Brian
An Old Geezer
I've been running my Klipsh Heresys for a bit of time cycling through some inventory. I have a Fisher TX300/TFM300 amp and tuner as well as a Yamaha CA610II/CT610II set. I have been working through the Yamaha's issues related to noisy controls and channel dropout and finally got them ironed out. Only remainig thing is dial/pointer lights on the tune and meter lights on the amp. I have been using the Fisher for a couple of weeks and surprisingly to me I found the set does very nicely with the Heresys. The tiner is a hybrid tube/ss and the sound is amazingly good for my ears. The tube front end sets the overall sound of the unit. Has very good quieting slope, detail is very good without being thin or being bleeding with the Klipsch. With some tuning, the setup could be a serious long term listener. I pulled the TFM and subbed the CT610II on the Fisher/Klipsch and immediately noted that there was less dynamics and detail. Almost sounded bloated. I decided to compare the tuners and found overall the Fisher just overall sounded more balance and presented a better presentation. I then subbed the TX300 for the CA610II to see if it made a difference in favor of the CT610II. Whoops, the sound was more bloated with both tuners. Detail though decent was compared to the TX300 lacking and bass lost a good deal if instrument identity. Now on a previous trial I had actually thought the Yamaha did well with te Klipsch which it does but the Fisher is simply better. Most surprisingly was how much better the TX300 is given it is such an early SS design.
Thinking the speakers may be a cuprit in this, since my set is 4 ohms andmay the Yamaha is not at its best with them, I swapped them for my original Advents but after going through the testing again, my results did not change. Fisher trumps Yamaha both as to the tuners and as to the amps.
I then decided to thow in my MR77 against the TX300 trough the TX300/Advents. Never really tried these together before. The Fisher comes reasonably close to the 77 overall. Surprisingly, on violin and cello solos the Fisher had more of the correct interpretation. Thinking something odd, I then compared it with my Sherwood 3000IV and here, the Sherwood and Fisher were closer sonically. Appears the Fisher's tube front end gives it a signature closer to a tube tuner than ss tuner. Going back to the 77, the 77 gets more stations and has a steeper quieting slope. Bass and lower midrange is bettered by the 77 but the difference is less as the frequency moves up.
Overall, this 1st generation Fisher ss (well hybrid) is neither in the tube nor ss sound camp but seems to have the positive charactoristics of each. Construction is excellent but repairs related to components on the boards can be a challenge I understand. May be a contender for someone looking for a decent tuner without shelling out big bucks and does not need super specs (sensitivity, selectivity, etc.) but looking for a good overall listener.
Thinking the speakers may be a cuprit in this, since my set is 4 ohms andmay the Yamaha is not at its best with them, I swapped them for my original Advents but after going through the testing again, my results did not change. Fisher trumps Yamaha both as to the tuners and as to the amps.
I then decided to thow in my MR77 against the TX300 trough the TX300/Advents. Never really tried these together before. The Fisher comes reasonably close to the 77 overall. Surprisingly, on violin and cello solos the Fisher had more of the correct interpretation. Thinking something odd, I then compared it with my Sherwood 3000IV and here, the Sherwood and Fisher were closer sonically. Appears the Fisher's tube front end gives it a signature closer to a tube tuner than ss tuner. Going back to the 77, the 77 gets more stations and has a steeper quieting slope. Bass and lower midrange is bettered by the 77 but the difference is less as the frequency moves up.
Overall, this 1st generation Fisher ss (well hybrid) is neither in the tube nor ss sound camp but seems to have the positive charactoristics of each. Construction is excellent but repairs related to components on the boards can be a challenge I understand. May be a contender for someone looking for a decent tuner without shelling out big bucks and does not need super specs (sensitivity, selectivity, etc.) but looking for a good overall listener.