I know that Fisher tube units were excellent but it seems like Fisher went downhill when it came to the transition to solid state. Were there any Fisher solid state receivers in the 70's that were in the same league as the classics from Marantz/Sansui/etc? I think I read that Fisher sold the name to Emerson but prior to that, did they produce any solid state "gems" or were they generally "duds"? (I do have a Wide Surround 601 and a 390 Tune O Matic)
Fisher Solid State Lineup - Any Gems or mostly Duds?
- Thread starter davefr
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The 500-TX / 800-T (multi voltage version) was TOP of the Line in 1969-70. Very good unit with Manual and Tune-O-Matic (Varactor Presets) 55WPC. 700-T was TOTL in 67-68 with 50-55WPC (depending on who was doing the testing). 550-T (AM-FM) was considered very good. Also the 500-T. 700-T, 550-T, & 500-T fairly easy to maintain too.
The Early 70's x05 series was pretty good for a bunch of low to mid power units, and most of Fisher's Quads were close to or equaled Pioneers offerings. The Joystick was a nice touch for balance/frt-bk fade. I've got a Sears Quad (Fisher 634 equivalent) that is quite good. Not Sansui quad good but it does hold it's own against PIONEER's or others with the same formats. The pinnacle for FISHER in the 70's was the RS-2010. This was essentially a Sanyo/Fisher. The Sears by Fisher line was a Sanyo/Fisher offering, which for the most part was pretty much equal to equivalent units of other brands. Looks were blander than Sansui, Pioneer, Kenwood, etc. But FISHER didn't design them for aesthetics. Shine they may, WORK THEY MUST!
The Early 70's x05 series was pretty good for a bunch of low to mid power units, and most of Fisher's Quads were close to or equaled Pioneers offerings. The Joystick was a nice touch for balance/frt-bk fade. I've got a Sears Quad (Fisher 634 equivalent) that is quite good. Not Sansui quad good but it does hold it's own against PIONEER's or others with the same formats. The pinnacle for FISHER in the 70's was the RS-2010. This was essentially a Sanyo/Fisher. The Sears by Fisher line was a Sanyo/Fisher offering, which for the most part was pretty much equal to equivalent units of other brands. Looks were blander than Sansui, Pioneer, Kenwood, etc. But FISHER didn't design them for aesthetics. Shine they may, WORK THEY MUST!
quite possible the end of anything decent from the sfs days...i know you said receivers but ehh....there's one at the end of my post.
i'm just finishing up recapping and cleaning up these 2 stacks....they sound really good. they are stks, not that theres anything wrong with stks.. they measure far above their rated power before clipping even starts but i do not have a distortion analyzer so i don't have the full story. just gotta wipe down the faces and they leave here this weekend.
this stack left a few weeks ago. installed discretes in place of the stks. this one sounds pretty damn good too. i love the look of these.
i've always liked fisher solid state gear. i've had a few amps in the 80s/90s and they never gave me any problems.
i went thru a rs-1035 a few months ago, more stks but it has a really nice sound to it. and i love the look of it too.
i'm not a tube guy so i'm the opposite of every one else.
i'm just finishing up recapping and cleaning up these 2 stacks....they sound really good. they are stks, not that theres anything wrong with stks.. they measure far above their rated power before clipping even starts but i do not have a distortion analyzer so i don't have the full story. just gotta wipe down the faces and they leave here this weekend.
this stack left a few weeks ago. installed discretes in place of the stks. this one sounds pretty damn good too. i love the look of these.
i've always liked fisher solid state gear. i've had a few amps in the 80s/90s and they never gave me any problems.
i went thru a rs-1035 a few months ago, more stks but it has a really nice sound to it. and i love the look of it too.
i'm not a tube guy so i'm the opposite of every one else.
Bone Yard
Super Member
After Sanyo took over around 74 different world-wide markets got different equipment of vastly different quality. The USA mostly got entry-level equipment, some bordering on bare bones (low priced). My only Fisher Component is the CA-120 Amp which I use more for testing other equipment and it's nice but I'd rather have one of the big 3 if it was a full-time gig.
Sanyo went crazy with the Fisher Portables, especially the stereo microcassettes, the CD players and also some of the huge boomboxes. The stereo microcassettes can be found with both branding and are very high quality. I think Sanyo used the Fisher Name on the high-end European Portable CD Players but not here.
