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55' Fisher Custom Electra I in Normandy Cabinet

radioterry

radioterry

Active Member
I just picked up a Fisher Custom Electra I off of CL for $40. It has a K-14 chassis and a 15" Jensen Coaxial speaker. The TT is Collaro RC-54. The cabinet (The Normandy) has been well taken care of and is in excellent condition.

I bought it off of the original owner's family. Based on a visual inspection, it is an older electrical restoration.

Although it's 19 tube chassis with those four 6V6 tubes sounds terrific right now through that Jensen 15" coaxial speaker :music:, I plan on going through it over the next several weeks.

BR,

Terry
 
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Here is a picture of the Fisher tuned to a local FM station. Here is also a picture of the Jensen speaker (marked: 220449 ST891 K 310-A C5786).
 

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Wow! Beautiful Custom Electra! I see from the speaker production code that you've definitely got a '55 - possibly from quite early in the model year. That coaxial Jensen (K-310?) is quite a bit different than the one in this 1956 Custom Electra (Gotham cabinet) that surfaced not too long ago in Wyoming:

http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?p=4953331

AK member Duffinator inherited one almost identical to yours but I don't think he ever posted a photo of the speaker. His was purchased in Dec. 1955. He was one of the very first Fisher console owners I remember encountering here at AK:

http://www.videokarma.org/showthread.php?t=47032

I wonder if the K-14 and 15 chassis could be descendants of my 1941 Philharmonic K-1. There may possibly have been K-2 and K-12 chassis used in the original Fisher Medalist consoles from the late 1940s. Those console model numbers were K-2 and K-12. Fisher often used the chassis model number as the model number for the console - or visa versa - as in your NK-14. The control layout on some of the earliest Fishers is very similar to that of the K-1 (as well as the 1948 Fisher SA-1). It's my speculation that those might be K-series chassis and that the K-14/15 and K-100 (but probably not the K-1000!) were somehow related to/descended from those.

Incidentally, Duffinator sent me scans of all the paperwork that came with his grandmother's NK-14 - instructons, brochure, etc. I'm sure he wouldn't mind me passing those on to you if you need them.
 
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Seems that the bell cover has been removed from the Electra on the gothem cab. Look pretty much the same other wise
 
I've got the same model speaker in my 51' Coronet that is in the Gotham. Got it from Battradio and had to make a baffle. Doesn't look to have any way for a bell cover to attach to the basket. But it IS a good sounding speaker.
 
WarrGo said:
Seems that the bell cover has been removed from the Electra on the gothem cab. Look pretty much the same other wise
Click to expand...

Most likely was never installed. Bell covers were usually reserved for "over the counter" sales where they wanted to make it look pretty for the consumer. The 55 pictured here might have predated that practice at Jensen.
 
The one in the photo posted by Electracoup. Seems like it has a threaded hole in the back of the magnet to screw the cover on.
 
Based on the information stamped on the basket rim, radioterry's Jensen would appear to be a model K-310-A:

220449 ST891 K 310-A C5786

In the same position on electracoupe's Jensen is the number 113:

220621 LS547 113-C5979

I can't find a Jensen model 113 in any of the period literature. Was it a model available only to manufacturers?

What's stamped on yours, Larry?
 
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TheRed1 said:
Wow! Beautiful Custom Electra! I see from the speaker production code that you've definitely got a '55 - possibly from quite early in the model year. That coaxial Jensen (K-310?) is quite a bit different than the one in this 1956 Custom Electra (Gotham cabinet) that surfaced not too long ago in Wyoming:

http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?p=4953331

AK member Duffinator inherited one almost identical to yours but I don't think he ever posted a photo of the speaker. His was purchased in Dec. 1955. He was one of the very first Fisher console owners I remember encountering here at AK:

http://www.videokarma.org/showthread.php?t=47032

I wonder if the K-14 and 15 chassis could be descendants of my 1941 Philharmonic K-1. There may possibly have been K-2 and K-12 chassis used in the original Fisher Medalist consoles from the late 1940s. Those console model numbers were K-2 and K-12. Fisher often used the chassis model number as the model number for the console - or visa versa - as in your NK-14. The control layout on some of the earliest Fishers is very similar to that of the K-1 (as well as the 1948 Fisher SA-1). It's my speculation that those might be K-series chassis and that the K-14/15 and K-100 (but probably not the K-1000!) were somehow related to/descended from those.

Incidentally, Duffinator sent me scans of all the paperwork that came with his grandmother's NK-14 - instructons, brochure, etc. I'm sure he wouldn't mind me passing those on to you if you need them.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info, I would very much like copies of the NK-14 - instructions, brochure, etc.

The chassis badge on mine has the following information punched on it:

Model: K-14
Watts: 200
Serial Number: 46468


TIA,

Terry
 
The Jensen I bought from Battradio is stenciled:

220641 LS547-113-C5979 20 weeks younger than electracoupe's. His was made 1st week of JUNE 1956. Mine was made 1st week of October 1956.

Back Picture 1;
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Back Picture 2;
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FRONT Picture
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It's possible that the 113 is an OEM only unit similar to the Generic Jensen Duplex at the time but for use by OEM's only.

Wasn't the 310 the 12" version of the Coax, the 510 being the 15" version, with the 610 being the coveted TRI-AX??
 
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larryderouin said:
It's possible that the 113 is an OEM only unit similar to the Generic Jensen Duplex at the time but for use by OEM's only.
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I think that sounds entirely plausible. It is interesting that the '55 Custom Electras used the consumer version and the '56s were OEM. I wonder if this is indicative of the beginnings Mr. Fisher's desire to get into the speaker business - sort of a half step before he outsourced Fisher's speaker production to Bill Hecht's fledgling United Speaker Systems in the late 50's:

http://www.dealerscope.com/common/items/biz/ds/pdf/ds06-halloffame-hecht.pdf

larryderouin said:
Wasn't the 310 the 12" version of the Coax, the 510 being the 15" version, with the 610 being the coveted TRI-AX??
Click to expand...
You would think so but, according to the literature I linked to in my previous post, it was a low-cost 15" coaxial. Contrasted with the price of the G-610 tri-axial that was used in Fisher's contemporary Custom Sixty and . . . yikes!
 
WarrGo said:
The one in the photo posted by Electracoup. Seems like it has a threaded hole in the back of the magnet to screw the cover on.
Click to expand...

Electracoupe's has the same speaker as mine does. The all thread hollow post for the tweeter is in the center. The wires for the tweeter go right up the middle.

Larry
 
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