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Fisher XP Speakers - Questions

Gang-Twanger

Gang-Twanger

Resident Wharfedaliophool
I've heard a whisper or two about the older Fisher XP series speakers (I had a pair of newer Fishers from 1979-80, and I would describe the sound as non-fatiguing, but a bit rolled-off for a speaker from that era). I've heard lots about Fisher tube amps/receivers as well as the solid-state Studio Standard series, but I know almost-nothing about their speakers, except for some possibly-good reviews on the earlier XP models. Were the XP's really any good? And considering that I'm already listening to a pair of Wharfedale W60E's (which I'm really-digging at the moment), would the XP's be a step-up or a step-down? Also, were there any other decent-sounding Fisher speakers made (maybe in the '70's/'80's)? Thanks.
 
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Wow, I figured this would be an easy question. Guess not (I bet people would be all-over a "Bose 901" thread - from BOTH sides - Those speakers are always good for an argument or two). Oh well, I'll give it more time. This really hasn't been up that long.
 
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First of all I am no expert by any stretch of anybody's imagination. That being said I recently acquired four XP-44S's. They are two way bookshelfs and to my ear they sound clear with some warmth on the bottom end. I have read that these old Fishers tend to have rolled off highs though I have don't find that in these. Rubber surrounds are normal and means no refoaming.
Do a google AK search of Fisher speaks and you should find some good info.
Dan
 
I have a set of XP-55Bs, that I got about a month ago.

I really like them. They are very dark sounding, probly 'muffled' would be a good word to use. So, when I set them up I was a bit let down. But after I tweaked the eq to boost the treble quite a bit, the speakers really came to life. They are a very tight, very precise speaker but with a very smooth sound from top to bottom. For a week or so they were in my main setup, and I found myself preferring them to all my other speakers. I moved them to my bedroom (because I have several other sets in my Conservatory), and they sound very good in there as well. I am seriously thinking that they will move back into the Conservatory soon and that some of the other speakers out there will be sold/closeted/moved. I like them so much that I saw another set recently for $35 and almost bought them as a backup. I may yet buy them.

So, if you are one of those people who doesn't believe in eq, you should pass. But if you don't mind massaging the freqs to match the amp to the speakers and room, I doubt you'll be disappointed. That said, I haven't ever heard a Wharfedale W60E, so I can't offer a comparison. But in terms of sheer listenability, I like them as much or more than my Coral BX-200s, Yamaha NS-10s (I have two sets, Ts and Ms), JBL LX600s (my main speakers, which I love), and a set of Pioneer CS-33As I was demoing at the time.
 
Oddball said:
First of all I am no expert by any stretch of anybody's imagination. That being said I recently acquired four XP-44S's. They are two way bookshelfs and to my ear they sound clear with some warmth on the bottom end. I have read that these old Fishers tend to have rolled off highs though I have don't find that in these. Rubber surrounds are normal and means no refoaming.
Do a google AK search of Fisher speaks and you should find some good info.
Dan
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I'm mostly-wondering if the floorstander XP's will be as good-sounding as my Wharf W60's. The XP9c's look interesting (1 15" woofer, 2 5" midwoofers, and 2 very-strange-looking reddish tweeters - Each cab is like 55-60lbs, so I assume the cabs were well-made), but I worry about the 15" being too-boomy.

I should note that I prefer warm, smooth, fatigue-less, natural-sounding speakers with tight, punchy bass and lush, lifelike mids. Pretty-much what I'm getting with my W60's, but I'm just searching for other sleeper-type speakers. I'm not looking for bright, forward-sounding speakers of the "west-coast" variety. Not my thing.
 
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I have owned the XP -18 theri TOTL. I ahve also owned(and still do several) of the various w series wharfedales.
I really like the overal tonal quality of the xp18's. However, they were just not as open and airy as I liked. I really like the wharefdales. I have several pairs now.

Me personally, I wouldn't trade any of my wharfs for any fisher.
Just my $0.02
 
Fisher speakers get no love at all on this forum. Why i don't know. They were just as good as any of the rest. For what they were, they were adequate. They could get the job done well for low budget speakers. I have a pair of XP-55C,and a pair of XP-56,I bought for $35 bucks for all 4 of them. Money well spent. They don't compare to Wharfedales,thats a little better speaker. So to answer your question,there not a step up. For sure a step down,when compared to Wharfedales.
 
I gots the XP-65. :yes: Not rock speakers, by any means. They have that 'east coast sound'. I have other speakers I use for rock.

20070715-5220JustfixedFisherXP-65fr.jpg
 
I have a pair of Xp-7b or something like that in storage holding up a bunch of other random junk. I'll just say that just because something is vintage and has a reputable name on it is no reason to assume it sounds great, which is how I ended up with a pair. My father had a pair of xp-55s that had the same boxy, dark sound that he gave back to goodwill (he runs W-60ds as his mains...they sounded much better, but the 55s were much smaller, too). YMMV.
 
