wrenchone said:
I also like the 125ESE. I have a pair of 125ESE's on my Simple SE that previously had seen both the 3K and 5K Transcendars. (I have run the 125ESE's out to 100ma per side, but usually run them around 60-65 mils, on the 10k tap.)
When I first put the 125ESE's in service I thought they had a stronger bass response than the 5K Transcendars. After listening a few hours, I decided they were peaky in the mid bass in my application so I connected up one of the unused secondaries for cathode feedback and they flattened out very nicely. I never felt that either of the Transcendars required any feedback.
I have gotten quite used to the sound of the 125ESE and have no plans to change them out.
I have the 5K Transcendars on a 45 Tubelab SE and they sound great in that application. I am considering getting some Robin Hoods for the Tubelab SE and that would free up the Transcendars for a dedicated 6V6 Simple SE. I also have some of the small open frame Edcors, but have not used them yet.
Win W5JAG
Hi Wrench,
Thanks for the comparison on the two... I've not yet seen my Transcendars... will collect them from my folks place next month. The 125ESE, while rated at 15-watts, are doubtful at that power level, but then again Hammond only rate them down to 100Hz and 1dB down at that point. Their website shows inductance at 9.58HY and 90.9 ohms DC resistance.
The Transcendar 5K OPTs are listed as 40HY and 370 ohms DC resistance. I like the higher inductance, but not so much the high DC resistance. Either way I expect better low frequency response from them. Do post your findings when you measure them however.
Win,
I can certainly recommend the Robin Hood OPTs. More expensive than the Hammond or Transcendar, but nicely made and they perform very well. I also recall reading on JE's site some time ago that he found some wide variations in the Hammond specs out of a group of them. In any case, if you want the prettier RH versions (endbells and flying leads) they'll cost a good chunk more. You can also specify to omit the screen taps if you don't plan on using an UL config.
The baby Edcors also look interesting.... seems similar performance to the Hammond at an even lower price point. Others have had favorable feedback on them. It's unlikely I'll ever find out.... just not enough time to play with them all. Still have 3 more sets of chassis to build for the iron on hand, being the James, RH-40 and the Transcendars. I'm using an identical chassis layout, wiring and schematic, so you really can't get a better comparison.
Here's a pic of the first chassis... fitted with the 125ESE:
Regards, KM
Thanks for the comparison on the two... I've not yet seen my Transcendars... will collect them from my folks place next month. The 125ESE, while rated at 15-watts, are doubtful at that power level, but then again Hammond only rate them down to 100Hz and 1dB down at that point. Their website shows inductance at 9.58HY and 90.9 ohms DC resistance.
The Transcendar 5K OPTs are listed as 40HY and 370 ohms DC resistance. I like the higher inductance, but not so much the high DC resistance. Either way I expect better low frequency response from them. Do post your findings when you measure them however.
Win,
I can certainly recommend the Robin Hood OPTs. More expensive than the Hammond or Transcendar, but nicely made and they perform very well. I also recall reading on JE's site some time ago that he found some wide variations in the Hammond specs out of a group of them. In any case, if you want the prettier RH versions (endbells and flying leads) they'll cost a good chunk more. You can also specify to omit the screen taps if you don't plan on using an UL config.
The baby Edcors also look interesting.... seems similar performance to the Hammond at an even lower price point. Others have had favorable feedback on them. It's unlikely I'll ever find out.... just not enough time to play with them all. Still have 3 more sets of chassis to build for the iron on hand, being the James, RH-40 and the Transcendars. I'm using an identical chassis layout, wiring and schematic, so you really can't get a better comparison.
Here's a pic of the first chassis... fitted with the 125ESE:
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
Regards, KM
A man after my own heart - check out my "6CDGGA ehanced triode" thread for a picture of "Miz Piggy" and the 125ESEs - another squeeze job. She's playing in the background as I write this.
I think you'll be pleased with the finish on the Transcendars when you see them, though I doubt you'll be able to fit them on the chassis arrangement you show. They are much better looking than any of the other budget priced iron I have on hand.
BTW - I can't fault your taste in magnetics, but you have deep pockets. I may try some of the pricier stuff when I get my feet a little wetter. I've only built 3 tube amps so far, and have 4-5 other designs in the pipeline to prove out various ideas.
I think you'll be pleased with the finish on the Transcendars when you see them, though I doubt you'll be able to fit them on the chassis arrangement you show. They are much better looking than any of the other budget priced iron I have on hand.
BTW - I can't fault your taste in magnetics, but you have deep pockets. I may try some of the pricier stuff when I get my feet a little wetter. I've only built 3 tube amps so far, and have 4-5 other designs in the pipeline to prove out various ideas.
I found "Miz Piggy"... yea, there is a bit of art and satisfaction is squeezing them onto a small platform 
. Nice job on getting the parts intimate with one another. Actually I prefer a smaller chassis with a good layout to support the circuit and keep everything short and direct. I use an old AutoCAD system for the mechanical layout and then plot a 1:1 template on an old pen plotter... makes this stuff relatively easy and 100% repeatable.
