wadude
Senior Member
A nice Fisher integrated I gave to a good friend twenty or more years ago. Push button selectors and a front panel that hides the less frequently used controls.
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Do You Miss Knobs and Dials and Switches?
- Thread starter MattHooper
- Start date
A nice Fisher integrated I gave to a good friend twenty or more years ago. Push button selectors and a front panel that hides the less frequently used controls.
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Ahh, the famous (but seemingly short-lived) Fisher "New Look"!
source: https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Catalogs/Lafayette-Catalogs/Lafayette-1965-650.pdf pg 28
1) I have yet to encounter one of these in the flesh (so to speak).
2) Your photo is the first I've seen showing what's behind the pull-down panel.
Thanks very much for sharing those images!
wadude
Senior Member
You’re welcome. Check out Fly Hifi website. I believe it is still available.Ahh, the famous (but seemingly short-lived) Fisher "New Look"!
View attachment 462023
source: https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Catalogs/Lafayette-Catalogs/Lafayette-1965-650.pdf pg 28
1) I have yet to encounter one of these in the flesh (so to speak).
2) Your photo is the first I've seen showing what's behind the pull-down panel.
Thanks very much for sharing those images!
wadude
Senior Member
Notice the knobs still retain all of their gold caps!Ahh, the famous (but seemingly short-lived) Fisher "New Look"!
View attachment 462023
source: https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Catalogs/Lafayette-Catalogs/Lafayette-1965-650.pdf pg 28
1) I have yet to encounter one of these in the flesh (so to speak).
2) Your photo is the first I've seen showing what's behind the pull-down panel.
Thanks very much for sharing those images!
EDIT: Interesting that the stereo/mono/reverse knob is placed in a location of importance on the main panel.
My friend was a fine artist, rock and roll musician and historian. Vinyl fan. At the same time, he was the first of us to embrace CD, collecting them before he could afford a player! I learned so much from that guy!
His stereo was a little nondescript integrated and it seemed a shame that he didn’t have a great tube stereo. I bumped into the amp and matching tuner on the cheap and slid it his way.
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Audionaut
Major Contributor
Wega Lab Zero
Wega's attempt to penetrate the top segment.
Wega was a German hi-fi company that no longer exists. The German hi-fi industry has gone the same way as the German photo industry: almost non-existent.
Well-known names included
Braun
Dual
Telefunken
Grundig
SABA
Uher
ITT Schaub-Lorenz
Nordmende
Metz
and Wega
Wega's attempt to penetrate the top segment.
Wega was a German hi-fi company that no longer exists. The German hi-fi industry has gone the same way as the German photo industry: almost non-existent.
Well-known names included
Braun
Dual
Telefunken
Grundig
SABA
Uher
ITT Schaub-Lorenz
Nordmende
Metz
and Wega
Audionaut
Major Contributor
I always thought the Telefunken design of the 1970s and 80s was very cool
TRX 3000
S600
Very nice Turntable
Had it for about three Years
TRX 3000
S600
Very nice Turntable
Had it for about three Years
Audionaut
Major Contributor
Grundig sxv 6000 from 1980
Would like to see it measured by ASR
In my opinion a very good PRE Amplifier
Would like to see it measured by ASR
In my opinion a very good PRE Amplifier
Audionaut
Major Contributor
Braun Regie 510
CEV 510
CEV 510
Audionaut
Major Contributor
Revox
Always unmistakable
Always unmistakable
wadude
Senior Member
It would be considered derogatory today to use the aptly descriptive "Japanese Watts" of 1970s.
"60Watt"? eh?
Looking at that X-101C advertisement, it is clear to me that Fisher was using that marketing-ploy long before the Japanese did... or had to.
"60Watt"? eh?
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It's less "Japanese watts" than it is pre-FTC '74 watts. The rise of transistorized amplifiers, commencing in the early 1960s, coincided with the IHF "music power" specification, which (from my latter-day perspective) rapidly devolved into... the Wild West in terms of output power claims.It would be considered derogatory today to use the aptly descriptive "Japanese Watts" of 1970s.
Looking at that X-101C advertisement, it is clear to me that Fisher was using that marketing-ploy long before the Japanese did... or had to.
"60Watt"? eh?
Cf., e.g., this mid-60s Fisher 500C receiver (a longtime denizen in my basement, ultimately sent to a better place), still wearing its original power claim sticker:
Fisher backup 500C front by Mark Hardy, on Flickr"75 watts"
So, first of all, that is a stereo power claim; so divide by two: 37.5 wpc.
The 500C uses push-pull 7591A power pentodes in class AB (probably AB1). Realistically, probably 25 watts per channel continuous at reasonable THD levels (1960s vacuum tube "reasonable" levels, that is).
In fact, I almost put a disclaimer in my earlier post about the pre-FTC '74 power claim... but there seems to be an interesting perspective held my many folks here that the "RMS"
-- ahem, I mean continuous watt specification for output power is un-necessary and irrelevant. In full (and presumably unsurprising) disclosure, I am not one of the folks holding that perspective, but that's not knob/dial/switch related, so I'll stop there.
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In a way, Wega has survived, first as Sony Wega, and now, Sony Bravia.
Aside from Revox, I dunno that any of the other items on your list were officially imported to the USA, but the later Braun Atelier system was rebranded as ADS for the USA. I've sometimes thought to acquire a Braun Regie, but I'd probably have to ship it from the EU.
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The reel to reel makes sense, the B77 is a legend...
But the TT? that just looks like an also ran, typical mid market TT, with Revox (and Alice Cooper) branding.
Why not re-release the B795 linear tracking tour de force? (Perhaps with an appropriate Soundsmith high compliance cartridge fitted)
(or for that matter, the later Empire modified version with a higher mass linear tracking arm, for mid compliance cartridges)
Just sad.
I was hoping for a more harsh reply of that turntable.
Those AliceCooper eyes -staring at you- is just a bad staging for any kind of tunes.
Well the aesthetic is not to my taste (even though I love Alice Cooper).....
But the technology, is disappointing for a company with the reputation of Revox.....
Warmed over fast food.
Audionaut
Major Contributor
Since I was interested in this, I asked the AI about it:
These German HiFi brands were sold in the USA during their heyday:- Dual — very popular for turntables; in the 1960s and 70s, Dual turntables were widely sold in the US and are still well-known among vintage audio fans.
- Telefunken — famous for tube radios, tube amps, and tape recorders; their vacuum tubes (like the Telefunken ECC83) are legendary among US audiophiles and guitar amp enthusiasts even today.
- SABA — to a smaller extent; some high-end radios and tape recorders made it to the US, but they were never as big as Telefunken or Dual.
- Grundig — exported radios and tape recorders to the US, often marketed as premium “German Engineering.”
- Braun (HiFi) — iconic designs by Dieter Rams were admired by US design lovers; the HiFi products themselves were more of a niche export. Fun fact: Braun’s minimalist design language heavily influenced Apple.
- Uher — their portable tape recorders (like the Uher Report series) were sold in the US, especially used by journalists, broadcasters, and field recordists.
These brands were hardly relevant in the US:- ITT Schaub-Lorenz
- Nordmende
- Metz
- Wega (became known mainly after Sony acquired them)
Audionaut
Major Contributor
Revox and Alice Cooper
For me, that doesn't fit
It's more the opposite of man and machine
Revox and Yello or Roger Federer, that would fit very well
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Everyone loves Revox so they get a pass, I suppose. To me the whole concept is tacky. They could put a picture of Kylie on it, I still wouldn't buy it.
