Stereophile review- Fisher 500 C

There are multiple reasons for going into this discussion. But the first is music and beautiful acoustic music is what the 500C makes. Secondly, my Talons, for example, are very easily driven to loud levels with ease by the 500C. My former B&W 801s were power hogs that truly required massive abouts of current and as such it was sort of like buying a car that required jet fuel (Krell or big Classe) to run it (extremely wasteful of energy and my retirement savings). Third: no one is apologizing for the 500C but rather emphasizing its virtues. Fourth: China is the home of sweatshop almost everything and, unless one does not care about sustainability in all its dimensions we should be mindful of where we buy and, of course, do you really expect in the foreseeable future long term warranty support from a Chinese company. Like Walmart (who by the way according to the WSJ purchases 80% of everything in their stores from manufacturing plants in China), the typical Chinese approach is about price and then good-bye and not long term parts and service support. Fifth: Many modern tube designs use tubes that are truly in short supply and not likely to be carried on into the future. The power tubes for the 500C are about $75 per matched quad and the other tubes are also very cheap and except for one, and that one has a common substitue, in great supply. Sixth: 500C service is relatively easy and done by Americans in your home town even though I suppose you could ship it over to China for support (sort of an oximoran) Seventh: The world does not need more of its resources dug up to produce brand new transformers, sheet metal and thick faceplates it is already there to be recycled in the 500C. Eighth: The 500C can educate an entire generation brought up on MP3 music that music is about the shortest distance to the soul and connecting to it in a large, vivid way makes that experience meaningful. You can eat at McDonalds to get eating out of the way or you can eat well and dramatically healthier by buying locally grown non-corporate farm produce and free range, non-antiotic laden, meat you cook yourself (sort of like the comparison of having the convenience of 1000s of compressed music files on a computer to the "major effort" of placing an LP on a turntable). It could also educate them about how marketing produces Markets to those that are unaware of how they are being dupped into inferior life experiences. Life is short. I recall a famous line: "You have an awful long time to be dead" Buying into the something because you see it advertized everywhere no more makes it a good decision to purchase than a politican repeating a lie enough times hoping to make it a truth. Ninth: It is simply a joy to connnect full circle with history and realize greatness that needs no apologies.

Ahh. But I sure the "iron" and build quality of items like this Fisher 500C far surpass what you could get in equivalent gear today for the same bucks. I'd rather have a vintage tube amp than any used SS amp from today - for the same price. Hands down, no contest. In that case the dollar per performance ratio is clearly in the corner for the vintage tube gear. IMO. Sure the more costly stuff is better, but not similar priced components. Vintage wins.

tone controls are not on equipment(old or new) to correct design errors. they are a convenient way to correct sound recordings. many folks use interconnects and speaker wire to no more effect.

I've had a Fischer 500C out in the garage since the 70's, along with a pair of AR-3's.

Great for a garage ... certainly not anything to get overly excited about though.

Just my honest opinion.

The 500C is not going to sound incredible with energy hog and muffled/closed in sounding speakers, compared to todays offerings, like the early 60s vintage AR-3s. Many of the todays highly efficient speakers bass, midrange, tweeter speed is blindingly fast, open, and spacious compared to the AR-3/AR-3a days. Using the AR-3s with the Fisher 500C is like putting a cheap lense on a Hasselblad, you can still take a picture but the quality of the picture will be limited by the lense not the camera. Imagine how Ansel Adam's grand, crystaline clear landscapes pictures taken with large format film would look like if he took those pictures with a 1MB digital camera (http://www.anseladams.com/Yosemite-Special-Edition-Photographs-C110.aspx ). Get the Windex out and clean the fog on the window to what the 500C can do: leave the AR-3s in the garage and bring the 500C after cap replacements/routine maintainance into the main listening room.