Fisher 800T receiver for AR3a's?

T

Tropical

Active Member
There is a Fisher 800T/AR3a cult in Vietnam where I happened to tumble upon couple months ago. My guess is that during the Vietnam war there were many GI's who bought stuffs from PX then resold to the Viet consumers. And there were a lot of Fisher 800T's and AR3a's then.

These new audio lovers praise the combo enthusiastically which I do not understand. I found out to drive the AR3a's to a coherent and enjoyable level the amp/receiver must have enough juice of at least 100W/channel. My McIntosh with 80W/channel is dragging its feet but the Sansui 9000dB is amazing with the AR3a's. The Fisher 800T is capable of only 65W/channel. Worse than that, its THD of 0.5% is even worse than my tube amp! :yikes: :confused:

This seems odd and I just want to know if any of you ever tried this combo before and tell me what your opinion is.
 
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Yes, it was a common combination. I call it synergy. Some components just plain work so well together. Not sure which Mc you have but when I got my Bozaks, my long time main system amp, a MC250 did not seem to open them up. I needed to go up to a MC2105 but recently hooked in a 20 watt Sherwood S9500c and though I have to run it slightly lower than with the 2105 it opened them up beautifully. It is not just the Mc. I've had other amps on them and they just don't have the steam either.

The 800T is rare in the US. You could make some money by bringing some back with sets of ARs.
 
Brian,

Have you tried it? I need to understand it from a true user point of view. The audio world in VN is just staring and there is a lot of nostalgia or rumor more than reality. They are like us 20 years ago, love to listen to myth than fact.
 
I used to work for a Fisher and AR dealer and we sold a number of the AR3a sets with the 500T and 500TX. It was at the time considered the poor person's McIntosh. An alternative to the 1700 and either ML1C or Bozak 302. Not a setup for rock'n at high levels but excellent synergy. My cousin had the system for a few years before I stepped him up to a Marantz 19 for the ARs. The Marantz put out 50 watts rms and was more than adequate.
 
Hi,

Important note: AR 3A demands lots of clean power (100 per channel). They are also a tricky load to drive (4 ohms-6 Ohms). I recommend a McIntosh 2105 for the job. This amp doesn't have to clip driving AR 3A speakers. The Fisher receivers mentioned are OK for classical or jazz listening at low to moderate volumes only. AR 3A tweeters don't like amplifier clipping which killed many in the day.
 
KentTeffeteller said:
Hi,

Important note: AR 3A demands lots of clean power (100 per channel). They are also a tricky load to drive (4 ohms-6 Ohms). I recommend a McIntosh 2105 for the job. This amp doesn't have to clip driving AR 3A speakers. The Fisher receivers mentioned are OK for classical or jazz listening at low to moderate volumes only. AR 3A tweeters don't like amplifier clipping which killed many in the day.
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This is why I am surprised to see the cult with a 65W receiver for the AR3a's. For the McIntosh I am using Mc122 80W/channel @ 8ohm and 120W/channel @ 4ohm. It sounds wonderful but I have to turn the preamp volume up to 12 PM position. My other Mc2500 has no problem.
 
OMG, you guys are trying to drive the heck out of a set of 3a's. They were designed to run with 20 watts and do well at those levels. You may be driving them with big amps but what is the average power level and peak power levels actually being dumped into them? I have amps from 20 watts to 210 watts at different times on my big Bozaks but average power levels is still 1/3 - 1/2 watt into them regardless of amp. Differences in dynamic range between the amps only is really noticable between the 20 watter and the 210 watter. But then, I listen to classical and jazz and do not try to shoot driver cones across the room. A 500T/TX will drive the ARs nicely.
 
I am not limitted to only jazz and classical. My taste is quite versatile and the AR3a's can suit mine very well. A main strength of AR3a is bass and listening to the Japanese Taiko drum performance if volume is not large enough it doesn't bring the best out of the music.
 
Having heard Japanese Taiko drums, I'd suggest looking into a set of K'horns and something klike the McIntosh MC2500. I've not listened to the drums on a set of ARS but I'd suspect they can not recreate the transients of the drums. Would suspect the cone is too slow to respond. I've heard the drums on the K'horns in the 120db+ range and yep, they can do the job but you need lotsa power for the transients. Would totally agree the Fisher ain't the amp for you in this case. However, it does not change my opinion in general. One thing we forget many times is to ask what kind of music the person seeking advice listens to. I try to remember to ask but the question did not seem to need the asking when I read it.
 
Well the purpose of this thread is to discuss the Fisher 800T and the AR3a's combo whether the Fisher can bring the best out of the AR3a's in large range of music. My conclusion is that it can but there are much better amps/receivers (in the 100W and above) to meet the requirements..
 
In that we are in 100% agreement. I have 3 of the 1st gen SS (hybrid tube/SS tune and receiver) Fisher (receiver, amp and tuner) and like them especially as to the engineering and construction but would only use them if I wanted a particular vintage flavored sounding system. Compared to my Sherwood SS amp and tuner of just a slightly later period which are competitive sounding with more modern designs and I am rotating in and out of my full time systems, the Fishers do not get into the systems at all.
 
Hi Brian,

The AR3 and 3A were the reason why amplifier power increased in the early 1960's. They are acoustic suspension, a tricky load to drive, and mucho inefficient in the bargain. These stressed amplifiers in the day. In fact, the McIntosh 275 and Dynaco Stereo 70 were designed for jobs like this. The AR2 could get by with 20 watts if not cranked too much. The sacrifice was a little bit less bottom octave. AR tweeters didn't like clipping amplifiers. Your Bozaks are much easier to drive and an easier impedance load to drive. The AR3 and 3A were a 4 ohm load to drive which many early SS amps had problems driving if cranked.
 
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