How many projects have you built with Edcor? And of those, how many have you swapped with expensive iron and done back to back listening?
I would encourage anyone building with tubes to use Edcor, as they measure and sound fantastic when used properly.
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Whilst it’s not open to the public (AFAIK), their audio stuff is designed, wound and varnished at their plant in Waterloo. I can walk to it from my day job office but when I visited I drove over there to save time.
I’ve compared mid cost Hammond with mid cost Edcor on a single ended spud amp. Both transformers sounded good, the differences were audible but not large. If I remember, the Hammond had more treble presence, the Edcor maybe smoother, but they were more similar than different. I have not compared the bigger full range Hammond iron (which sounds v good to my ears) with the bigger Edcor iron. It’s easier for me to get Hammond iron with short lead-times (A1 in Toronto area stock most of their catalogue) so I don’t buy Edcor anymore.
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Never bought his stuff, but Dave Slagle has a good reputation, and website says he'll make output transformers.
intact audio
Have a feeling they may be pricey.
intact audio
Have a feeling they may be pricey.
I would say I’ve done about a dozen amps with Edcor outputs. They’re not bad at all but they are not great either. I was spoiled by Transcendar and Electra-print. Their lead time is over two months most of the time. If I’m building an amp I don’t want to wait that long if at all possible. Gentian blue is not my favorite color and repainting seams to peel off easily. If I’m building an amp for someone they don’t want to see average parts used. I’ve actually found some good Chinese opts but prefer to buy American. I’m Leary of toroidal opts but I might give the Toroidy units a try. I know they are Polish, not American. it’s a bummer that the old masters are disappearing so quickly. That knowledge takes years to learn and no one is getting trained by them.
A buddy commissioned me to build him an EL84 push pull amp with toroidy OPTs early this year, they were excellent and I really liked them. Wouldn't mind grabbing myself a set.
I haven't been overly impressed with Hammond power transformers as they voltages are all over the place, and they seem to run very hot at normal specs. The outputs I haven't used in years, but at current price points I'd rather go for something else.
I haven't been overly impressed with Hammond power transformers as they voltages are all over the place, and they seem to run very hot at normal specs. The outputs I haven't used in years, but at current price points I'd rather go for something else.
Or you could try AE in the Netherlands - https://www.aeetransformers.com/products/audio-transformer.html who make very nice devices and yes, I have used them.
There's almost no money in custom audio transformers. Like, really almost none. The materials cost is high, the labor cost is high... and the volume is low.
As for Edcor and Hammond, my experience is that the Edcors trade some HF response for better LF response with respect to Hammond. Me? I'll take the HF response, but both of them are good transformers.
I've seen very few companies take advantage of the magical material that is Metglas for the use of output transformers. I'm very tempted by some of the cheap nanocrystalline cores out of China. If they're any good, well, that's a big deal.
For what it's worth, physics based (rather than voodoo based)* papers on the design of audio transformers are extremely rare, but physics based papers on the design of pulse transformers aren't nearly as rare, and the requirements are very similar.
*Trying to design a transformer based on data like "more sparkle" and "more musicality" is nigh on impossible.
As for Edcor and Hammond, my experience is that the Edcors trade some HF response for better LF response with respect to Hammond. Me? I'll take the HF response, but both of them are good transformers.
I've seen very few companies take advantage of the magical material that is Metglas for the use of output transformers. I'm very tempted by some of the cheap nanocrystalline cores out of China. If they're any good, well, that's a big deal.
For what it's worth, physics based (rather than voodoo based)* papers on the design of audio transformers are extremely rare, but physics based papers on the design of pulse transformers aren't nearly as rare, and the requirements are very similar.
*Trying to design a transformer based on data like "more sparkle" and "more musicality" is nigh on impossible.
For my first amp I hated the Edcor gentian blue so I gave the bells to an automotive shop for repaint. Getting rid of the previous layer and repainting was an expensive caprice. After a few years the paint is still there, no peeling.
For the next order I found out they were proposing black (or was it unpainted ?) bells. I didn't order from Edcor anymore and went to Toroidy because they are quick to build and deliver, and they look beautiful. Let's say it's a matter of taste, I'm not really fond of vintage look. I didn't really do an A/B comparison but in my memory the Toroidy sound better than the Edcor.
I keep reading about elaborate methods for painting the edcor bells, I just scuffed mine and hit them with rattle can paint. Ten years later they look like new but they don't get a lot of sun or rock chips sitting in my living room.
The lundahl transformers still confuse me for their wiring (do the se ones have ul taps? Why does the same model list SE and pp?)
I emailed toroidy and I guess I need to try again as I asked for a quote on 2 of their premium ones with the chrome and was quoted 1 basic one. TME only lists an estimate of the shipping charges in their cart and although I've heard no complaints I'd be nervous about an expensive surprise. They also don't list the chrome ones.
The lundahl transformers still confuse me for their wiring (do the se ones have ul taps? Why does the same model list SE and pp?)
I emailed toroidy and I guess I need to try again as I asked for a quote on 2 of their premium ones with the chrome and was quoted 1 basic one. TME only lists an estimate of the shipping charges in their cart and although I've heard no complaints I'd be nervous about an expensive surprise. They also don't list the chrome ones.
Where are you located? I’m in central Illinois, US and bought many pairs of Toroidy OTs from TME. They have always reached me within 3-5 business days at $9.95 shipping cost per package under 5 kg. For most OTs that means to purchase 2, one at a time, to keep the weight under 5 kg each, but <$20 US shipping for a pair is not bad. I have not checked the shipping price since my last purchase about 5 months ago.
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I've ordered from monolith before and yes they're great. However since it's overseas I got slapped with a big custom duties fee. Be aware of that.