Beyond the list of standard restoration steps detailed on the main page, here are some added notes for this unit :

I acquired this receiver from Goodwill, so no background on any issues, etc.  Exterior condition was very good.

After working on 70s era gear from Kenwood, Sansui, Pioneer, Marantz, Sony and  Harman Kardon I decided to check out “The Fisher” as I had heard good things.  Note the “The” is important here as later “Fisher” products were not made as well.

The 201 Futura is a compact, jam-packed receiver that reminds me of the HK330c.  On removing the top and bottom covers, I was immediately impressed with the build quality.  Further inspection revealed a number of very helpful and clever design choices that make servicing unusually easy.  While some other units make board access a bit of a puzzle to figure out, the 201 was clearly engineered with easy maintenance in mind.  Especially nice were the detailed silk screening on both the component and solder sides of all boards, wide copper traces, widely spaced solder pads and solder masking.  

The receiver was in excellent condition (inside and out) and powered up without issue.  It was highly functional with the FM stereo sounding great.  The 201 lacks high/low filters but included an audio muting switch to allow fine control of volume at low levels.  The loudness feature sounds better to me than many others I have heard.  It only has 1 tape in/out and 1 phono but notably includes 2 Aux inputs (aligning well with how many would use this unit today).

The restoration went smoothly as everything was already working great before I started.  I checked the FM alignment and it was dead-on (needing no adjustments).  The AM works well .   All functions tested and working correctly.

Each channel has a removable amplifier board with a very simple topology which then drive hefty TO3 output transistors.  It has a “cap-coupled” outputs and the amp does not require/allow idle current adjustment.  After hours of listening/testing it runs cool and sounds nice.  This receiver also has an exceptionally low noise floor and would be ideal for anyone primarily using headphones (where hiss and hum are most noticeable).

Please note that this receiver is designed for an 8 ohm minimum output load (not recommended for 4 ohm speakers).

Cosmetics are very good with only a small scratch on the top surface of the faceplate (see photo).  The front is flawless (faceplate, knobs, dial all very clean).  All new LEDs (including the very cool “STEREOBEAM” indicator).  The metal cabinet is in excellent condition.  I like that the RCA connectors in the back are nickel plated and look brand new.