Hello -- I'm "resurrecting" this thread because I a few months ago I bought a pair of XP-5a in near-new condition (cosmetic) at a sale benefiting Ronald McDonald House. It cost me a wallet-stretching $20USD.
I took them down to the basement where they sat until today when I finally hooked them up to my 500C. (The 500C had been driving a pair of Time Windows 1a that I snagged for $200 about 20 months ago. I seem to be lucky for speakers. The Time Windows are now in my "main" living room music/video system.)
The woofer surrounds seem to be in great shape -- not rotted, in fact they appear to be cloth rather than polyfoam. I know that's not the case, it's just the appearance. The tweeters have a foam disc in the centre which is intact but has deteriorated ... if I were to touch it more them gingerly, the foam would deteriorate.
Listening impressions:
The Fisher advertising statements regarding bass is pretty accurate. There is a goodly amount of tight, controlled bass. No, it won't shake the room and is not home theatre worthy. But as stated, it is controlled, not boomy.
The most prominent characteristic is what I might call "sharp detail". The highs are definitely not rolled off and there is a LOT of detail across all frequencies, especially mids and highs. The overall impression is detailed, yes, but also somewhat dry and etched. There is a bit of sibilance on upper male vocals. Guitar strings are realistic but, again, with a bit of HF emphasis.
I'm not sure if the foam disc "plugs" on the tweeters were standard or installed by a dealer or owner -- it's an interesting arrangement. Does anyone know anything about this?
As I said, this pair is in excellent cosmetic conditions, including the grills (which I removed for this initial listening session,) and each sport both badges. My installation is not even close to optimal with respect to room and listening position, so I can't really evaluate sound stage yet, though I did detect decent horizontal placement of instruments. They were placed on 18" stands well out from all walls, so careful closer placement to the back wall might develop more LF content without overemphasis.
I will probably end up taking these to my local specialist audio repair shop (they work on everything from Mac valve amps to LCD TVs,) to have them updated. My suspicion is that in addition to evaluating the drivers (especially the tweeters) the crossover needs updating and could improve things dramatically. I would expect that they can be brought to a state where the detail is retained but they exhibit a sweetness and somewhat more relaxed presentation.
(@ WigWam -- greetings form the RFF days. I'm still shooting film!)
(@ Brian -- I'm a Stratford boy, but currently in Rochester, NY. Watching Leafs as I type!)
Postscript: My content was the excellent
Zuzu's Petals by Lunch at Allen's -- a lovely Christmas album. Lunch at Allen's is a collaboration of Ian Thomas, Murray McLaughlin, Cindy Church and Marc Jordin. Highly recommended -- not your usual schlock holiday content, it's all original compositions.
