Still haven't yet done anything with the Trafomatics (Shannon has the second set now). FIrst scheme was to mount them on one of Ned Carlsons DIY35 chassis ith the wood base. I sinve decided to stick with the conventional approach for that, and think "outside the box" (more accurately "inside the box" approach) for them:
I am considering an unconventional / unusual design, in which the toroidal trannies wil be mounted (and hidden) completely under the chassis, the only things penetraring the chassis top will be the tubes, and nothing else.
The trannies look like big grey metallic hockey pucks, and the labels don't align properly, so I'd have to "play games" to make them look right...
As far as "best" trannies for the DIY35:
1: Magnequest MQ-565s (if you can find them, rare and long out of production and fairly expensive). Today, these are made of 100% pure unobtainium, and are rumored possibly to shipped in on the once-per-century freight run from Zeta Reticuli Yellow_Light_Colorz_PDT_11 Yellow_Light_Colorz_PDT_08
2A: Original NOS Dynacos - sometimes these show upon e-pay and other sites. They still have the full length leads and haven't suffered the ravages of time, heat, heat, time and more heat (meaning cracked and flaking insulation).
2B: Original used Z565s, with the cloth leads - the plastic covered leads were later Japanese manufacture, -and though they appear to be the same, I've heard commentary indicating otherwise, YMMV, etc
2C / 3A: The new manufacture Z565s from Triode, Dynakitparts, Tube Zone, etc. These are 99.9 % like the original, but they use more modern insulating materials and some have teflon insulated leads.
Probably the most realistic approach to take, and best for most uses.
4: Hammond 1650Fs, not bad for the $$$, they just don't have the "Hafler Magic Winding Techniques".
5: Hammond 1620s. 6600 ohms CT, UL, 20 watts. They work well with the '35, though the primary impedance is a bit on the low side. The up-side is the price, about $42 each, less when they're n sale.
Not in any numerical scoring order:
The OPTs (and power trannies) salvaged from Heathkit AA-151s. Some state that these sound better than the original Dynaco iron! I've seen AA-151s at yard sales and flea marketws for dirt cheap, even those wit hthe tubes stripped out of them are still good iron donors. I have three-and-a-half of these, now, one works perfectly well as-is (it was a Daystrom factory-built unit), two are in bad need of re-capping, and the "half" was a "tubeless wonder".
/ed B in NH