Rayaudio Fisher Amp PA-301

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Letter from Hong Kong (22-7): ELO on Rayaudio "Fisher" Monoblock Amps

Editor: For us oldtimers, the use of classic names like Fisher, Sansui etc make us do a double take.  These companies have long been defunct, but their names are still used. Some names were bought by various consortiums: Rogers, Wharfdale, Quad etc by Asian companies; Mullard, Genealex (and perhaps Amperex) etc bought by tube resellers. And, most ridiculous, the now so-called Western Electric! Phew! As to Fisher, I believe I have seen it in before in irrelevant things. But the amp in question here, from Rayaudio, is a different animal, a TRIBUTE to an actual vintage device used in the Fisher PA-301 Amplifier. It's not common to see an old solid state device used, so for more technical info, see the end of the article.

I have known Ray for quite a while. My hifi buddies Kwong, Lo and I have bought products from him over the years: amplifiers, cables, power supply for streamer/laptop and signal isolation transformer etc (the latter was recently reviewed here). His products are of high standard in both quality and finish.

At the beginning, for my previous office I bought his prototype preamp and a Rayaudio Fisher stereo power amp (not mono). They drove my Naim SBL and I was quite happy with it. I had moved office and no longer have the setup, and I had lent the amplifier to Kwong. He tried it once briefly at home and was impressed as it was not shy against his considerably more expensive Audionet SAM V2 + Amp3 combo! Which led him to eventually acquire Ray’s latest ultimate version of the preamp and monoblocks combo. Not to mention another friend Jo who is already happily using the same combo and rocking his flat with Dire Straits through his Wattson Emerson Analog and Dynaudio Special 40 (under my influence of course, LOL)!

Currently, I am quite happy with my setup with all the gadgets that I have implemented, earthing box, Ray’s Signal Isolation Transformer, power supply for my Emerson Analog, graphite blocks, subwoofers connected from line out and Schumann device (whether it works or not) etc etc. That yields a very coherent, foot tapping musical sound which I can just sit down and listen to all day. Yes, there’s a big question always on top of my head: is my 47 Lab 4706 Gaincard rated at 50Wx2 capable of getting every bit of juice out of my notoriously inefficient Dynaudio Crafft? I once brought my Crafft to a friend’s place many years ago and I still remember that vividly. Played through a 250Wx2 Restek amp from Germany, I was totally surprised and impressed by the dynamics, ferociousness and impact of sound coming out of my Crafft. It did rock and I mean not just a little, but big time. Look, I’m not the type of people who play music real loud (even if my family still complain - different thresholds I guess…) But knowing that one’s system is capable of bringing down the house makes one feels good, right?

I have been procrastinating when Ray asked me to try his final version of his Fisher Monoblocks. Rated at 200Wx2 at 4ohms, this should be sufficient to rock my house. But will it have the magic of 47 Lab? Dr. Lo pick up the amps for me, so I guess I owe it to myself and to Ray to hook them up! Last week I pulled my back by a simple yet silly move and it set me back a few days but, finally, I got it all hooked up.

First impression is very positive, as I did not sense any loss in musicality and imaging. It has flesh - unlike most modern equipment that tend to have needle like imaging. Highs, mids and lows are very flat and natural, with good control of bass. So what are the differences between Ray’s Fisher and my 4706 Gaincard? It’s hard to describe. Caveat, I’m not a depth craving person, but soundstage width basically extends out of both sides of the speakers, it has a very coherent and engaging sound, no bulging or recession all through the frequency spectrum. My Gaincard does a decent job but the Fisher benefits from its headroom and is able to drive it much louder, beyond my normal listening level, though without any feeling of congestion.

One night, I decided to rev up the volume much louder than I usually would listen to. The whole scene opened up and my Crafft had transformed into a beast and the whole soundstage did not seem congested, even while being fed by the high current from the Fisher Amp. It’s extremely fun to play rock music or music that has a lot of beat and rhythm. All the memories of how the Crafft can bring down the house came back to me. That said, while sound has become loud, images seems to inflate a bit, but not bloated or roughened by all means. Even if a little smoothness is lost compared to playing at a lower volume, don’t get me wrong, it’s still free of distortion and compression.

