Stereophile review- Fisher 500 C

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.

I had a pair of Dynaco MK3's 60 watt tube monos,that had afew new parts put in and kept pace with an ARC Classic 60
Tube Amp.My audiophile friend and me couldn't tell them apart sonically it was a TOSS UP go figure.One was made in the late 50's the other in 1995.I think we've been duped!

Some vintage speakers are indeed rolled off. We measured a pair of Bozaks last week and there was not much above 10K. One trick you can do is to augment the top with a super tweeter.

Peter

Nanderson: I could bring the 500C inside and hook them up to my Magico 3's, but I don't think that I'd leave it installed for any amount of time.

Considering that I bought my 500C at a garage sale in mint condition for $20 about 25 to 30 years ago, I wouldn't sell it today just for the profit because it might cost more than $600 to get better sound in the garage system.

I'm pleased that you are happy with the Fisher, I am too, it just is not anything to get overly excited about, in my humble opinion. It is what it is ... a tube reciever.