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Output Transformer - Silicon Steel or Amorphous?

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S

Simply Audio

Member
Joined 2018
Having read a great deal in these posts regarding Transformer cores and their attributes , Nanocrystalline - Finement has become by choice now as its a step up from Amorphous in terms of Lower distortion and subjective clarity.
GOSS Cores M3-6 were very nice and even handed but Finement has a level of Micro level detail which is extraordinary , with no brightness , just a little warmer compared to Amorphous that I have used.
Recovery between transients is very fast indeed, probably due to the high efficiency of the Core.
Only drawback is the cost .........
 
S

Simply Audio

Member
Joined 2018
Permalloy is softer, but the bass in Finement has leading edge detail with speed and agility , the core size needs to be larger than GOSS to deal with the DC saturation issues in SE mode, as does Permalloy and Amorphous.
Tone is very accurate with Finement,not bright at all, but some may find the level of detail perplexing at first, as very little of the mix is left behind.
 
K

kartick

Member
Joined 2012
Perfectusaudio said:
Great postings ! if I may add ....Amorphous cores saturate more quickly than M6 & M3 so you will need much more metal for good bass response . M19 that Electra-Print use sound great as do M6 from Magnequest, HiB from Japan Hashimoto, ISO (Tango) Radiometal from Audio Note UK and Amorphous from Monolith ( very expensive ) or not so expensive from NP Acoustics which are very good.

I have built a number of amps with most of these metals and in the end I believe you have to trust your ears as to which suits you best . If they cover the actual audio frequencies the Human ear can hear say 20Hz to 20Khz at -1db and 10hz to 40kHz at -3dB allowing for freq extension and overtones to creep back down the spectrum into the audible range you have covered off what is needed.

Most published specs for transformer producers are not in active amplifiers so expect quite a bit less frequency response once installed into your active circuit . Each of these metal bases has a slightly different sonic signature and the most expensive Amorphous or Nanocrystalline brightness may not suit you . Most commercial designs on the Market use bog standard M6 EI cores to great effect, so a DIY'er has the opportunity to go well beyond this level.

Bang for the buck Jacks M19's are very hard to beat, NP Acoustics Amorphous are excellent for the money and ISO (Tango) still edge out Hashimoto IMHO in terms of low insertion loss and clarity....happy hunting
Click to expand...
Hi @Perfectusaudio - I am evaluating getting NP Acoustic amorphous transformers and those guys have been very helpful with all my queries. However, I am a bit concerned about getting a much more leaner and brighter/brittle sounding OPTs and ITs than what I have right now. I am thrilled about the additional clarity and level of detail that NP's amorphous cores will bring in but am worried if it will be too much of a good thing, thereby making the system sound lacking the sweetness I love. Do you have any inputs here? Have you used their stuff for extended periods and will you recommend getting those or transformers with OFC, EI Z9 0.23mm SIFE GOSS Lams?
 
6

6A3sUMMER

Member
Joined 2016
What laminations sound best on the following types of amplifiers?

Push Pull, No negative feedback, triodes or triode wired pentodes/beam power tubes.

Single Ended, No negative feedback, triodes or triode wired pentodes/beam power tubes.

No negative feedback:
no Global, no Schade, no output tube plate to driver cathode, no output transformer secondary to output tube cathode, etc.
 
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