I am having a bit of a tough time fitting the end-belled RH-40 units onto this chassis layout, it's a basic Hammond 9x5x2 and pretty packed, here's an underneath shot:
Needless to say, moving anything around can be a challenge. I used a 10x6x2 chassis for the Hashimoto based 45... much easier fit but the same mechanical layout (which I adapted for the budget amp above). As for deep pockets... my Mom used to tell me "a fool and his money are soon parted"... oh, wait, she still tells me that!
Regards, KM
. Nice job on getting the parts intimate with one another. Actually I prefer a smaller chassis with a good layout to support the circuit and keep everything short and direct. I use an old AutoCAD system for the mechanical layout and then plot a 1:1 template on an old pen plotter... makes this stuff relatively easy and 100% repeatable.I am having a bit of a tough time fitting the end-belled RH-40 units onto this chassis layout, it's a basic Hammond 9x5x2 and pretty packed, here's an underneath shot:
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
Needless to say, moving anything around can be a challenge. I used a 10x6x2 chassis for the Hashimoto based 45... much easier fit but the same mechanical layout (which I adapted for the budget amp above). As for deep pockets... my Mom used to tell me "a fool and his money are soon parted"... oh, wait, she still tells me that!
Regards, KM
I measured one of the Transcendar 3k 10W transformers today at work and got 17H or so at 120 Hz and 19 H at 1kHz for primary inductance, with ~270 ohms of DC resistance. This is better than the reported inductance for the 125ESE, but not as much as I expected, given the stack size. Maybe I'll lug in one of the 15W, 3k transformers for comparison tomorrow.
Not intentionally resurrecting an old thread....but I just experienced the same issue with attempting to find 'Transcendar' on the web. Seems that as of this moment, Gery and crew are 'on vacation'.....as that's what pops up when you use the web site in the first few posts on this thread. I sent him an email....and I guess we'll see what happens. I for one will be sad if it turns out that the RIP crown has to be place on this place. I've got a great deal of respect for the products I've purchased from Transcendar over the past 15+ years. WC
Yes, I noticed the same last week. The IP address and DNS resolution are working, but the DNS name changes. I also sent an email to sales@transcendar.com and it didn't bounce, so maybe they really are on vacation.
It would be a shame to lose them... I've bought a couple pairs of OPTs from them and they are really nice units for the $$ and perform very well.
Regards, KM
It would be a shame to lose them... I've bought a couple pairs of OPTs from them and they are really nice units for the $$ and perform very well.
Regards, KM
You cant really determine the output power of a transformer from size alone. I have made a SE 6550 amp with the GXSE 15-3.5K-8 that sounds excellent. The amp outputs roughly 12watts and doesn't display any signs of saturation. For the price and the sound quality it is a definite "best buy". cheers, 808
The laws of physics are are hard and fast - to support a given amount of volt-seconds at low frequency, you either need lots of core area (iron, big core stack) or lots of turns (copper). If the core stack size is small, you need lots of copper turns, which pumps up the winding resistance, as the primary wire will need to be really small to to fit the required turns. One dodge to keep the transformer small is to skimp on the primary inductance, with the result that current that could have gone to the secondary load is expended in primary current to keep the core magnetized.
A very instructive exercise is to feed the amp with a square wave and look at the secondary waveform - square wave tilt is determined by the primary inductance and volt-second capability of the transformer. Global feedback can mitigate this somewhat by forcing the amp to drive the transformer harder at low frequency to make up for output drive stolen by primary magnetizing current, but this dodge can only take you so far until things go spung....As a result, an SE XFMR with real low frequency capability wiil be big until they come up with materials better than mere silicon steel and copper - hasn't happened yet.
A very instructive exercise is to feed the amp with a square wave and look at the secondary waveform - square wave tilt is determined by the primary inductance and volt-second capability of the transformer. Global feedback can mitigate this somewhat by forcing the amp to drive the transformer harder at low frequency to make up for output drive stolen by primary magnetizing current, but this dodge can only take you so far until things go spung....As a result, an SE XFMR with real low frequency capability wiil be big until they come up with materials better than mere silicon steel and copper - hasn't happened yet.
Website is up but Gery is not taking orders (according to recent email). I also noticed that Ampsandsound specs Transcendar iron in most designs: Amps & Sound Amps and Sound
I wonder if Transcendar is just building exclusively for them now? Have to say I wouldn't blame him. Probably much more consistent volume and fewer items to produce than trying to cater to the entire DIY market.
I wonder if Transcendar is just building exclusively for them now? Have to say I wouldn't blame him. Probably much more consistent volume and fewer items to produce than trying to cater to the entire DIY market.
I can't remember the exact details but over on the Klipsch forums Justin Weber takes all the credit for these amps when in fact Shannon Parks designs the circuits and somebody else (Pete Millet?) does the PCB's for him. That forum is full of retards anyway and I stay as far away as I can from that cesspool. With that said I do like the looks of the amps but I have never heard one.
Update: I heard back from Gery, and he indicated it may be a year or so from now before he gets back into transformer production again. Based on this, I would dismiss any rumors that he may be manufacturing exclusively for a business elsewhere. Without further speculation, I'd simply guess he's taking some time off and 'may' return to it in another year or so. Until then, I guess other sources will be the name of the game. WC
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