Fisher 132 and Speakers

[02County]

Hi - Basically brand new to this but...

There's a Fisher 132 receiver and a pair of fisher speakers for sale in craigslist for $100. I don't have any more information on the speakers other than it's all supposed to work fine.

Can't find much on the 132 online. Is that thing any good? My goal is to someday step up to fisher tubes but currently lack the scratch for that kind of move.

Thanks in advance - much appreciated - jake

 

[larryderouin]

Jake. The 132 was in one of the last series made by FISHER in the EMERSON era. Made in Japan, but designed by the same engineers that designed the 400-500c-800c and later tubed gear. about 25-30WPC.

If it sounds veiled in the highs even with the TREBLE all the way up, the speakers will most likely need to be recapped. Fairly easy to do.

If it's working (ask to demo it onsite) ok, go for it. Service manual for it is on HIFIENGINE.

 

[TheRed1]

The 132 was in one of the last series made by FISHER in the EMERSON era. Made in Japan, but designed by the same engineers that designed the 400-500c-800c and later tubed gear. about 25-30WPC.

Are you sure they were made in Japan, Larry? I would have expected Hong Kong for an entry-level receiver of this period. I have no definite knowledge on this model as to country of origin, though. It is also possible it was produced in multiple countries as was the 304.

Newspaper ads from 1976 state the wattage of the 132 as 15 RMS WPC. At $149 it was Fisher's bottom of the line for '76 although you could still pick up leftover 1973 models for even less. By Sept. you could pick up a 132 for just a little over $100. That is exceeding cheap for a current-model-year Fisher.

The mid-70s are a confusing time for sorting out Fisher models. Apparently Fisher or its retailers still had significant inventory left over from previous years. Many models from the early 70s were still available at mid decade for reduced prices. On top of that, both Sanyo and Emerson appear to have been producing models under the Fisher name during the 1975/76 overlap period before Sanyo bought out Emerson's remaining interest in the company.

The Sanyo-produced RS1080 debuted mid-season in '75 and was positioned at the top of Fisher's lineup. At the same time - and at the opposite end of the lineup - were Emerson's 122/222 entry-level models. Those evolved into the 132/232 models in 1976. Some advertising refers to the 232 model as the "SR232" which may have been transitional nomenclature presaging the "RS" line of receivers.

I would love to see some Fisher sales literature from mid-season '75 or 1976. The account goons at Emerson were notoriously stingy with their advertising dollars. Brochures, catalogs, handbooks, etc., from the mid 70s seem to be quite scarce - though once Sanyo took complete control in 1977 things seemed to improve. I'll bet Avery Fisher was glad he had all that stuff going on with the Lincoln Center to keep his mind of the mess Emerson was making of his company during those years.

 

[02County]

Thanks for the response, guys. The seller pulled the ad down so I'm assuming he either sold it or thought better of it. Oh well.

 

[TheRed1]

Finally picked up a ‘76 Fisher catalog covering the Emerson/Sanyo transition. For some reason I have always been fascinated with this trubled period of Fisher history. I have no gear from either Emerson-Fisher or Sanyo-Fisher - only a vague notion that it wasn’t in the same league as their tube-era products. However, I have read some of the letters Avery Fisher wrote to the Emerson execs. He was clearly upset by the direction his company had taken in the early 70s under the Emerson mantle. Most of his critisism was aimed at the perceived shortcomings of Fisher’s sales and marketing departments - not at engineering. However, he did note a pervasive chill in Fisher’s corporate culture of innovation which seemed, to him, a result of heavy-handed budget restraints. Perhaps that was inevitable given the pressure from inexpensive imports. Of course, as Fisher-Sanyo, Fisher did become a de facto import itself.

Looking back on Fisher’s corporate history from the vantage point of the 1980s, Avery Fisher would tout Sanyo as Fisher’s savior. He saw them as having restored the company which bore his name. I know most of us see it from a different perspective but I think I understand.

This 1976 catalog appears to be a good example of Sanyo’s investment in the Fisher name. It is quite nice which is a departure from the sort of sales literature Fisher was producing previously during the final years of Emerson. The receiver line-up consists solely of the all new RS models but the speakers are a mix of ST and XP. I can find no mention of Sanyo anywhere in its pages but that is exactly what I would expect. I wonder when and if Sanyo ever marketed their name alongside the Fisher name. I’d like to scan this and make it available eventually but the pages are relatively large and contain a lot of information. I would need to find a repository for some halfway decent resolution images for them to be useful. Any thoughts?

 

[vntgedad2016]

Jake. The 132 was in one of the last series made by FISHER in the EMERSON era. Made in Japan, but designed by the same engineers that designed the 400-500c-800c and later tubed gear. about 25-30WPC.

If it sounds veiled in the highs even with the TREBLE all the way up, the speakers will most likely need to be recapped. Fairly easy to do.

If it's working (ask to demo it onsite) ok, go for it. Service manual for it is on HIFIENGINE.

Looking at a Fisher 132 tomorrow . It looks clean $100.

 

[vntgedad2016]

Looking at a Fisher 132 tomorrow. It looks very clean, not banged up. And the seller has a Scott 334H for sale also.