Sure, we use IC's, FET's, MOSFET's and space-age circuitry in our receivers. And in many applications they're a definite asset.
Many, but not all.
We've found that the mere inclusion of these devices does not result in superior performance.
Careful judgment and discretion is required to make the most out of IC's, and the rest.
For example, our engineers discovered one particular application (in one of the audio preamplifier stages) where none of the available IC's on the market could match the noise and overload performance of our special low noise silicon transistors.
And that's not an isolated example.
Another new IC that many manufacturers were using and advertising was tested by Fisher, and found to have subtle performance flaws. Rather than incorporate it in our equipment simply to "keep up" with our competitors, our engineers worked with the IC manufacturer and were able to improve on its signal-to-noise ratio, distortion and dynamic range. As a result, the 450-T and other new Fisher receivers use this improved IC. And no Fisher receivers were built with the inferior version of this IC.
The 120-watt Fisher 250-TX your best buy at $329.95.
Most receivers are in this price range. But the new AM / FM-stereo Fisher 250-TX is more powerful, more versatile, and will bring in more clear FM stations than any of the rest.
The Tune-O-Matic pushbutton memory tuning incorporated into the 250-TX will allow you to preset your five favorite FM stations, and then tune instantly to any one by pushing the corresponding button.
(Tune-O-Matic is another form of diode tuning, and it works electronically, without any moving parts.) Tuning can also be accomplished manually, of course. And with an FM sensitivity of 2.0 µV, you'll be able to listen to stations that you didn't even know existed.
Two sets of speaker systems can be hooked up and controlled with the 250-TX. And 120 watts is enough power for nearly any purpose you can imagine.
Go ahead, boost the bass and treble.
Baxandall tone controls (a feature of every Fisher receiver) allow you to increase the very low bass and the upper treble without affecting the mid-range. That means no boomy, or harsh side effects at higher bass and treble boost levels.
The overall performance of the 250-TX is up to Fisher's usual high standards. It shares these important specs with the 500-TX:
FM signal-to-noise ratio, 65 dB.
FM stereo separation (at 1 kHz), 38 dB.
Harmonic distortion, 0.5%.
Hum and Noise, -90 dB.
The 110-watt Fisher 210-T, your best buy at $ 279.95
This is the only low-priced AM/ FM stereo receiver we know of with real power.
The 210-T will drive inefficient, acoustic suspension speaker systems in any room.
The tuner section of the 210-T will bring in more stations than many higher priced receivers sensitivity is 2.0µV.
And, like the other more expensive Fisher receivers, you can hook up and control two sets of speaker systems with the 210-T.
Tuning is manual only.
(At this price something had to give. And it wasn't Fisher quality.)
Fisher OVERSEAS AND CANADIAN RESIDENTS PLEASE WRITE TO:
FISHER RADIO INTERNATIONAL, LONG ISLAND CITY, N.Y. 11101
PRICES SLIGHTLY HIGHER IN THE FAR WEST
The 200-watt Fisher 500-TX your best buy at $449.95
We've explained the various tuning advancements incorporated in the Fisher 500-TX. And we claimed that Fisher Auto-Scan would bring in far-off stations automatically, that other good receivers couldn't even manually. (Even other receivers that can match the 500-TX's remarkable 1.7 µV sensitivity.) We can back up that claim.
Crystal filters are great-maybe.
Most good receivers today incorporate crystal filters. These filters permit a high degree of selectivity so that strong, local stations don't over-ride far-off, hard to receive stations.
Crystal filters also do away with periodic alignment--you align them once and they're permanently aligned. Or misaligned! Fisher discovered that by tuning a crystal filter to "average" operating conditions before installing it (as is the industry custom) there's a good chance that the completed receiver will be permanently misaligned, to some degree.
By using a 4-pole crystal filter (others use a 2-pole filter) and by tuning it after the receiver is wired, we've been able to receive up to six times better selectivity in production-line receivers than competitive models we've tested.
This holds true for our least expensive receiver, and all the way up through the 500-TX. Count stations, and you'll discover that Fisher receivers bring in dramatically more stations.
As for the amplifier section of the 500-TX, it's everything you could ask for.
The Fisher---The Fisher Handbook, 1970 Handbook edition. This reference guide to hi-fi and stereo also a includes detailed information on all Fisher components.
Power? Power!
With 200 watts of clean power you'll be able to drive a remote pair of speaker systems, as well as a big, power-hungry main stereo system, complete with a third, center channel speaker.
Again, we quote Audio: "Always we sensed that here was an amplifier section with great power reserve that could handle just about anything we fed to it at very loud levels in large listening rooms.
"...all the wonderful tuning convenience cannot obscure the fact that it's a powerhouse of an amplifier that is capable of excellent transient response ... and truly 'big," 'clean' sound." There are many reasons why the Fisher 500-TX sounds as clean as it does, including a more discretionary use of IC's than is common industry practice these days. More about that later, when we tell you about the new 450-T.
Summing up, in the words of Audio: "The Fisher 500-TX is a top-grade receiver whose performance might easily challenge that of even some of the better separate tuners and amplifiers." In the words of High Fidelity magazine: "The 500-TX is, at this writing, the top-of-the-line receiver from Fisher. It certainly strikes us as a top unit for any line."
