I recently talked to Mr. Suzuki owner of the ISO-TANGO that he is going to
shut down the firm by the end of September 2013.
We are grateful that the ISO-Tango have been supplying us excellent transformers, in particular custom ordered ones at reasonable price.
shut down the firm by the end of September 2013.
We are grateful that the ISO-Tango have been supplying us excellent transformers, in particular custom ordered ones at reasonable price.
Yes, that really is. I have a pair of mid-1990's vintage XE-45-5 (push-pull OPT's) that sound way better than anything else I have, including some very desirable vintage iron.
Hello Michimori-san -
I hope you are well.
That is sad news indeed. Tango made excellent products.
Unfortunately, it seems that the same thing seems to be happening in Akihabara. I was there earlier in the week, and every time I come, there are fewer shops selling parts. Hopefully at least a few will survive...
Pete
I hope you are well.
That is sad news indeed. Tango made excellent products.
Unfortunately, it seems that the same thing seems to be happening in Akihabara. I was there earlier in the week, and every time I come, there are fewer shops selling parts. Hopefully at least a few will survive...
Pete
Hi Peat-San,
Generally speaking people in this field getting less. We are precious left over.
ISO-Tango will have their last order by the end of June 28th.
Hiro
Generally speaking people in this field getting less. We are precious left over.
ISO-Tango will have their last order by the end of June 28th.
Hiro
He did not mention of the definite reason for shutting down.
However, I would guess it is due to the market shrinkage of DIY tube based
Audio.
However, I would guess it is due to the market shrinkage of DIY tube based
Audio.
It is a shame
It will be a shame to see Tango go. At one point Tango and Tamura were the only lights "on" (perhaps with a little glow in the west from Hammond, Lundahl and Sowter) in this area. At least Lundahl are reporting good growth.
It will be a shame to see Tango go. At one point Tango and Tamura were the only lights "on" (perhaps with a little glow in the west from Hammond, Lundahl and Sowter) in this area. At least Lundahl are reporting good growth.
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Hi Hirokuni San.... Great to hear from you again! Wishing you good health.
My XE-20-S sounds gorgeous, despite it's limitation. The earlier version, Hiraga, is expensive,but, this Iso-Tango is good and affordable.
Zek Kwan
My XE-20-S sounds gorgeous, despite it's limitation. The earlier version, Hiraga, is expensive,but, this Iso-Tango is good and affordable.
Zek Kwan
Hiro-san, do you know a good source in Japan where to buy what is still available?
In the past months I tried to get in touch with my source (Goko Trading) with no success.
In the past months I tried to get in touch with my source (Goko Trading) with no success.
As far as I know, Tamura has been producing transformers mainly for broadcasting use.
For Hashimoto formerly subcontract to Sansui.
Now they are manufacturing transformers for DIY market.
For custom order transformers both of farms are unlikely to receive older
or the price is sky high!
No update, but I hear that ISO-Tango is going to stop receiving orders by Jun 17th which is 10 days earlier than it was mentioned previously, due to the fact of lush orders came in.
I heard somewhere long ago from an apparently reputable source that ISO-TANGO and JAMES transformers were all built on the same assembly lines. Any news if true as to whether or not JAMES will continue to manufacture transformers?
There are some smaller hobbyist oriented speciality transformer makers in Japan, one only has to look in the ads section of MJ to see them.
Excellent alternatives exist both in the USA and the EU for tube audio transformers, and these vendors are generally very comfortable dealing with custom designs for an individual client.
There are some smaller hobbyist oriented speciality transformer makers in Japan, one only has to look in the ads section of MJ to see them.
Excellent alternatives exist both in the USA and the EU for tube audio transformers, and these vendors are generally very comfortable dealing with custom designs for an individual client.
Wow, I don't quite know what to say about the above comment..
Plenty of transformer makers in the West, many geared up to deal specifically with the needs of the diyer and small (low volume) manufacturer. (None are recent arrivals to the business sector)
U.S.A: Magnequest, Edcor, Electra-Print, Heyboer, Intact Audio, O-Netics, etc.
EU and Europe: Bartolucci (Italy), Monolith Magnetics (Belgium), Automatic Electric (Holland), Trafomatic (Serbia), IG-Transformatoren (Germany), Lundahl (Sweden), Sowter (UK), S&B (UK)..
Countless others I have certainly missed. (There are several more in Germany alone that I cannot remember.)
Based on limited experience I would say almost any one of these companies will be easier to deal with due to cultural and linguistic barriers with Asian suppliers.
I have worked with both TANGO (Not the later ISO-TANGO) and Tamura iron. Excellent stuff.. Comparable quality is available in the West if you know where to go.
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