Shopping for a tube amp/receiver...

[Aquateen]

Originally I had planned to pick up a Fisher 500c and have been kicking that idea around for a while. In a recent thread though someone (Steve?) said that Fisher tubes didn't "rock". I listen to a range of music including loud, distorted music. Is the Fisher the wrong way to go?

[Steve Hoffman]

Geez, I would never say such a thing. I couldn't care less if something "rocks" or not. Either it reproduces musict that sounds like music or it doesn't. I think you are confusing me with Prix...

Buy a minty old Fisher. Turn it up loud. It will rock.

[Aquateen]

Maybe I misread it (http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=15259) Originally posted by Steve Hoffman


The power is very close but the sound isn't, if you get my meaning. The Scott is fine, as are Fisher receivers, but if you want to ROCK (as you like to mention), and you want vintage, a Mac or Marantz is pretty much it. You can turn those suckers up LOUD, I mean REALLY LOUD and they just start to sound better and better. It's uncanny-----It's also bad for your ears...Sigh. So the 500c should sound fine playing Coltrane followed by Slayer?

[Steve Hoffman]

Ha! You got me!

Well, lezz see. I mean, it is all about matching speakers to amplification. If that works, then that's it. I have a 500B and it works great with my Tannoys, but for less efficient speakers it will not be able to be blasted without too much of that tubey overload sound (that you might like).

If you can find a nice one for around $500.00 I'd grab it though. It's neat looking and quite musical. Make sure it is in TIP TOP internal shape though. You could spend the same amount again on maintenance if it isn't!

[Gary]

Would a Dynaco ST70 and matching tube pre sound better than a Fisher receiver?

[Steve Hoffman]

Better? Well, different. Not as musical at a lower volume but better when blasting.

[Dan C]

My Fisher "rocks" hard enough to prompt the neighbor across the hall to leave a rather nasty note on my door recently. :D
IIRC, that night I was rocking to some Telarc LPs of Bach organ music. :cool:

Dan C

[audio]

Originally posted by Steve Hoffman
Geez, I would never say such a thing. I couldn't care less if something "rocks" or not. Either it reproduces musict that sounds like music or it doesn't. I think you are confusing me with Prix...

Buy a minty old Fisher. Turn it up loud. It will rock.


:confused:

[indy mike]

If you're not sure about tubes, try the Dynaco stuff; it's readily available on Ebay, there are tons of them out there (so parts are rarely a problem). I have serviced a couple Dyna MK IV amps and a PAS 3-X preamp (went through and checked the resistors and caps with a multimeter, replaced the junky/worn out ones, got some decent tubes for the amps and yow - tubey sound)... Now, the bass is flabby sounding compared to when I run my transistor amp, but the all impotant mids and highs are soooooooo much sweeter when I go the tube route...

[Sckott]

Steve's right... Although I contend a Dynaco ST70 will sound marvelous playing 'Trane at lower levels.

But a Dynaco ST70, being a 40+ year old amp, believe it or not, LOVES juice. Give it an original WB pressing of Van Halen (s/t) and crank it a bit. Or maybe Led Zeppelin's CODA (Poor Tom). It does love to rock.

But Solid State amps seem to do better for music that tends to be fast in the lower frequencies, like some pop and rap. For Rock & Jazz, even classical, an ST70 or most anything with a pair or quad of 6CA7's in the chain will never fail to impress.

I've never owned a McIntosh though, but those output transformers can run so damn smooth over lots of heavy use, and they DO sound amazing....

[audio]

Here ya go:

http://java.audioasylum.com/ca/ad.jtp?ad=2362

[Everest Dave]

Take a look at www.sophiaelectric.com. They are really quite good and won't break the bank.:D