why are transformers so important?

[robotb3n]

what is so magical about certain transformers when it comes to building kickass mic pres and amps etc.?

I'm a new electronics tech student and I'm interested in building stuff, but I'm curious about the theory behind what makes this component so special.

thanks!

[NewYorkDave]

There are advantages and disadvantages to the use of audio transformers. Some are incontrovertible, others are open to debate or at least to further empirical proof or disproof.

Audio transformers provide galvanic isolation and an easy means (within limits) of voltage and impedance transformation. They have good common-mode and RF rejection. On the downside, they have a low-frequency response limit (depending on core size, winding inductance and other factors) and they all introduce some degree of phase shift and/or other anomalies. Sometimes, these anomalies produce a euphonic result, and we say the transformer sounds "good."

Transformers are susceptible to electromagnetic hum pickup, but most quality types intended for low-level signals are well-shielded enough to minimize this potential problem. Quality low-level types also incorporate an electrostatic shield between the primary and secondary windings to eliminate capacitive coupling of noise between the windings.

Depending on the application, a quality transformer can be quieter and more transparent than an active circuit that might be required to do the same job (i.e., a balanced output stage). A special case is the mic preamp, where the optimum source impedance of the amplifying device--tube, transistor or whatever--is usually higher than the source impedance of the microphone. Transformerless inputs usually attempt a better match by various methods, including the paralleling of input devices and/or higher current operation to reduce the input impedance. Or they just ignore the issue altogether and pay the penalty in noise (your typical cheap mailorder catalog preamp).

The presence of transformers is no guarantee of "magic." If the transformers are crap, you're better off without them. But good transformers, properly-applied, will deliver superb results.

[soundguy]

I dont have any theory to offer, but in the case of something famous like a neve 1073 or a neve 1272, the output transistor drives the audio into the output transformer and in those designs can saturate the transformer. It is that transformer saturation which is the source of the characteristic color those amps have, and are celebrated for having. You cant really achieve that sound of Iron without really having a transformer. Langevin AM16's are another pre that comes to mind when thinking of that saturated transformer sound.

Other transformers just plain sound good. You can take your signal and run it into a 1:1 Jensen transformer and it will sound different, IMO, if you get their top shelf transformer, much better. Jensen transformers sparkle.

Just like a good tube vs. a bad tube, this component or that, transformers definitely have a sound, and like dave said, if you have a bad sounding transformer, you are totally better off not having it there at all.

dave

[wing]

aww... man.. i thought this thread was about optimus prime and the gang!

i guess i'll just have to read and enjoy, sorry i can't be of help.

[soundguy]

more than meets the eye.

dave

[NewYorkDave]

The real question is, were the Transformers knockoffs of the Go-Bots, or the other way around? I can't remember which came first.

My favorite was the ad for the Chargertrons. Remember that?

[Cheesy vocoder voice]

"Switch on Chargerton
Robots like you've never seen
Switch on Chargertron
Supersonic machine
Rev the meter till it's red
Sending out the tracker
Switch on Chargertron
Now it's an attacker!"

Chargertron was available in two models: Protagitron and Antagitron. I never bought one because... well, damnit, I was already an adult at the time, and shouldn't have been digging on those stupid commercials in the first place...

[I'm Painting Again]

The lady that designed the sound the transformers make when they transform..you know..wh.wh..wh..wh..wh..wh..wha..was a teacher here in westchester, NY at the purchase music conservatory..

I think we can turn this into a different thread..

Thats a bad ass sound if you ask me..

I like how thier food was those energon cubes..

Speaking of robots that eat..there was this art show i saw in NyC..one piece was basically a turd making machine..you put food in one end and it chops it up and out comes a turd..well they had it on the news for publicity..and they had ny's top chefs feeding it gourmet food..What the f@^%!!..there are so many people that are hungry..well..at least it was not using a toilet because..

[soundguy]

holy shit dave, talk about remembering some useless stuff!!!

I dont even remember those things.

I want to make a fan webpage for the actor that was inside the Moffet suit on battlestar gallactica. Remember, the robot dog thing that made that filtered gear grinding sound when it walked? some poor midget dwarf SAG dude had to wear that suit and crawl around for 12 hours a day, that guy deserves some recognition.

There is a script out right now for a new battlestar gallactica thing. Apparently its been purchased by a network and is being talked about being run as a 6 hour or a 4 hour miniseries, which I suppose is not so different from the way the original series came about. But get this, Starbuck, the total ultra male sexist dude has been cast as a girl. Im pretty excited to see this. You know they wont use the old cylon voice, which sucks. I feel we shoudl all start a petition to make sure moffet gets a role and that they use the old vocoder cylon voices.

How bad would if be if like, moffet jumps in one of the space ships and puts on that pharoah helmet, but it gets stuck, so he has to take off the top portion of the dog costume when he lands on the alien planet, but is then revealed as this mutant dwarf midget who strikes fear into the alien culture and is heralded as a hero. the episode ends with the now grown up Boxy, or whatever the kids name was having a nervous breakdown in front of a hologram Lorne Greeen for torturing him with a lie throughout his childhood playing down the passageways of the Gallactica.

he screams:

"Lorne Greene, you damn old Alpo pimping spaceship commander, you told me moffet was made of TRANSFORMERS and space dust, how could you fool me with a mutant dwarf midget?????"

cut to: statue of liberty floating by out the gallactica window in space.

"Damn you, dead lorne greene, damn you to hell".

something tells me that wont make the airwaves, but holy, could it be possible for something to rule more than that?

dave

[NewYorkDave]

holy shit dave, talk about remembering some useless stuff!!!

Yeah, that nugget about the Chargertrons circa 1984 was wedged somewhere in the brain cells between the technical info I emptied out into that first reply, and the mental image of that cute Asian chick I passed on the street this afternoon. But I couldn't tell you what the hell I ate for breakfast this morning. Go figure...

[soundguy]

yes, but was the asian chick a battlestar gallactica fan?

"the silent voice of Po-Town" would be a great signature...

dave

[I'm Painting Again]

if i was a network president i would make SOUNDGUY a vice president..

vice president of interestingly varied awesomeness.

[NewYorkDave]

"the silent voice of Po-Town" would be a great signature...

dave

In the mid '80s, when it seemed every other hardcore band was something-or-other "Youth", we almost called ourselves "Elderly Youth."

This is getting way off topic. Hillary's gonna crack the whip if we don't stop soon

[I'm Painting Again]

crucial youth

brush away brush away 3 times a day..positive dental outlook

bejust like me and mr. T.. bejust like me and mr. T ..DRUG FREE!!

[soundguy]

I love it when the plan comes together.

dave

[markpar]

Transformers, Go-Bots and Chargertrons.... hmm.... anyone remember the Micronauts? Where do they fit into all this?

And what about 80s G.I. Joe? Totally unrelated, but, man, I loved that show.

"And now you know... and knowing is half the battle."

Yo Joe!
-mark