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XP Series Speakers 1959-1973

thorenstd124 said:
Where are the date codes?
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Those I have seen have been stamped on the back side of the rim of the speaker baskets. You have to either open up the back of the enclosure or remove the drivers from the front - depending on how the speaker is constructed.

When you say XP-9s, I assume that is the plural of XP-9 and not XP-9'S' as in 'sculptured grill'. What sort of grill does it have? Its dimensions make me wonder if it isn't, in fact, an XP-9S from '74-'75. I don't have information on the XP-9S but other 'S' models from the mid 70s are significantly different from their earlier versions.
 
Periodic Table of XP Speakers

PeriodicTableXP.jpg


Distilled from the preceding 5-part series, this chart is an attempt to show the chronology and model hierarchy at a glance. I'm currently working on a much more ambitious table showing all of Fisher's components (tuners, preamps, amps, etc.) 1953 through 1969 or so. It will be interesting trying to cram all those models onto one grid.
 
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Fisher Speakers Info.....

I would just like to say, for the record....."THANK YOU"..:thmbsp:..to all the fellow AK'ers who have contributed by posting such detailed and informative valuable information to this thread on 'vintage' Fisher speakers. :yes:
Never knew that Fisher was so deep into speakers at one time, back in the day. :scratch2:

Again, thank you everyone! :D
 
three cheers

R-2-R said:
I would just like to say, for the record....."THANK YOU"..:thmbsp:..to all the fellow AK'ers who have contributed by posting such detailed and informative valuable information to this thread on 'vintage' Fisher speakers. :yes:
Never knew that Fisher was so deep into speakers at one time, back in the day. :scratch2:

Again, thank you everyone! :D
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I second that, three cheers! I am in the process of finishing a restore on xp-16's right now, all original drivers (of course not original foam) .. I am down to what to do with the front grills. I was fortunate to pick them up from a fellow AK'er that was running out of room, (and wifely patience) so i took them on and need to finish the grills but all the original material is gone so i am contemplating options. the cabs are GORGEOUS!... not perfect but very well finished
 

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I just found a pair of 111K speakers fully intact and working left out by a dumpster. One of the speaker terminals is broken off and the cabs are slightly beat up but still look amazing. I always heard to avoid Fisher speakers so I almost didn't grab these. After hooking them up, I was in shock. The bass produced by those 12 inch woofers was amazing. I have these connected to a Luxman 115. The only thing that set me back were the highs. These have more relaxed highs and I would agree (rolled off). I still prefer my KLH 17 and 23. I think I may replace the caps and try a few different tweeters or maybe even mod these a bit more but I couldn't be happier. I'll add them to the list of my speaker projects. Right now they will serve as my workshop speakers.
 
Mtlmn1971 ... i sould bet ... its not just me that is chomping at the bit to see some pic's of that score I know i have not seen a pair of 111K's
 
michigannick, Here are some pics. The cabs are a bit more beat up then I thought but I'll get them back in shape. One speaker is missing the badge.
 

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That is a LOT of drivers! lol I suspect the cross over will be a joy to re-cap... pretty cool vintage for sure! That looks like a nice find!
 
Hi, interesting thread about vintage Fisher speakes!

I am Fisher enthusiast from Germany, aso publisher - I wonder if there was ever any attempt to make a biography of Avery Fisher?
It could be done in two volumes:

Vol. I: AVery Fisher's life
Vol II: Fisher Audio Equipment until 1969.

Greetings to all of you from Matthias in Germany
 
Well if there was I've never seen it and would have certainly purchased a copy.

TheRed1 and others have posted a lot of great information about Fisher here on AK making it about the best source to be found.

EDIT: Just remembered that there was an article in Fortune magazine some time ago about Mr. Fisher, I believe 1946 was the year.
 
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Other than what I would classify as a couple of small grammatical errors, pretty good. There is one glaring omission, however. I copied the last 2-3 sentences of the article, one of which is not complete and leaves the reader hanging, and wondering "what the H---"?

If you enjoy spending a little work on an old pair of speakers, the XP-7 can be a nice project. As the model has been sold for a number of years, there is a (what???) The main benefit to this is that there is a large arena for getting parts as well as for asking for help on repairs.
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Nice recovery! It's the Catholic School upbringing. And my German is non existant except for Nein, and Achtung.
 
Years ago I spoke with Bill about rebuilding his tweeters. I had been given a set of XP-18s that an AK'er was holding for me at his warehouse in the US for pickup. He was amazed persons would even consider rebuilding them or using them today. The are rubber pieces in them he said would have hardened within a decade or so and doubted any at the time would work at all and if working would not be anywhere near original specifications.

He no longer had the dies to cut replacement pieces nor any good replacements to us or from which specifications or dies could be made. He also said that almost any softdome tweeter today of decent quality would outperform what he had designed and recommended anyone wanting to use the Fisher speakers replace the tweeters with a newer one that would go higher in the upper frequency register than his which were designed when 14-16 khz was sufficient and beneficial due to the high frequency limitations of the time and above that there was only hiss. He did not mention any particular brand or model but said almost any good one should work.

Removing the resistor from the original circuit and tweeter removed the efficiency matching and hence the increase if the perceived high end but likely also, it would be more tilted and less flat.

I first got sick not long after and lost track of the AK'er holding them. Hopefully he decided to save and get them working and they are not still sitting in a warehouse.
 
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