The 180-watt Fisher 450-T, your best buy at $399.95
You can tell just by looking at the 450-T that it's a lot of receiver for the money. It has Auto-Scan in addition to conventional flywheel tuning. (Remote control Auto-Scan is included in the price of the 450-T.) It has an AM section.
(One that we're extremely proud of, incorporating sophisticated circuitry to cut out interference and whistles, and highly selective ceramic filters.)
But it's overall performance that really counts. And the 450-T won't disappoint anybody.
It has the same clean sound as the Fisher 500-TX, with only marginally less power.
Now, about IC's.
Other receivers claim to have more IC's than Fishers.
That's fine with us.
The Fisher 500-TX has made its own tuning knob obsolete.
Push-button electronic tuning without moving parts is more convenient, more accurate, and more foolproof than tuning by hand.
(No matter how many meters or scopes you use!)
If you saw Audio magazine's review of the Fisher 500-TX 200-watt AM/ FM-stereo receiver, you may have been surprised, and maybe a bit confused, by a statement that was made about our Auto-Scan electronic tuning.
We quote Audio: "Auto-Scan is probably more accurate in tuning to center of desired channel than can be accomplished manually." At this point in history, when other receivers are offering two and three tuning meters, oscilloscopes, words that light up, and various other devices to help you tune in stations more accurately, we thought you might like to know why we at Fisher are putting simplified pushbutton tuning into all our best receivers.
And how our pushbutton tuning is more accurate than anybody's manual tuning, including our own.
For the moment, disregard its convenience.
Diode tuning is dead-accurate, instantly.
Auto-Scan (as well as our Tune-O-Matic pushbutton memory tuning) is a purely electronic tuning system. There are no moving parts. Instead, devices called varactor diodes are used to lock in stations at their most powerful, most distortion-free tuning point.
We again quote Audio: "Station lock-in is flawless. That is, when the Auto-Scan stops on a station it stops on the exact 'center' of that channel.
"The photograph shows the detector 'S' curve obtained using the Auto-Scan and letting it 'home in' on our signal. Note that it locked in on the precise center of the curve. This test, by the way, is far more severe than would be encountered in normal station selection because of the extremes of modulation we employed." Now comes the question of how important this degree of tuning accuracy is to you. Can you hear it? We believe you can.
There's a subtle distortion that creeps into complex orchestral material, at every volume level, when an FM station isn't precisely tuned.
If you've ever tried to listen to an FM concert, and felt somewhat unsatisfied with the sound as compared to records or tape, it could be a tuning problem. No tuner or receiver can be manually tuned as accurately as the Fisher 500-TX (as well as the Fisher 450-T) with Auto Scan. Our engineers estimate that tuning accuracy is at least ten times greater with Auto-Scan than with manual tuning.
Also, Auto-Scan accuracy requires no warm-up.
Stations can be locked in instantly, as soon as the receiver is switched on. That's important, because even some of the best manual tuning systems can't be tuned with reasonable accuracy until the circuits are stabilized, after the tuner has been on for twenty minutes or so.
Auto-Scan is so automatic-does it take the fun out of tuning?
Everyone who has ever used the Auto-Scan mechanism has found it to be a more enjoyable way to tune than any other they've tried.
Here's how Auto-Scan tuning is accomplished: Press one of the Auto Scan buttons and you automatically bring in the next station, right or left, on the dial. ( Even far-off stations that are marginal or completely impossible to tune in manually on other good receivers, are brought in loud and clear, automatically, by Auto-Scan.) Keep your finger on the button and the Auto-Scan will scan the entire FM band, station by station. There's nothing further for you to do but enjoy the parade of perfectly tuned-in stations filing before you. Stop when you hear what you like.
For added convenience, a remote control option is available. You can work the Auto-Scan from your favorite chair.
Of course, for the psychological benefit of those who still want to tune manually, the Fisher 500-TX also has ultra-smooth flywheel tuning, complete with an accurate tuning meter. And, in addition to Auto Scan automatic tuning, and manual tuning, the 500 TX has still another tuning convenience called Tune-O-Matic.
A button for each of your favorite FM stations.
Tune-O-Matic is another form of diode tuning. It has no moving parts, and works completely electronically, just like Auto-Scan.
However, Tune-O-Matic is actually a simple computer with a memory. You program each of the Tune-O-Matic push buttons with the frequency of a favorite FM station. After that, you just push the button that corresponds to the station you want to hear, and that station will be locked in immediately. Perfectly tuned to center-of-channel of course.
Tune-O-Matic pushbuttons can be re-programmed (set for a different station) anytime, in a matter of seconds.
Tune-O-Matic is also available in a lower-cost Fisher receiver, the new Fisher 250-TX. Fisher receivers pull in more stations than equally sensitive, competitive receivers.
Why? Open the flap for more information about all the new Fisher receivers.
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(High Fidelity)
Also see:
ELPA/PE-2020 Turntable (ad, Jan. 1970)
Stanton Model 881S phono cartridge (Equip. Report, Nov. 1977)
Pickering XV-15 Cartridge (ad, Jan. 1970)