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Do power transformers affect sound quality?

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I feel really guilty spending $250 for a power cord, but it does seem to make a difference.

That, and the way you asked the original question, put you in the voodoo camp.

Everything makes a difference. The relevant question is WHAT is it about the transformer, cord, etc. that makes a difference and HOW and under what circumstances, etc. The engineers try to understand all the physics and electronics involved and arrive at solutions analytically. Those who are incapable of doing that simply listen and swap parts based on subjective preference.

Both camps appear happy with the results, so the status quo will continue for the foreseeable future 🙂
 
Hello!
I am professional amplifier builder / coil winder. I have wound whatever you could dream of.
Trust me, the difference that the PT makes can be tremendous, if the amplifier is of top quality. The higher the performance the higher the impact of the Power Transformers.
Have a nice day!
Peter from Athens.
 
Definately don't have that kind of money to waste. I feel really guilty spending $250 for a power cord, but it does seem to make a difference. I can't imagine bigger voodoo than audiophile cable market though.

you can just imagine, should all of them decide to change power cords...somebody's definitely making a killing....and laughing all the way to the bank.....😀
 
According to my experience, the opposite is true. Everything is a fraction of 1, everything is a multiplier less or equal to 1. E.G. the best resistor is no resistor at all, just a piece of monocrystalline cable which gets 1 point, otherwise 0.99 or 0.9 or 0.5 etc.
The theroretically best transformer has a tremendous impact on sound quality, being a High Voltage t/f or a filament t/f.
Regards,
Peter
 
petavgeris said:
the best resistor is no resistor at all, just a piece of monocrystalline cable which gets 1 point,
If you go around changing resistors for cables, monocrystalline or not, you will quickly find that your circuits stop working.

Everything is a fraction of 1
Only if you expand the idea of 'fraction' to include the inverse of fraction too.

Please keep your advertising copy for adverts.
 
Hello!
I am professional amplifier builder / coil winder. I have wound whatever you could dream of.
Trust me, the difference that the PT makes can be tremendous, if the amplifier is of top quality. The higher the performance the higher the impact of the Power Transformers.
Have a nice day!
Peter from Athens.

the requirement for power transformers is that they be adequate for the application....one can choose to provide more capacity than required if that is what one whishes, but it comes with a cost....that is why i love DIY, i am not bound by profit considerations as i build things for my own use...😀
 
But the better the circuit design the lower the impact of the power transformer, provided that it is adequate for the task. This is disappointing news for those who make their living from winding transformers.

Precisely. Give me any "inadequate" transformer with sufficient voltage and power output and I can filter out whatever ails it.
 
That, and the way you asked the original question, put you in the voodoo camp.

That's a pretty sweeping generalization. Please explain to me how my original question put me in the voodoo camp? As far as PC go, I admit I do hear a difference, but I can't give you a simple physical explanation. May be PC sound has to more with its filtering effect than its ability conduct large amount of current. I doubt you can either. Just because you can't explain what you hear with known physical laws does not make it voodoo. Many things in science can't be explained by known laws. But I don't use crazy physics to explain the sound of PC like some manufacturers...eg, our PC sound fast because the signal in our PC travel at 99% speed of light instead of 92% (some of you may this manufacturer). If I believed in voodoo, I wouldn't be posting here asking for explanation on how PT can affect the sound of an amp.
 
If I believed in voodoo, I wouldn't be posting here asking for explanation on how PT can affect the sound of an amp.

no doubt different cables can have different effect
but its not that one cable 'sounds better'
change to any other cheap cable and you may hear a difference

but ask why you think the new expencive cable sound better
mostly the choise will be on the better looking one, which 'accidentally' also happens to be the expencive one 🙄

again, yes they sound different
but 'better' is a different matter 😉

UPS !!! cable talk ......please no 😱😱😀:hohoho:
 
I am not sure that the discussion so far captures all the factors which may impact sound. There is conceivably more to it than the transformer having adequate capacity to supply the voltage and current demand of the device in question.

For example; assume a power amp in a sheet metal box with a typical large toroidal transformer bolted to the bottom plate. Assume that the transformer also has the same problem as the 500va transformer I had the recent misfortune to experience. That is it hums audibly and transfers the vibrations from its windings to the case. Now think what happens when the conductive case and the circuits it supports vibrate within the magnetic field inside the amp case. They generate a voltage right? A voltage not correlated to the signal the amp is amplifying.

Secondly, some transformers "leak" more than others and the case carries a significant AC voltage as a result. Try measuring the difference in chassis potential between the primary windings reversed vs how they were installed.

In my experience lower chassis potential sounds considerably better,after connecting the primaries for lowest leakage to chassis. I speculate from this that low leakage transformers will, all else being equal sound better than standard.

No double blind testers were injured during those experiments...

Rob.
 
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Please explain to me how my original question put me in the voodoo camp?

Sure. It's a meaningless question, without any context or point of reference. ANY component that is poorly specified, designed, built or applied will affect sound negatively. As compared to a component that was properly specified, etc.

The talent of the designer consists of, among other things, knowing how to choose components that have characteristics most optimally suited to his circuit design.
 
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