Good inexpensive OPT transformers or going hybrid.
Posted: Sat Mar 13, 2021 12:26 pm
Hello All,
It has been a while since I had been messing with tube based audio amplifiers, and I have been thinking about getting back into it. I had a few amplifier projects in the works, but in all, I do have to get output transformers for some of them. There was a 6L6 / 807 project I was working on and I bought one Hammond 1650F output transformer for that. I remembered paying around $60 for it. Now the same transformer costs $100! Across the board I am bewildered in how much the prices have jumped up in output transformers in just a few years time. I remember there was an affordable company by the name of "James" that made decent transformers, but they are gone.
So I am curious if there are still transformer companies out there that have a decent product for an affordable price, as it seems Hammond is now getting too expensive.
As an alternative, I don't know what advances (changes) had been made in the diytube field of decent performing hybrid amplifiers. I know many purists don't like 'sand' in the signal chain, but it is clear that with rising prices of output iron, I am looking for lesser costing alternatives. Could a pair of output tubes drive a set of mosfets and that could drive a speaker instead of going through a transformer? If so, how would it sound?
I still like to keep things simple, and prefer to use transformers, but from what I have seen with popular transformer brands, they are getting too expensive.
Any input would be appreciated on this.
Thank you,
Geo
It has been a while since I had been messing with tube based audio amplifiers, and I have been thinking about getting back into it. I had a few amplifier projects in the works, but in all, I do have to get output transformers for some of them. There was a 6L6 / 807 project I was working on and I bought one Hammond 1650F output transformer for that. I remembered paying around $60 for it. Now the same transformer costs $100! Across the board I am bewildered in how much the prices have jumped up in output transformers in just a few years time. I remember there was an affordable company by the name of "James" that made decent transformers, but they are gone.
So I am curious if there are still transformer companies out there that have a decent product for an affordable price, as it seems Hammond is now getting too expensive.
As an alternative, I don't know what advances (changes) had been made in the diytube field of decent performing hybrid amplifiers. I know many purists don't like 'sand' in the signal chain, but it is clear that with rising prices of output iron, I am looking for lesser costing alternatives. Could a pair of output tubes drive a set of mosfets and that could drive a speaker instead of going through a transformer? If so, how would it sound?
I still like to keep things simple, and prefer to use transformers, but from what I have seen with popular transformer brands, they are getting too expensive.
Any input would be appreciated on this.
Thank you,
Geo