Opinions on James Transormers please..

[dave dove]

seems to all be getting heated here
just thought i'd make my opinions clear

the james' didn't sound any better
in my mutilated WAD K5881pse
-running only one output valve-
than the original WAD trannies

neither did some hefty lundahls

i was going to keep them for my boy
but his interest waned
so i swapped them for something more useful
i don't think i'll be swapping my partridge optxs
but they are a whole lot more expensive

dave

[Richard]

Originally Posted by Will Cowen

For Richard who likes specs.

I bought my James on your very good recommendation a couple of years ago, thanks Paul.

Thanks Will, a good illustration of my point and perhaps why Paul recommended them.

Rich

[Richard]

Originally Posted by andrew ivimey

Now is my recommendation better than comparing frequency response graphs? An FRG is just one variable, fine.

Nope! But it is good to have both and the thoughts of someone whose opinion I respect.


I have never done a systematic comparison of any transformers but I have use quite a few.

I thought e.g the output transformers on WAD2A3PSE were a bit weedy in the bass dept - having heard what 2A3s are capable of elsewhere.

Just looked back and this is what we thought of that amp when it came out, but others loved it,

"Bass struggled,
20Hz 1.6W
30Hz 3.2W
40Hz 3.4W
50Hz 3.8W
100Hz 5.8W
200Hz 7.6W
SW was fine as you`d expect without feedback.
Sound was OK. Not at all special. Brother and I admit to expecting a super mid range in exchange for less bass but this wasn`t the case.
Particularly disappointing was the mid which has a lispy character emphasising sibilance and not at all believable. Bass was very one-note with a lack of real lows. Treble was dull with no sparkle or shine and there was an overall veil to the sound. We used good recordings via the clocked Pioneer PD91/Pink Triangle Da Capo 1307. Joni Mitchel, Mary Black, Tracy Chapman, Graceland, Clapton, Leonard Cohen, Dire Straits, Yes, Deep Purple and many others."

Rich

[pre65]

Hi-so did the two graphs give the James transformer the advantage ?


Philip

[IslandPink]

Sorry, came in a bit late on this one .
I used the 'James' pair that Dave Dove had , for a while . I used them in the WAD 2A3 amp when it was running as a single 2A3 driven by an EL84 . I then swapped to the Dave Slagle custom ones ( much more expensive ) for a short while with the same circuit , before I built the current KR300B XLS for which the Slagle ones were intended .
The James transformers in that context were agreeable, nicely made and finished and seemed to give good bass response with a 2A3 ( maybe not with a 300B , given the relatively small size ? ) .

The Slagles had clearly more tonal colour and more detail . They showed the James ones to be slightly mellow and rounded, with the loss of tonal information you'd get from this . I'm not saying they are necessarily rolled off in frequency, that's not the same thing . I remember a pair Paul B had wound , sounding a bit similar , but they went out to 50kHz apparently . I suppose it depends on the interlayer material chose, for one thing . Dave Slagle uses open-weave fibreglass , which give minimal cpacitive coupling and hence low colouration .

I didn't have a good direct comparison of the James vs the WAD ones, but I suspect the WAD ones were a little more neutral , but not as nice as the Slagle ones which are anyway in a different price bracket . I think the WAD ones for the 2A3 were good, and the James would offer a more 'rose-tinted' presentation, not strongly so, just a shift of emphasis .

Whether this is a 'house style' I don't know . As I say they were the specific ones Dave had at that time .

Mark

[Ianm2]

I think to attempt to bring this back on track, ( whilst diverging )

the james and the hammond graphs are quite bad objectively, they aren't totally flat over all of the audio band, to 20 khz, both start to roll off a good bit below that, the hammond resonates and is 4db down at one point, (note how the specs say -3db at so and so, perhaps 60khz or 100kz, yet its still starting to roll off at 10khz? that's specifications for you, are they lying, misleading, or just not informing correctly???)

objectively terrible.

I do have a stock of tx's I hope to do some listening one day, some tasteful single endeds.

But Dr John was asking for opinions, clearly he is intent on purchasing, the general response has been supportive, complimentary.

With a few exceptions, I would say upon the replies they are a safe bet, but the other pertinent point is:

Dr John's budget,

what alternatives are there at his selected budget, its probably not too useful for his purposes to say they are not as good as AE or Slagle's, as Dr John can't go there, mind you, he didn't say that, he just wanted good, bad, or other.....so ignore that ....

So has Dr John been satisfied with the commendations or is there anything else he is considering?

And for what application?.

I can't recommend the silks highly enough myself, I heard them, they are my current top choice, but I do have some tasties which may usurp them, but at what price?

[Paul Barker]

Originally Posted by Will Cowen

I bought my James on your very good recommendation a couple of years ago, thanks Paul.

[pre65]

Hi-surely any opinion is only valid at the time it was given !

ie at this moment in time,to the best of my knowledge.


Philip