nbarber
I was once told "That is a damn good stereo".
- Mar 7, 2010
- #1
I picked up a pair of Fisher XP-7's on the way home tonight. They look all original, fair condition, complete and only $10.00 for the both of them. I can't find much information about them online so I thought I would turn to the collective intelligence of AK. Even if they don't turn out to be total gems you can't go wrong for ten bucks. I know the Fisher brand was total junk in the in the 80's, I don't know how they rated in the 70's and I don't see much about them in that era on this forum. I believe these are form the late 60's and I'm hoping they are a worthwhile score.
I worked the woofers by hand before hooking them up to make sure the voice coils were free and the brought them up slowly with a low watt receiver. They play but don't sound very good. The orange dome tweets are silent on both cabs but saw in an archive AK post that that is common with these speakers so I'm not surprised. Does anyone have experience with these, are the tweets reparable and if not any suggestions for replacements?
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sealy
Addicted Member
- Mar 7, 2010
- #2
First of all, you should take a meter and see if there is any resistance reading. If not, not good. Secondly, the crossover may be wonky. Check the cap(s). Or there could be a loose connection, although it's hard to believe that both tweeters would have loose connections.
Some tweeters are notoriously fragile and subject to failure. Hopefully, yours aren't in that category.
sealy
Addicted Member
- Mar 7, 2010
- #3
I just noticed the wispy wires connected to the tweeter voice-coils. You may be able to remove the tape and inspect the wires underneath. Carefully. Those tiny wires may be severed at some point.
fdwrench
Active Member
- Mar 8, 2010
- #4
Ed
Good score.
I love my xp-7 speakers. The rubber suspension in the tweeters turns to stone. A lot of people replace them but I have had some luck rebuilding them. I take them apart and replace the rubber. I have used rubber bands to rubber gloves.
I have noticed that the woofers are wired out of phase not sure why. I guess that is the way Avery wonted it.
Ed
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Mazlem
Well-Known Member
- Mar 8, 2010
- #5
Interesting, I've got the same tweeters in my XP12's. I'll have to open them up.
fdwrench
Active Member
- Mar 8, 2010
- #6
My XP-10 are the same just bigger and a little easier to work with.
FrankyF
Active Member
- Mar 8, 2010
- #7
You can request service manual, or schematics from this website:
http://audiocircuit.com/index.php?c=FIG&m=XP-7-S
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Mazlem
Well-Known Member
- Mar 11, 2010
- #8
What's the crossover like on the 7's? My 12's look to have an L-pad for the tweeters; removing that should wake them up right?
audiojones
Jonesin' for audio
Subscriber
- Mar 11, 2010
- #9
Ah, the Fisher XP-7 "Free Piston" speaker system, made in beautiful East Orange, NJ. I had a pair exactly like that, still in the factory boxes with the owners manual for a few years. Plenty of bass from that woofer, the mids were mounted in tuned cups and wired in series and of course the tweeters were blown on both of them. I've been told that McIntosh used that very same tweeter in their early speaker systems, and in the owners manual that came with the speakers (in the "Famous Fisher Firsts" section) it claims that it's the first dome tweeter ever used in a home speaker system which is totally not true. Those speakers probably date from 1964-1967, as the later models had a tweeter control (XP-7A). I replaced my tweeters with nice ones from MCM Electronics - they had one with a rectangular plate that fit perfectly and sounded great, plus it was pretty cheap (under $20 IIRC).
The best part of those speakers, IMHO, is the cabinet work. Beautiful cabinets that are built really well. I used mine with a 60 wpc SS receiver, sounded pretty good but started smelling like the voice coils were getting too hot. I think that speaker uses flammable glue in the VC so watch out if you overheat them (which is easy to do).
I also replaced the nasty looking brown and gold thread grille cloth with some basic black and it improved them tremendously. Off white would look even better! Just watch out because the grille boards are made of compressed cardboard and they're easy to break. You could make up a new pair of grille boards with some masonite or luan board if they snap in half.
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kilboj
New Member
- Mar 24, 2011
- #10
how can I remove the grilles from an XP 10?
I haven't even tried these yet - just found them on Craigslist in Maine. Cabinets need a litle refinishing. The pots FEEL OK to the hand. The grille cloths are fairly ratty. Do I have to remove them from the inside?
Thanks.
JK
kilboj@gmail.com
avguytx
Lunatic Member
- Mar 24, 2011
- #11
I had a pair of those for a short while. Definitely beautiful cabinets and all the drivers worked....but sounded awful to my ears. To me, it just wasn't worth putting any money into them when every other pair of speakers I had walked all over them. But they are nice looking for sure!
J
jimbob1975
New Member
- May 20, 2017
- #12
Concerning your xp7's. Does replacing the spacing spider make the high end more pronounced? thanks.
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