
Dave, 
