1962 Fisher President SF bay area CL

fini

Active Member
It was I!! I replied to the thread in Dollars & Sense, and it was suggested I bring it over here. So, to copy and paste...

The seller was a real sweetheart. I'm pretty sure I was the first to contact her (6 am the next morning), with an offer to buy above her tiny asking price. I had to come up again (gladly) to seal the deal, and was able to get there fairly quickly.

I've begun a first round of cleaning the components, which are in great shape. I think the thick layer of dust and grime may have preserved the original finish! It does indeed have a Garrard Type A turntable, but no R2R. I'm not sure that it ever had the tape deck, as these consoles were available without (the owner was the 2nd owner).

Unfortunately, I'm not able to keep the console, but I've given it to a dear friend (who helped me move the beast!). The combination of no room, a wife that would kill me if it came in the house (I could possibly convince her had it been a modern design), and a pretty dinged-up cabinet finish influenced the decision. I hope I don't get too whipped here for not keeping it!

The 400 CX-2 is missing both green jewels. I understand that elusive entity called "The Fisher Doctor" may be sitting on a stash, and I've sent him a message (through eBay), but I don't hold out much hope for hearing back. If anyone her has one or two spare, I'd be interested in buying them, or working out some deal.

I can post photos of the work I'm doing, or answer questions about the components, if anyone has any.​
 
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pictures, pictures, pictures! what speakers are you going to play them through?
 
Oops! I better start a-postin'. I'll be playing them through my ca. 1979 Klipschorns, with the Volti Audio top end. My main system consists of a JuicyMusic Blueberry Xtreme, and JM Pcat monoblocks (6550 push pull class A). Various source material.

Here are some random shots. So far, I've only done initial cleaning of the SA-300B.
 

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Pretty cool, one of these days i am going to find a Prez...

Wondering if you could post a picture of the speaker driver compliment and rough measurement of the speaker cabs ? I have a 61' Executive and have wondered what the difference is with the President.
 
Pretty cool, one of these days i am going to find a Prez...

Wondering if you could post a picture of the speaker driver compliment and rough measurement of the speaker cabs ? I have a 61' Executive and have wondered what the difference is with the President.
I'll have to do that next time I'm at my friend's house. I was impressed that the speakers had relatively robust crossovers. It looked like each speaker had a 12" woofer, a tweeter of some kind, and two mids, each backed up with a cardboard "can" (think, for lack of a better description, part of an oatmeal canister, with a metal bottom).
 
hmm, interesting.... i am kind of interested in the size of the cabs as well.

you want to look into the drivers, i am pretty sure fisher used some nice stuff. mine is stuffed with jensen drivers, the attenuators also appear to be jensen

ps great grab on the 400cx especially. the chassis look to be in fuzzy but really nice condition. i have been doing a restore on a 400c preamp with really bad cadium plating flaking. maas metal polish does a steller job !!
 

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Amazing find! Good to hear that it is all going to be preserved and loved. Your SA-300 is beautiful, I haven't seen one that nice.

If I found such fine Fisher gear, my audio gear purchasing days would be over.
 
Jailtime,
Nah, the next set of questions just starts.
1. What can I let go?
2. How much space do I have?
3. I'm not using that one . . . so?
4. Now that I've made space (after answering 1 and filling the paypal account) what can I fill that space up with since the more I've learned, the more I want to learn?
 
fini, dem's beauty-ful. hair-raising, actually. thanks for the pics!

be sure to take care on those tubes, not to wipe off the labels when you're cleaning them. q-tips and water work fine, just be careful with the markings.

congratulations, again.
 
fini, dem's beauty-ful. hair-raising, actually. thanks for the pics!

be sure to take care on those tubes, not to wipe off the labels when you're cleaning them. q-tips and water work fine, just be careful with the markings.

congratulations, again.

I've had great luck with used dryer sheets...

-D
 
How do you use them? They always seem stiff and abrasive to me.

Used dryer sheets should be pretty soft. Just rub the tube, but be careful around the paint and don't get anywhere near the markings on Telefunkens.
 
Used dryer sheets should be pretty soft. Just rub the tube, but be careful around the paint and don't get anywhere near the markings on Telefunkens.

LOL, obviously I don't use dryer sheets! Anyway, I learned my lesson a few years back about the fragile nature of the printing on tubes. Good thing I washed all the Baldwin 12AU7s in one batch! I don't have the skill to distinguish between a 12AU7 and a 12AX7 (or AT7) by the construction alone...

I'm being very careful cleaning the chassis, as well. This Blue Magic metal polish is great, but no doubt it would take any screen printing away along with the grunge and oxidation! I'm considering using small bits of blue masking tape (just as a precaution: I won't be rubbing over them) to protect the chassis printing, but worry that THAT may harm the printing.
 
I've never had much of a problem with US tubes losing paint to dryer sheets. Don't scrub on them like you would dirty dishes, but a light rub will take away most dirt safely.

Telefunkens are a different story. You look at those things wrong and the paint falls off.
 
I just did the chassis on my 400 today with Brasso and a Handiwipe. rub lightly and the silkscreening didn't come off. Use a toothbrush and it will, even lightly.

Larry
 
I just did the chassis on my 400 today with Brasso and a Handiwipe. rub lightly and the silkscreening didn't come off. Use a toothbrush and it will, even lightly.

Larry

Man, I would have thought it was the other way around. Thanks for the tip.
 
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