Speaking of speakers....What's inside??? Can you take a pic of the Front of the speaker itself? I'm curious about something and whether that one has what I think.
Larry
Larry
Look what followed me home today...
- Thread starter derekva
- Start date
TheRed1
Console Conservationist
Speaking of speakers . . . I, too, am curious - especially to see the date of manufacture indicated by the production code (6-digits beginning with 220 stamped on the back of the basket rim). I think my 1957 dating may need to be revised based on the GE VRII phono cartridge which doesn't appear to have been offered on the Medalist II series until 1958. If your phono cartridge is original then you've probably got a '58.
Note the highlighted specs in the 1957 versus the 1958 catalog:
1957 Fisher Medalist II (Provence Cabinet)
1958 Fisher Medalist II (Provence Cabinet)
Note the highlighted specs in the 1957 versus the 1958 catalog:
1957 Fisher Medalist II (Provence Cabinet)
1958 Fisher Medalist II (Provence Cabinet)
Well, drat. I pulled the receiver out to clean it and figure out what it needs and one of the two Mullard EL84 tubes is gassed. Hopefully it didn't take anything irreplaceable with it. I'll throw a set of NOS GE in there once all the non-ceramic caps have been replaced (as well as the two cement power resistors - I'd rather run wirewound Ohmites). It's costing me more than 2x what I paid for the console to recap it!
On the plus side, it looks like the original owners didn't touch a thing - all the tubes were orignal Fisher tubes.
-D
On the plus side, it looks like the original owners didn't touch a thing - all the tubes were orignal Fisher tubes.
-D
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Not sure. I'm tempted to try rehabbing the turntable and swapping in a good mono cartridge (like a DL-102 or a Grado MC+). If that doesn't work, I suppose I could always throw my SL10 in there...
-D
The woofer has 220714 stamped upon it, while the tweeter has 220716 stamped upon it. I couldn't see what was on the midrange (FWIW, the woofer also had LS 547 122 P150 C6147 stamped upon it).
Some photos of the drivers for Larry:
-D
ALL JENSEN's. I was actually thinking it might have a variation of a doublehump Co-Ax speaker in it. But the way it's set up is how I originally setup my 51 Coronet when I 1st got it. (courtesy of an old Motorola console). I ended up with a '56 Jensen 15" Co-AX from Batt-Radio. not a Double Hump, but it does sound good.
I got mine for $50 (with no speaker or baffle), and then spent about $100. for the speaker, plywood and cloth, caps, resistors. Luckily all the tubes were good, or I had them in stock. Mine has 4 6V6 in a PPP setup.
Larry
I got mine for $50 (with no speaker or baffle), and then spent about $100. for the speaker, plywood and cloth, caps, resistors. Luckily all the tubes were good, or I had them in stock. Mine has 4 6V6 in a PPP setup.
Larry
That's odd. Your midrange is the smaller magnet version that was in my '58 C800 when I got it - that model didn't have the adjustable "presence" and "brilliance" controls. The '57 Medalist II that I gutted had a Jensen mid with a cake-pan shaped closed basket and a magnet structure that's about 50-75% larger. I moved the Medalist II parts, including the adjustable crossover bits, to the C800.
Well, I've got the $45 sunk cost, plus about $80 in parts (I sprung for the nice CE can caps). Hopefully that's all this will need. Other than powdering cadmium on some parts (I'm being careful around this), everything has cleaned up superbly and is in great shape. I wouldn't mind finding a second matching Mullard EL84 (black gunk and all) for it, but I'm not holding my breath.
-D
What does the left-most position on the selector say? "TV" or "Stereo"? Just based on the GE VRII, I suspect it's a '58, but I can't figure out why they would downgrade the midrange driver. Having listened to both, the big-magnet version is superior.
TheRed1
Console Conservationist
Well, your speakers were manufactured early enough in 1957 (14th and 16th weeks) for it to bee a '57. It's entirely possible Fisher started installing the "dual-magnet" cartridges before the '58s came out or it was upgraded later. On the other hand, it's got the smaller midrange speaker Sam found in a '58 C800 . . .
Unless you find the original receipt or hang-tag hidden away inside somewhere, it may be impossible to tell.
And not the larger midrange I found in a '57 Medalist II (which had a VR-RPX cartridge, BTW). The diameter is actually the same, but the magnet structure and frame is quite a bit different.
The woofer has 220714 stamped upon it, while the tweeter has 220716 stamped upon it. I couldn't see what was on the midrange (FWIW, the woofer also had LS 547 122 P150 C6147 stamped upon it).
Some photos of the drivers for Larry:
-D
Speaker dating indicated the 14th and 16th weeks of 1957 or mid to late March. Figure 2-3 months for the speakers to work their way thru the shipping and receiving depts, then the production line. Manufactured probably mid to late June '57. If we use Sept to Sept as the model year (which is plausible from previous discussions on this in other threads) you've got a late '57 model. Otherwise it's 6 of 1, 1/2 dozen the other.
Larry
Finished!!!
Here it is in the bedroom, playing a little Miles Davis on KPLU (good strong signal as you can see by the eye tube). I also have my ZuneHD hooked into the 'TV' input for listening to my own music. Unfortunately, something is seized up on the Garrard right now, so I'll have to disassemble, relube and reassemble the changer.
I get the feeling I'll be listening to this console a LOT.
-D
Here it is in the bedroom, playing a little Miles Davis on KPLU (good strong signal as you can see by the eye tube). I also have my ZuneHD hooked into the 'TV' input for listening to my own music. Unfortunately, something is seized up on the Garrard right now, so I'll have to disassemble, relube and reassemble the changer.
I get the feeling I'll be listening to this console a LOT.
-D
KentTeffeteller
Gimpus Stereophilus!
Indeed, beautiful. The Garrard RC 121 Mark II is a good changer for that era. The Stanton 400 or 500 is a good Stereo safe cartridge which could be tracked at 4 grams or the Shure SC 35 cartridge.
For now, I'm simply running my Technics SL10 / 310mc combo into the 'phono' input on the R20 - it's small enough that it doesn't overwhelm the top of the console. I'll get around to fixing the Garrard eventually, but I don't think it'll be able to match the sound quality of the SL10!
-D
-D
Follow-up...
For safety, I added an internal chassis-mount fuse holder and a 2A fuse (as well as a second X1/Y2 death cap on the neutral). In addition, I bypassed the phono section as I'm using a spare Gram Amp 2 as the phono stage for the Technics TT. Much quieter and theoretically much safer.
Oh yeah, and I swapped in a matched pair of early-60s Bugle Boys...even better!
-D
For safety, I added an internal chassis-mount fuse holder and a 2A fuse (as well as a second X1/Y2 death cap on the neutral). In addition, I bypassed the phono section as I'm using a spare Gram Amp 2 as the phono stage for the Technics TT. Much quieter and theoretically much safer.
Oh yeah, and I swapped in a matched pair of early-60s Bugle Boys...even better!
-D