I gave it a good treat of Telarc’s recording of 1812 Overture by Eric Kunzel which is one of the tracks I haven’t listened to for years. I owned the LP more than 45 years ago and that time, it is regarded as stylus killer and often we need to increase the counterweight to make the stylus track properly when playing the canon. Well, the Fisher amp passed with flying colours and it was fun!

Playing Sing, Sang, Sung from Big Phat Band and the energy from the band is phenomenal; the piercing horns do not go uncontrolled at all and bass is ripe and fierce.

Nils Lofgren’s favorite hit is Keith Don’t Go, but another track with Bass and Drum Intro has got so much energy and vibes in it. Every single note of the electric bass guitar is heard clearly and is palpable and the timing is right on! It’s approaching 70% of the experience I had at Sqaurewave (playing through Wattson’s Madison with Avalon Acoustic Precision Monitor speakers and Vitus Audio Integrated Amp, a setup that costs near $30K USD), which is no small feat to me!

Don’t get me wrong, when playing at my normal sound level, it is very musical and free of coloration in the midrange (whether it is male or female vocals). Some gear deliberately boost the midrange slightly to attract you; while I don’t mind the little MSG, I prefer not adding it into my setup.

I have not yet switched back to my 47 Lab, since I’m totally enjoying this Fisher Amp. IMO, at my usual volume I think the Fisher has 90% of the performance of my 47 Lab but it trumps it (of course) in complicated music, or at higher volume! As to the exact nature of the last 10% of 47 magic, I will find out later!

Ray had told me that he had spent more than a year in improving the original design. At the present, he thinks this is the optimal version. He also uses all import ICs and Capacitors like Philips and Vishays etc and the transformer is wound by a factory that has specialized in winding transformers for more than 30 years. The face plate of Fisher is made of CNC too. It’s simple and feels nice, not super high end but just right and subtle!

The pair costs about $1500 USD. Given the design, performance and parts uses to build this amp, it is a real bargain that can compete neck and neck with combos costing at least 2 to 3 times its price (being conservative since I’m not trying to sell it~). This amp is rated at 200W x2 @4ohms and although it’s not a heavy brick like many megawatts amps, don’t be fooled by the relatively small size, as It delivers a big sound with big heart. Bravo!!! Hats off to Ray for delivering such an exciting and high quality product to Audiophiles at such a reasonable price!!

Editor: Some Technical Info: This is what Ray wrote:

五十年代六十年代 電子產品多以電子管為主要原件 包括電腦 六十年代末期 出現半導體/晶體管原件 快速取代電子管地位 尤其是音響器材 當時 一般人認為電子管體積大 熱量高 更有甚者 電子管功放基於高壓操作 輸出端就需要一個笨重切成本甚高的變壓器 也就是音頻輸出變壓器 以阻隔幾百伏特直流電 才能安全策動喇叭 電子工程師成功開發了三極晶體管 當時以美國Motorola生產量最大 型號最多 包括訊號電壓放大管 功率放大管 著名的對裝管有2N3055/MJ2955 名噪一時 到今天還有很多發燒友使用這對管做末級功率放大

美國Fisher 在50年代開始 輸出高端 高品質電子管音響器材 都電子管息微後 就開發了一款厚膜hybrid功率IC 委託日本sanyo海量生產 其音色非常接近電子管 所謂膽味 而且性能穩定 技術指標甚高 Rayaudio就用這個Fisher PA301作藍本 設計了一部優質的立體聲功放 功率為每聲道30瓦 而且有三種輸入方式 ❶兩聲道的立體聲❷單端RCA橋接輸入作單聲道❸full balanced全平衡輸入作單聲道 當單聲道接法時 功率可達120瓦RMS/8Ω

Basically Ray says the PA-301 Hybrid IC sounds like a tube. It was manufactured by Sanyo. And here are some spec's:

The Fisher PA301

Vcc max: +/- 25Vdc

Icco max: 85mA

Rin: 27K ohms

Pout: max 32watts/8Ω

Gain: 39dB

THD: 0.3%

Noise: 1.0mV

Above is the vintage PA-301 amp. At the bottom is also a schematic.