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Do power transformers affect sound quality?

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the ARRL handbook gives wire ampacities of 700 circular mils per ampere, but goes on to say that 300 to 500 can be used.....he used 900cm/A which makes his traffos big....in a way that is how i would like my traffos....that is why i build my own.....

if his logic of that AA post is that bigger is better, then we can make traffos as big an Abrams tank if you wish.....😀

M1A1_abrams_tank_5.jpg
 
I wonder if anyone here has heard his PT.
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The concept and discussion attracted my attention a few years ago, right at the time i when i was in love with mercury rectifiers. I made several attempts to follow his ideas: low dcr, low internal resistance rectification, low resistance power chokes.

Did not work for me better than the classical approach. Moreover, it doesn't seem to make a lot of sense to combine a 20ohm power tranny with a 5U4G...

If there is some sound improvement it may be coincidental with the low dc resistance but not necessarily because of it.
 
never heard of him before.....if you want good quality output transformers, you can touch bases with BudP, Bud Purvine, he is a member here or contact Magnaquest....MagneQuest Transformers: The top name in tube audio transformers or Jack Elliano.....http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/parts/49879-jack-elliano-electra-print-tx-based-preamp.html



i would love to see pictures of his traffos, the specs he gave are not really hard to do, just more materials and more wight and ultimately more costs, that's all......

you have to realize also that using tube rects, there is a required impedance that the plates need to see to ensure damage free operation, so much so that having low dcr on the plate windings, you will have to install outboard resistors to meet requirements, some called for 100ohms....so you see every idea has consequences....

what i would have liked to hear him say is that he uses M6 cores, that he uses electrostatic shields, that he uses double insulated magnet wires.....then his post would have meant something to me....

Finally one guy who knows what he really writes!
20 Ohms on the secondary? Ha ha ha... Let's laugh alltogether!

Try to mount a tube rectifier onto a 20 (or even 50!) ohms secondary and 1-2 ohms primary and see a nice glowing arc! And then say goodbye to the rectifier!
If you use such a trafo, you MUST put series resistance on the secondary output leads or else you will loose your rectifiers in a nick of time.

I am a mechanical engineer who handles several projects per year for local friends and audiophiles. I wind all the transformers by myself (power transformers, interstage transformers, output transformers, supply chokes, filament transformers, etc). Till now there is zero failure for all my creations, so I think that I could write something more regarding reliability. I want to underline that you must never try anything like this and you must follow the rules of old men who know very well what they were doing!

And to answer your ongoing issue here, regarding the impact of the power transformers to the sound quality, the answer is a definate 'YES'. At least I can speak from the 'experienced' point of view...
 
nothing new under the "traffo" sun....

😀

the power transformer technology is already well known since the 30's....there is nothing we can tell now that wasn't known then....well, maybe new plastic insulating materials and such....

power transformers can be designed and built to any specifications....what is your priority?

is it temperature rise?, is it regulation?, efficiency? size weight? or cost?....

power transformers should be up to the task......

and i do not value anecdotes as arguments for going bigger, they are not worth anything as far as i am concerned....😀
 
MGH said:
Is anyone familiar with this chap on AA who makes custom transformers? Is he reputable?

A special Power Transformer actually DOES exist - drlowmu - Tube DIY Asylum
I occasionally eavesdrop over there. Never joined because the quality of debate is so much lower than here. 'drlowmu' sometimes says things which are unsupported by science, or contradicted by science. If he has product to sell this might explain why.
 
😀

the power transformer technology is already well known since the 30's....there is nothing we can tell now that wasn't known then....well, maybe new plastic insulating materials and such....

power transformers can be designed and built to any specifications....what is your priority?

is it temperature rise?, is it regulation?, efficiency? size weight? or cost?....

power transformers should be up to the task......

and i do not value anecdotes as arguments for going bigger, they are not worth anything as far as i am concerned....😀

This is a really nice post!
Everything is well known since then!

Temperature? YES!
Regulation? NO!
Efficiency? YES!
Size? Not that much.
Weight? Not that much!
Cost? Not at all!
 
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