Output Transformers again

[Ty_Bower]

So, in your opinion who makes a better output transformer for the GetSetGo - Jack at Electra-Print, or Gery at Transcendar? I do realize there is a price difference of nearly 2x, which does influence my decision somewhat. I have some speakers which are rated at 6 ohms nominal and others rated at 8, would I be better off with Transcendars spec'd 5K:8 or should I go for the 3K:8? If I went for Electra-Prints, I'd probably opt for the 3.5K:8, which I''d expect should work well at 8 and turn down just fine for use at 6 ohms.

My GSG already has a set of Edcor GXSE 2.5K:6, but they don't quite go low enough with my 8 ohm speakers. Although I haven't measured it myself, I suspect they have just enough inductance to meet their rated 40 Hz low end extension, and running them at the higher load is pushing that up into the mid 50s. I'm hoping to replace them with something a little better that can dig a little deeper.

[SDS-PAGE]

Electra-print makes some great irons, but so does Trascendar. Trascendar will be most cost-effective, even though the price difference of 2x might be justifiable considering the calibre of products that Jack puts out. Personally, I'd choose neither if I were to build a semi-decent amp. I would go with any of the following:

- Hashimotos
- James 6113HS' or 6123HS'
- Sophia Electric 9103s

In the end, it really is your ears that decide what's most suited for your application.

-Min

[WA4SWJ]

Ty,

I built a nice little Simple SE from tubelab.com (picture below) with Transcendar transformers. I am quite pleased by the excellent sound of these transformers. They are very good and have excellent bass as well as excellent response across the audio band.



I also have a set of Electraprint transformers that I ordered from Jack for a 300B amplifier that I am in the process of designing. Just for grins I hooked them up to the Simple SE and they sound fantastic too. I noticed slightly more bass with the Electraprint. I'll have to listen to them more to give a more detailed commentary, but they are no doubt excellent transformers. They will be in the 300B amplifier in the near future.

As an aside, an e-mail I got from Jack when I was ordering the transformers from him noted that the 300B transformers he built for me were similar to 25 Hz filament transformers. I thought that was an interesting comment.

I don't think you would go wrong with either transformer.

As for the James units, I have some of them (6112's) as well in my G*S*G and they are quite good. I doubt that they have as much iron in them as the Transcendars simply due to their size. I don't think they are intrinsically better than the Transcendars, an opinion based on subjective evaluation obtained when swapping amps around, which I do frequently. Transformers when you get right down to it are simple devices, however, there are many ways to design them. Whether one method of construction is better than another I don't know. I think we would need to measure them all and take the subjectiveness out of the evaluation. I haven't measured any of the transformers I have to determine which is better. All I know is that all the above transformers sound very good and are more than adequate for quite good listening experiences.

Frankly, in most situations, I think the speakers you use are the most important part of the system. Transformer differences, are for the most part, small enough when you're into this level of performance to not matter as much as the speakers IMHO.

FWIW, the speakers I use most of the time are Zaph ZRT's that I built (www.zaphaudio.com) from John Krutke's plans published on his Web site. They are excellent for what they cost to build. The drivers used in John's design are some of the best available in terms of response and distortion characteristics. John is an absolute expert in speaker design and is highly regarded. These are amazing speakers. Here's a picture of the ZRT's I built:



EDIT: By the way, Madisound has kits for these speakers. Wish they had had the pre-routed baffles when I built mine. I had to cut my own holes. Anyway, here's the link:

http://www.madisound.com/catalog/produc ... ts_id=8591

Have a great week!

[Roger P.]

Hi, Interesting stuff about different transformers. I have most all of the parts collected for my get set go including the James Iron (6115‘s). My question is has any one on the forum had any experience with the 6123HS?
Also many thanks to all who contribute and to Shannon for making it easy enough to actually get it together. Have been wanting to sling some solder for a long time but not a designer and missing the Kits of my youth was at a loss on how to get back in to it. Thank you all. Roger

[msmpe]

Hi, just a note on my use of a pair of Transcendar 5K SE 10W trannies. I used these on a triode strapped 6BM8 spud I designed. I was astonished how good it sounded - good bass, good prescence, clean highs. It certainly was not due to the tubes (NOS GE), nor to the speakers (RS 4" 2-way), so it was most likely the OPT (or I found the sweet spot for the combo). The OPT at 10W were way overkill for the 1.5W capability of the amp, maybe that helped. The speakers don't sound near as good with either my Sony SS ( ) or my old Marantz SS ( ) or with the old (now blown ) Sansui. Gotta be the Transcendar!!

[Ty_Bower]

Hi, just a note on my use of a pair of Transcendar 5K SE 10W trannies. I used these on a triode strapped 6BM8 spud I designed. I was astonished how good it sounded - good bass, good prescence, clean highs.

I put a set of Transcendar 5K:8 on my Simple SE amp, and I'll agree they are extremely good transformers. Their very reasonable price is just icing on the cake. I'm sure I would be very happy with a set of Transcendar on my GSG, but part of me wants to know if I'd be missing anything by not going with the Electra-Prints.

[EWBrown]

I've used the Magnequest RH-60s in a couple of GSGs, and they sound beyond excellent. The somewhat high plate load impedance will deliver somewhat less maximum output power, but the THD is a LOT lower, so it is a good trade-off, for my purposes.

If you want the max available output power, then use 2.5K - 3.5K OPT primary.

/ed B in NC

[Ty_Bower]

Has anyone here used O-netics?

[SteveH]

Ty,
I have heard of 'em...But have no clue where to order them; or what they have available. A google search comes up nearly blank.

[Quad]

There's an interesting shootout on the Silk site -

http://www.sacthailand.com/Transformer_TestOutput.html

[Ty_Bower]

There's an interesting shootout on the Silk site...

Where's a good place to buy SACT (Silk) transformers? I'm in the USA.

[MashBill]

I think this is your best bet:
http://www.diyhifisupply.com/catalog/57/outputtransformers

[Ty_Bower]

Has anyone ever used a pair of the Silk S-303 transformers? They're the "economic" version of the S-325. You can get a set of them delivered for $152 (compared to $375 for the S-325). That's about the same price as a set of James JS-6112HS.

SAC has the specifications for both the S-303 and the S-325 on their website:
http://www.sacthailand.com/Transformer_Output.html

[Mr Ed]

This thread is a little old but for what its worth...

I attended a small audio get together yesterday and took my GSG amp.
There were several amps that were swapped in and out, some rather expensive and build by fairly knowledgeable people, yet the GSG got high praise and pretty much shocked everyone. It played a long time too which surprised me.

That said I am using Transendar OPT's in mine FYI.

Here's to Shannon for a great amp design

Ed

[jetpack]

Now it is a VERY old thread.
Anyway, if anybody is still interested, I've tried both the Silk 303s and a set of James 6123 in a GSG. I prefer the James. When I was still using a 10" wide-range woofer before moving to my current frugalhorns, I thought the James had heaps more low bass. In the frugalhorns they seem to have a tighter mid-bass. I could also be completely mistaken, as I'm a shockingly bad critical listener.