The old stereo magazines have ads for impressive looking equipment but I think the more available entry-level equipment smeared the brand name, at least over here and they didn't sell very well.
Sanyo went crazy with the Fisher Portables, especially the stereo microcassettes, the CD players and also some of the huge boomboxes. The stereo microcassettes can be found with both branding and are very high quality. I think Sanyo used the Fisher Name on the high-end European Portable CD Players but not here.
The old stereo magazines have ads for impressive looking equipment but I think the more available entry-level equipment smeared the brand name, at least over here and they didn't sell very well.
Dave07997S
Member
There are actually quite a few good if not great SFS equipment. The Fisher from the late 70's with the RS-1052, 1060, 1070 and the 1080. From 1979 the RS-2007, 2010 and 2015 and then there is there swan song the Fisher RS-Z1 from the Professional Digital Reference Series. The Fisher PDR series was truly TOL.
The RS-1060 is big, bad and powerful. As good as any of its contemporaries. Its even more powerful brother the 1080 still fly under the radar somewhat although the word is getting out.
No STK's here. Pushes 4 ohm speakers all day and barely gets warm.
No STK's here. Pushes 4 ohm speakers all day and barely gets warm.
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Fisher used the "STUDIO STANDARD" briefly in the early mid 60's for their SA-1000 Amplifier and FM-1000 Tuner. It wasn't used after discontinuation of those 2 models until after Sanyo bought the Co. IT was Copyrighted IIRC in 1969 or 70 by Mr. Fisher. I'll not get into semantics of what studio standard actually connotated, but suffice it to say, the FM-1000 was used by Radio stations as a reference receiver to keep tabs on their transimitters. It WAS that good. Later I believe it was used as part of the Marketing by Sanyo Fisher.
My guess my RS-914 isn't special. I've never heard the receiver. It was given to me broken. It was used as a kitchen/dining room background music.
I think it would make a great garage system but I have a Stromberg Carlson console pull in the garage that works great.
I think it would make a great garage system but I have a Stromberg Carlson console pull in the garage that works great.
Bone Yard
Super Member
"143" comes up as Sanyo/Fisher on the VM Craftsman OEM List, most of us would have guessed that.
Did you clean it up, it looks brand new on the front. Sanyo had some really nice equipment in the early 70's and some was very innovative like music search on tape decks. Even going into the 80's they had the "Twin Cam" double-stacked tape transports and two-side linear tracking turntables. Even in the early 90's they had a boombox with touch screen controls but they kept most of the cool stuff at home.
Did you clean it up, it looks brand new on the front. Sanyo had some really nice equipment in the early 70's and some was very innovative like music search on tape decks. Even going into the 80's they had the "Twin Cam" double-stacked tape transports and two-side linear tracking turntables. Even in the early 90's they had a boombox with touch screen controls but they kept most of the cool stuff at home.
i remember sanyo's attempt at higher end in the 80s with Ultrx. wasn't long after that i saw them show up in closeout stores like Rex and k's merchandise.
they were eye candy when i was young. but looking back now, way too much computer control. i heard a tape deck once and it was acceptable. never heard a receiver but not long ago i read that they used stks...so much for the high end attempt.
almost like they were trying to copy jvc was doing in that era.
I’ve never worked on any Fisher SS gear, nor really heard any that I recall, so I can’t offer any input in that regard, but I do recall very well when the very first SS equipment of any kind from Fisher first hit the electronics store I would always hang out at (receivers as I recall): it was a big disappointment for such an excellent brand as Fisher, as the units — honestly — were quickly coming back in broken as fast as they were being sold. It really became a problem for the store having to handle all the warranty claims — this at a time when the Mac Clinics at the same store were displaying just how good their equipment was. Avery always wanted to be known for (among other things) his “firsts” in the audio business, but this is one time when I always felt his zeal to achieve that end may have contributed to the ultimate end of Fisher’s absolute reign over the receiver market it previously held. When starting anything new, you only get one chance to make a good first impression, but it would appear to me anyway that Fisher squandered that opportunity at the time, as it wasn’t long after that that the company was sold. I know they ultimately got whatever the problems were straightened out, but by then the ship had sailed. Others were able to turn the SS corner more successfully, and other brands were able to begin competing for a wide open receiver market. This may not have been exactly how it all played out, but it is how it played out at the time in my own little corner of the world, and I can’t help but think it played a significant role in forever changing the course and history of Fisher Radio Corporation.
Dave
Dave