[Zombie_X]

I was recently digging around in my attic and found that there where a few amps in there (!). One was a "Fischer X-100-B" amp and a "Sansui A-40" amp as well. I have been reading around on how the HD600 sounds best with tube amps so I fired up the Fischer and..... WOW! Sounds way better and has more mid-range and overall warmth.

I pulled out the Sansui next and plugged my SR-325i's into them and surprisingly enough, they sounded way better. It drove them quicker and bumped up detailing. The HD600 sounded quicker as well, but the sound quality was about the same, oh and the veil seemed to have lifted a little bit.

My source gear was a Marantz 5-Disc SACD Player, and was output through the RCA jacks with CD upsampling on.

All I can say is that these two Amps will be keepers for sure!

 

[glitch39]

a lot of vintage receivers and integrated use discrete section for the HP output. a lot of those would put some opamp-based dedicated amp to shame. Then again, they are bulky and wieldy.

For me, aesthetics happens to be factor #3 (behind performance and price).

 

[Zombie_X]

Both of these blow away my Yamaha 5.1 receiver when it comes to headphone output. These vintage ones just sound so right! Sound is way more transparent and lifelike (due to more power I suppose).

Currently I'm waiting on my dad to put Gold Lions in the Fischer.

 

[Wodgy]

You're very lucky. The Fisher X-100-B is one of my favorite amps of all time. It's also a wonderful speaker amplifier. You may want to check whether it has a drying out selenium rectifier (the only solid state component in those vintage Fisher amps, and ironically the only part likely to fail after all these years). There used to be a guy called the Fisher Doctor that had information and would sell appropriate replacements. Not sure if he's still around.

 

[apatN]

Congratulations! You are a very lucky guy.

 

[gadgetman]

Wow.. unraveling a hidden treasures from your own attic!
*completely in envy*

 

[Zombie_X]

I snapped a few pics of them. The Fischer is just laying on the kitchen floor, but the Sansui is now in my room powering my Grado's. The SR-325i's sound really bloated with the Fischer so I don't think it was a good combo there, but the HD600 sounds nearly twice as good as it did before.

These things are so awesome. My dad says that these Fischers normally go for $600-$800 used, but that seems wrong. Do they really sound that good and do they really go for that price.

Also the Fischer is his, but he's letting me use it. I bought the Sansui off of him though.

 

[scompton]

I imagine a fully restored Fisher would go for near that at least. It's an incredibly popular amp. Ones on eBay sold as is go for up to $200. I've seen at least one none working one go for over $100.

 

[mbd2884]

I googled the Fischer amp, man it seems to have a great reputation back then and now still. Looks awesome

Congratz on finding it and great that your dad is letting you use it.

Very cool!

 

[Wodgy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zombie_X /img/forum/go_quote.gif The SR-325i's sound really bloated with the Fischer so I 't think it was a good combo there, but the HD600 sounds nearly twice as good as it did before. These things are so awesome. My dad says that these Fischers normally go for $600-$800 used, but that seems wrong. Do they really sound that good and do they really go for that price.

The Fisher doesn't sound that great with Grados, but it will sound splendid with higher impedance headphones. Your dad's pricing is probably accurate for one in good condition. Try it with speakers... it's a very good speaker amp.

 

[Uncle Erik]

Good catch with the Fisher! If I recall, those have a phono stage built in. If you have a turntable around, plug in and give it a spin.

 

[Zombie_X]

I don't like vinyl... and it was a typo with the Grado's being a good match. I meant to say it was a bad match.

 

[scompton]

A lot of old amps have 120 ohm output impedance on the headphone jack. That'll cause bass bloat on low impedance headphones.

 

[Zombie_X]

Ah that's why the Grado's sounded bad! I'm really digging how my HD600's sound with tube amplification. Now they kind of have the Grado warmth (sounds like it to me). They sound way more enjoyable now.

Makes me wonder what other tube headphones amps could do since the Fischer made a huge difference with the HD600's.

Got any recommendations for a $400-$500 tube headphone amp that would work good with both Sennheiser's and Grado's? I'd prefer the Sennheiser first. If need be I'll buy a separate amp for both...