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Buying advice needed on Phase Linear 400 and Fisher 400c

Will2225

Will2225

AK Subscriber
Subscriber
Hi I've found locally a phase linear 400 that has been serviced for 350 and a Fisher 400c for 450 with wood case that is working except for the FM radio. Is the phase linear worth 350 considering its been worked on and is up to spec? Also, I the buyer won't allow me to test the 400c because of covid but he says I can pay 200 upfront and the rest after I test it. The 400c has a couple other minor issues and at first I thought this was a great deal but I'm having doubts. I'm a collector and I'm just interested in people's opinions on whether this is a good deal or not. Also if anyone has an opinion on phase linear and whether its an amp.worth having in my collection. Any opinions are appreciated.
 
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What kind of service did the PL400 receive? Was it just lubing the controls, or was any recapping involved?
 
eiraved said:
What kind of service did the PL400 receive? Was it just lubing the controls, or was any recapping involved?
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To quote the seller, "There were a dozen components replaced on one channel, all TO3 outputs and the the biasing transistor. Some drivers and diodes. proper DC offset and biasing were set to specs. OE outputs were used (motorola). I,myself ran it for 5 days straight in the workshop and it had no problems"
 
Also I made a mistake the Phase Linear is 325. I'm leaning towards buying the phase linear as I think the Fisher will require a fair amount of work.
 
Im guessing you mean a Phase Linear 300 series 2????

Personally I dont think the price is that great at all if so.
Its not a total rip off. Just these days $350 is a price that opens doors
to allot of options.

But if the amp is truly fully serviced, who knows, and your in need of a
decent 100 wpc amp. Yeah go for it.
 
PPstereo said:
Im guessing you mean a Phase Linear 300 series 2????

Personally I dont think the price is that great at all if so.
Its not a total rip off. Just these days $350 is a price that opens doors
to allot of options.

But if the amp is truly fully serviced, who knows, and your in need of a
decent 100 wpc amp. Yeah go for it.
Click to expand...


Oh no sorry for the confusion, it's a phase linear 400 for the price of 325. It's the little brother to the phase linear 700, which is a pretty famous amp. I feel like a recapped phase linear 400 for that price is a decent deal, but I might be wrong.
 
Gotcha. Yeah Id echo nolasally thoughts.

Its a good deal if it was properly serviced.

And yeah if the seller is competent at working on the stuff I believe white oaks still sell
a speaker protection kit that can be installed. Id spend the $ on the kit and some for his
trouble to add that.

Obviously if agreed pay him for the amp ahead and something in writing for the rest of the
deal. Shows your serious and he doesnt need to sell it out from under you.
 
He seems pretty eager to sell it. I might put fuses in line with the speaker wire until I get my tech to install the speaker protection.

Do you think it's worth buying the Fisher even though it has those problems? I kind of want the wood case for my 500c that's been serviced, but I just checked eBay and it might not be that great of a deal after I get it serviced.
 
I wouldnt bother buying the 400c if you have no interest in it beyond the case.

Who knows what will be involved in fixing it. And whats to say theres not more issues to be found.

Theres so many lovely wood cases being made by many folks these days. Id personally be looking
into that if I were yearning for such a thing.

Why screw around with all the extra work and cost???
 
PPstereo said:
I wouldnt bother buying the 400c if you have no interest in it beyond the case.

Who knows what will be involved in fixing it. And whats to say theres not more issues to be found.

Theres so many lovely wood cases being made by many folks these days. Id personally be looking
into that if I were yearning for such a thing.

Why screw around with all the extra work and cost???
Click to expand...

Yeah you have a good point. I just thought it was a good deal and that I should pick it up, but I have a Fisher 500c already and you're right it's probably not worth it. I'll just spend some money on a new wood case for my old Fisher instead. Better to resist the urge to hoard up all the vintage audio gear haha
 
Fisher 400c is a preamp and $450 would be a steal. You mean 400 receiver, since you mentioned FM function? $450 with FM problem and with wood case is about the going rate I'd think. The wood cabinet alone would cost you $200+ if you were looking for one with shipping. So if you can maybe talk down the price below $400...maybe $350, it'd be alright imo. Fixing FM probably won't be too difficult. After a recap and deoxit and alignment, the problem might cure itself. You mentioned that you're a collector. I don't see much collector's value in PL 400. Unless you wanna push a difficult speaker. So, if I were you, I'd try to lower the Fisher 400 price. If not possible, wait for a better deal.
 
gogofast said:
Fisher 400c is a preamp and $450 would be a steal. You mean 400 receiver, since you mentioned FM function? $450 with FM problem and with wood case is about the going rate I'd think. The wood cabinet alone would cost you $200+ if you were looking for one with shipping. So if you can maybe talk down the price below $400...maybe $350, it'd be alright imo. Fixing FM probably won't be too difficult. After a recap and deoxit and alignment, the problem might cure itself. You mentioned that you're a collector. I don't see much collector's value in PL 400. Unless you wanna push a difficult speaker. So, if I were you, I'd try to lower the Fisher 400 price. If not possible, wait for a better deal.
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I've decided not to buy the Fisher at the moment. I found such a great deal today that I'm glad I didn't spend the money on it. I found a pair of Snell Type A speakers in really good condition with the external crossovers for only 250 dollars. Just picked them up today but I'm kicking myself because the amp I have at home is a 4 or 5 wpc Single ended tube amp and these things need more power. I have a marantz 2325 that's been fully recapped and restored, I just need to pick it up. I'm tempted to buy the PL 400, just so I have something with some serious power for these speakers.
 
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