Ultimate upgrade, silver output transformer option

[Paul Welsby]

Money to burn?

Paul

[Ray P]

Or even more ultimate, silver wire with cobalt laminations.

Ray

[John T]

Go to Hi-Fi Collective!

[andrew ivimey]

Three options is difficult so I don't think I'll vote - how many silvers have I (has anyone) tried ?

I have AE silver amorphous transformers on my Loftin White. They cost £642, which, I am told, is a very good price. One can pay the earth for these things. They are appallingly heavy.

AE silver amorphs are excellent - but I have only directly compared them to transformers that cost around £100 or less.

AE C cores are fabulous (as they are only about £130), but I haven't gotten round to comparing silvers vs. C cores.

Eastern Audios (on ebay) are marvellous (as they only cost under £50) but the difference is immediate and chalk and cheese.

I think (though this may be contraversial) that even Eastern Audios are better than WADs. This contention is based only on direct comparison with WAD 2A3PSE transformers.

[Ianm2]

I previously 'hard sold' the eastern audios, they sound fine, but doubts are niggling at my mind now about the quality of stuff coming out of china...I know they can put stuff together well, but as to design, well they don't have 100 plus years of expertise pushing the bounds of radio and all that, i think that 'legacy' and tradition count for a lot. Great tho for a cheap amp up and running, like perhaps a loftin white instead of hammonds, which I rather like.

I am going back in time, so amercian 1950s stuff is built like it will never again be built....

[Black Stuart]

I have already posted somewhere that Audionote did a silver everything 2A3 SE some 6 years ago now and a someone I know who is a personal friend of the Dane raved about it.

Black Stuart

[Ray P]

Andrew, I take your point about expereinces with silver wound OPTs.

Having upgraded my Paraglows, I have experienced nominally the same output transformers, one set with permalloy and one set with cobalt - the cobalts won hands down.

As for silver, my experiences are that every where I have subsituted silver for copper I have preferred the silver. If nothing else it is a better conductor than copper. I just wish i head spec'ed silver coils on my lowther units.

Ray

[Paul Barker]

Yes, funnily enough silver coils on Lowthers is hardly any more isn't it? I had them.

Sometimes when they use silver in output transformers they have to compromise the winding technique because enamelled silver wire is not available in all the sizes one might want to use. The net result may sound better, but not necessarily.

[Chris]

If a marked increase in the sound quality can be had then I would be interested.

Chris...

[andrew ivimey]

It can, it does. I strongly recommend AE, but for their C cores too. But if you have the dosh the sky or the world's scarce resources are there for the concocting!

I'm off to Cuba - hasta la vista boys!