Propeller Head Plaza

Technical and scientific discussion of amps, cables and other topics.

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Ferroresonant transformer is not good for audio

Posted by Jon Risch on April 2, 2007 at 21:01:07:
Feroresonant transformers did not sound as good as over-sized E-I core transformers in my own testing.
( See: http://www.geocities.com/jonrisch/catch2.htm )
In fact, of all of the ferroresonant transformers I tested, including a couple of Sola brand units, NONE of them sounded very good on an audio system.
What works on a computer (with it's switching power supply) or on one of the older style mainframes (which had incredibly beefy power supplies in one sense, but without enough AC line protection from surges, spikes and EMI), doesn't necessarily work well for an audio system.
I found this to be true for surge suppressors as well, (see: http://www.geocities.com/jonrisch/surge.htm) the cheap ceramic caps, the low capacity inductor cores, etc., all conspire to reduce performance under extreme conditions.
What about a ferroresoant transformer could cause such a sonic problem?
It could be any one of a number of things:
The resonant beahvior could be extending the duration of line transients or 'events', this could then create a background of noise to blur the playback performance.

The resonating cap could be of poor quality in terms of audio power usage, again, instead of shortening line events and transients, increasing their length, smearing them out in time.
The saturated portion of the circuit could be adversely affecting peak current delivery.
The extra windings would increase the output impedance, and even though the average AC voltage was "regulated", the peak current would be stiffled.
In any case, many folks have found out the hard way that ferroresonant transformers are not all that great for audio systems, at least, if you want them to sound good.
As a last comment, unless there are compelling reasons to use armored AC wiring, such as extreme rat infestation or a real chance of physical abrasion of the wiring, sonically, it is not a help, but a hinderance.
The AC wiring should be kept away from steel, iron, and metals of any sort, as much as this is possible, for maximum sonic performance in a home playback environment.

Jon Risch