Thanks, guys. You've answered most of my questions

@ Dr Mordo - I know what you mean about smoothness and how it can become addicting. That's what I'ma getting with the W60E's. So when I go to high-end stereo shops in the area to listen to modern speakers, the clarity is there, and sometimes even the low-bass is there, but that incredible smoothness is not, and that's the one area where I'm not willing to trade off - plus most-often-times the warm, lush, lifelike mids are missing as well, so I haven't been crazy about most of the modern gear I've heard. You also mentioned about having to tweak the treble to open them up (I wonder if raising them would help that). I'm already having to re-EQ the upper-bass on my Wharfs as it is (They have a slight bump in the upper-bass, so I drop), so more "EQ'ing to compensate" is really-not something I'm interested in doing.

The XP model with the 15" is not for me, but I might try one of the smaller models if the price is right.
 
I bought my pair of XP-10's for $60 off of the original owner. These have an alnico 15" woofer, 8" midrange crossed over at 200Hz and in it's own subenclosure, and a 2" dome tweeter. The cabinets are in beautiful condition.

One thing you should always remember about any vintage speaker is that recapping the crossovers will almost always result in a major impovment in the sound. More clarity, better imaging, etc.

Finally, one thing in particular about the Fisher XP series was Avery Fisher insisted on voicing the XP series of speakers for classical music. No matter what I did to the XP's, they sounded a bit muffled and subdued. I even bypassed the midrange and tweeter level controls. Same result. In the end I replaced the original dome tweeter with horn tweeters from, if I remember right, a pair of Klipsch KG4's. Recapping and replacing the tweeters totally transformed the old XP. The bass was tight, vocals lively, and now they had a very crisp and clear high end. Totally non-tiring and a bargain with a total investment of just a hair over $100.
 
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As far as woofer size, what size are you usually most partial to? Myself, it's 10" and above.

I think you would like any of the acoustic suspension designs. In my opinion the XP-65's are not 'rockers' so I have ported designs for when I'm in that mood (BIC Formula 6, C-Vega D-3, Realistic Mach Two's and T-120's).

My Fishers, Infinitys, ADCs, and MC-1000s are for 'quieter' listening times.

I don't ever see XP-65's on the bay. I found mine in an estate sale and I'm not sure I've heard anyone on AK talk about owning a pair.
 
hardrock94 said:
Fisher speakers get no love at all on this forum. Why i don't know. They were just as good as any of the rest. For what they were, they were adequate. They could get the job done well for low budget speakers. I have a pair of XP-55C,and a pair of XP-56,I bought for $35 bucks for all 4 of them. Money well spent. They don't compare to Wharfedales,thats a little better speaker. So to answer your question,there not a step up. For sure a step down,when compared to Wharfedales.
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Seeing as how you pretty much said they are crap, this could be why there is no love for them. Barring a few odd examples, of which I haven't heard only read about, the whole line is pretty much muffled and not very lively. This is how they were designed. They are smooth to a fault. The one's I tried to like the most were the xp55b's and in the end they weren't even worth my time to kick to the curb. I ended up letting the cats use them for a scratching post.

Unless you like really laid back speakers stay away for the most part. For the same money there are so many better speakers out there. Why buy an adequate, low budget speaker when many excellent examples from all era's are available to be enjoyed.

All that being said, some folks like them so be your own judge. However, if you are debating between them and most anything else, go with most anything else. Except maybe Thrusters. :D
 
I have a pair of XP-65k's found at GW for $15. Re-foamed the woofers and recapped the crossover. I personally like the sound, but I mainly play classical and big band. Had them paired with a pair of Polk monitor 5's, with Peerless tweeters. This was originally to AB them, but the wife preferred the sound of them stacked. So stacked they stayed. Then replaced the Polk's with a pair of Scott S-10's again a sound I liked. Getting ready to recap the Scott's. So far haven't found any Wharfdale's in the high end stores I frequent e.g. GW.
 
I say go for them. I have a pair of LXI's from the 80's with horn tweets in them, not the shitty piezo kind, but compression drivers. I love them, the go lower, cleaner, have a way better soundstage, and are clearer than anyother speakers I have heard. I say snag them up if you get the chance, besides, audio snots are tooo judgemental IMO about thier gear, but each is to thier own. Again, I love mine, and I had not reccaped them either, just re-foamed. Fisher=Win.
 
IF ONLY they had made speakerrs as nice as their tube products!! The XP10 is an OK speaker system, but he XP7's I had were not very good. I never have heard a sealed back mid that ever impressed me for any reason. I hope others can warm up to them I really cannot.
DC
 
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