|
Audio Asylum Thread Printer Get a view of an entire thread on one page |
For Sale Ads |
23.246.78.54
In Reply to: RE: Is Vintage Iron Inherently Better Than Modern? posted by geezerrocket on November 17, 2015 at 07:17:18
i am an ee and mas in phy/math , i wound my first transformer in 1980 it was a simple ei but i was completely fascinated with the effect of magnetism and the magnetic domain,and electromagnets,i did not stumble into audio transformers until i met a guy called manley in 81 who showed a vtl amp driving 4 ls35a clamped and stacked like a line array with only 1 tweeter connected it blew my mind what that would do, as i only heard some leak and quad amps in friends parents homes
while studying i repaired some progear and musican amps and learned a lot more and visited a lot of manufactures etc fast forward to 89 i moved to kyoto and met some crazy audiophiles and was introduced to my first wide bandwith transformer(tango), i moved to nyc and started diy and fixing musican stuff(they were cool and had good weed)and started experimenting with mixing and experimenting with transformers, i also had kumoro wire one of my businesses for hvac/lightining i was that close to the diy world, so i have heard just about every transformer made as i sold lots of the stuff to japan and France(i am sorry i needed the money),i still use vintage and new stuff and can say they all have some unique character so every circuits deserve to try at least 2types but specs are similar so its really only the kind of wire used and how the load reacts
for example i have tried some peerless and dyna swaps in a mk 3 and altec amps and also some arcosound 330 and 350 ,i once installed a old monster fisher trans in a well known musican amp and he was floored with the increase volume he got and low end,i do less experiments now and have magnequest,elactraprint,tango,and the likes and lots of vintage from unknown to the arcosound 350 (animal)
now that i have done bragging lets talk science
i made a habit of attaching magnets or coiling my screwdrivers with dc so when i used them for repairs i always had control of the screws in tricky places
so i think its the actual quality of steel and its magnetic properties and i have no proof or even any data to support this but reading this wiki article might help
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low-background_steel
and yes transformer designers and manufactures should be given all the love and business and respect
sometimes i look at the little dyna st 35 or the magnequest rs 025 and wonder how these things make music ,must be black magic
Follow Ups:
Are you saying that the radionuclides in modern steel cores is audible? Fascinating! What affect does it have on the sound?
I am also curious, since you have listened to so many transformers; do you thing that modern Tango and/or Tamura are a cut about, with their exotic cores?
Dave
sorry late reply was travelling and busy diying
Radionuclides as per old engineers and radiologist say that it affects equipment where there are audio/rf transmissions ,maybe not audible but affects performance tolerence
my favourite salvaging was old research labs and medical equipment companies ,some of the tubes and parts were top notch ,i have about 6 electronics for medicine 12ax7a that are the most amazing tube i have heard of course now they go for silly money
if you ever hear the tango amorphours cores on a well designed amp you are in for a treat,but they are luxury items at the price
keep having fun
So I gather as long as the designers are designing with current tolerances in mind, the should be able to get good results.
I am not really a connoisseur of 12AX7 tubes, but I would imaging that those medical 12AX7A's are very good. I do have some Telefunken 12AX7's from some Scott gear, but I haven't tried them in anything. If I don't like them, they would be easy to sell!
Dave
Great post!
Lots of good info there.
I was just curious because I am considering a no holds bared 60 - 90 wpc push pull KT88/6550, KT120, or KT150.
I would be interested in your recommendations.
Thanks
Meat; It's the right thing to do. Romans 14:2
hi i have never played with kt 120 or 150 i have done some experiments with the kt90 ,while amazing these newer tubes need extra juice,i would look for transformers that can supply at least 30 % more current than all the total biasing required
finding opt than can do juicy power now a days is v expensive, have you thought about restoring some vintage theater amps like altec 1569,1570,some dukanes,capehearts,rca etc ,even some hifi amps like heath w6,eico hf 60,scott lab series etc,
i have used and rebuild over 15 altec 1569 and done to spec and rebuilt ,they are mack truck reliable and visually,one of the few theater amps that could bitch slap a ls35a
have fun
Post a Followup:
FAQ |
Post a Message! |
Forgot Password? |
|
||||||||||||||
|
This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors: