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Fisher 500c or Klipsch Chorus I

Will2225

Will2225

AK Subscriber
Subscriber
I've found a restored Fisher 500c for 650 and a beautiful set of Klipsch Chorus I speakers for 625 (the lowest the seller will go). Any advice on which is the better deal?
 
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If the 500c is "recapped" and has wooden cabinet, $1k is about a going price. If "restored" meaning a few parts changed to make it work, probably less than that. The Chorus I in top shape would be about $1k as well.
 
If the Fisher is restored to be reliable for many years, I would opt for it over the speakers. Finding any nice tube amp, especially restored is more challenging than finding speakers to pair with it. As well, recapping speakers (if needed) is something anyone can do, much more involved for a tube amp.
 
gogofast said:
If the 500c is "recapped" and has wooden cabinet, $1k is about a going price. If "restored" meaning a few parts changed to make it work, probably less than that. The Chorus I in top shape would be about $1k as well.
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They are both good deals. Does the Fisher have the case and how extensive was the restoration? Depending on the answers, the value could swing by several hundred dollars. Is your goal to flip or enjoy? If enjoy, do you need a receiver or speakers, or both?

And welcome to AK...
 
I think if the 500 is properly restored and in great shape - that is harder to find than the Chorus at that price.

Cheers,

Snade
 
If it helps any - I sold my last 500C on Epay for $1250 - it was mint, an older restoration form about 1997. It had a nice quad of Sylvania 7591A installed. So get the 500C and the speakers. Sell the 500C and that will pay for the Klipsch.
 
Hi everyone, sorry for the late reply. I ended up going with the chorus I speakers as they're in great shape. I wish I had bought them both though to be honest. I'm trying to get back in touch with the seller for the Fisher 500c. The reason I hesitated about getting them both is because I implusively purchased a pair of Fisher 80az monoblocks on eBay, yet I'm not happy with the sound quality so I'm returning them. I think it might be too late to get the deal on the 500c though. I'll have to wait and see if he gets back to me. Next on my list is to upgrade the caps in the speakers and add crites titanium tweeter diaphragms. I really like the chorus I speakers so far, and just today added some port tubes to the front. The bass is definitely improved, not even using my subwoofer at the moment. I would have preferred forte speakers or Cornwalls. Yet it's an upgrade from a pair of Klipsch heresy II speakers that I was using.
 
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Will2225 said:
Hi everyone, sorry for the late reply. I ended up going with the chorus I speakers as they're in great shape. I wish I had bought them both though to be honest. I'm trying to get back in touch with the seller for the Fisher 500c. The reason I hesitated about getting them both is because I implusively purchased a pair of Fisher 80az monoblocks on eBay, yet I'm not happy with the sound quality so I'm returning them. I think it might be too late to get the deal on the 500c though. I'll have to wait and see if he gets back to me. Next on my list is to upgrade the caps in the speakers and add crites titanium tweeter diaphragms. I really like the chorus I speakers so far, and just today added some port tubes to the front. The bass is definitely improved, not even using my subwoofer at the moment. I would have preferred forte speakers or Cornwalls. Yet it's an upgrade from a pair of Klipsch heresy II speakers that I was using.
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You're definitely right about those being upgrade from the Heresies. As for the 80AZ, I'd think they would match great with the Choruses, maybe they weren't fully updated/restored? You'll run into same issue if the 500C is not fully updated/recapped. Also, what kind of preamp and output tubes you use will make a lot of difference, too.
 
gogofast said:
You're definitely right about those being upgrade from the Heresies. As for the 80AZ, I'd think they would match great with the Choruses, maybe they weren't fully updated/restored? You'll run into same issue if the 500C is not fully updated/recapped. Also, what kind of preamp and output tubes you use will make a lot of difference, too.
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The 80AZ's were suppose to have been "restored" but the sound quality didn't even compare to my recapped Marantz 2270 or my dynaco st 70. The 500c I'm looking at is apparently only partially recapped and it comes without a case. Still the price seems reasonable, and the seller just told me that it's still for sale. I actually really like how the Chorus I speakers sound with the added port tubes and I ordered the crites capacitor kit and titanium tweeters today. I'm using a sonic frontiers SFL-1 pre amp. Unfortunately, just recently I can't seem to get both of the outputs on the pre amp to work at the same time. I was hoping to use it with my sub-woofer yet I've had to use the speaker taps instead.
 
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