thrift store find: Fisher 500-T

I drooled over those in the Allied catalog back in the day. Lucky you!

I was drooling the moment I saw it. Called my dad up to rub it in when I found it.

Great find for $5

The last receiver I found was that price too, I am begining to think 5$ is a magic price.

Nice find!

I see it's giving a piggy-back ride to a youngster.

Yes, it's giving a piggy-back to a younger Fisher turntable.


As a general update, I took a look at everything hiding below the shelf on the inside of it. A couple of caps leaked, but the rest is fine, no oxidation et al. However it's out of commission until I can recap it since the difference between the left and right channel is unbearably noticeable.:no:
 
Just got a Fisher 500-T from a neighbor, what an impressive build. It is has surprisingly nice sound and that is without any work on it and being put away for a few years. These things are heavy!

attachment.php


attachment.php
 

Attachments

  • DSC00031.jpg
    DSC00031.jpg
    61.9 KB · Views: 105
  • DSC00032.jpg
    DSC00032.jpg
    61.7 KB · Views: 107
Just got a Fisher 500-T from a neighbor, what an impressive build. It is has surprisingly nice sound and that is without any work on it and being put away for a few years. These things are heavy!

attachment.php


attachment.php

Didnt feel like making a new thread i have this receiver, and using it as my mine system right now. today i replaced the bulb on the left. however your picture shows their should be a light on the right side. how do you replace this bulb or light on that side.. didn't see a bulb
 
If you take the faceplate off, you should be able to see it there next to the dial glass, good luck. These are nice.
 
I remember not that long ago (15-20 years back) when folks in OUR hobby were literally kicking these things to the curb. This was when the vintage Fisher community began and ended with the tubed greats. I would be able to pick up a 440, 600, or one of these 500s, for the cost of the gas to come and get it. People were ignoring them in the gap between the tubed era and the Japanese units of the early '70s. Because of their age and the fact that they were the first of the breed, many needed work early (particularly the 600s), which turned off collectors. Their unique "orphanesque" styling probably didn't help them, either. But under the hood and through the speaker jacks, they stand out. They were designed by the same engineering teams that created the wonderful tubed models, and had to please buyers used to the sound of the latter.

It's good to see these first gen SS units finally get some admiration. I've had a restored 220T in my office now for over a decade, and it plays every day. This particular 220 sounds better than our Marantz 2230. They can be reliable daily runners with some effort, and the sound is not far off from the legendary tubed models. Inside, other than some early pcb issues, they are as well built as the tubed classics, with parts sourced from many of the same premium US and European sources.

Be sure to recap it very thoroughly. And also be extremely careful about shorting or overloading the outputs. Most of these models had no meaningful overload protection. The outputs are fragile and can be quite expensive in matched pairs, and as you move up the line, there are more to cope with.
 
Yumm . . . still voiced to sound like the tube units. They don't deliver as much power, but within that limitation . . . yumm. I think voicing them that way took away some of their potential statistical power.
I like 'em.
 
There is hardly a difference between the components used for my tube fisher 400 than the 500, identical. Though, I have to admit I find the 400 attractive and the 500 quite a bit on the ugly side.
 
There is hardly a difference between the components used for my tube fisher 400 than the 500, identical. Though, I have to admit I find the 400 attractive and the 500 quite a bit on the ugly side.

It'll grow on ya! It took me about 3 months to get used to the looks of my 500TX (with the AUTO SCAN and Presets) against my 400. :scratch2: Considering the age difference between when the two were actually designed, interior design choices, and the advances in circuitry in the intervening years, It's not a bad design, just different. Like the difference between my SANSUI 1000A and the 2000A. 1963-64 and 70-71. The manufacturers were trying to appeal to the WAF and make the gear blend in to the furniture of the time.

If you find the UGLY Duckling gets too much for ya, let me know, I might take it off your hands. :D

Larry
 
I was lucky enough to buy a nice 500T with a wood case (the previous owner found the case at an antique store, Thanks John!!!) through this site. It needed recapping and the Multiplexer rebuilt. Worth the money to have it done.
My dad had a 500T and I was replicating his system down to the Dual 1219 TT and Fisher XP7 speakers. Still need to find the Dual but I have the 500T playing now with EPI 180s and it is a sweet receiver. Nice deep soundstage. In my dad's memory, I'll often put on Brubeck's Take 5 CD and sit and smile.
 
Back
Top Bottom