M-6 vs M-14 vs ?
Thoughts on better/worse?
Transformer lamination steel
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wpaulvogel
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Re: Transformer lamination steel
Depends entirely on what you’re winding. M-6 is more efficient but for vintage tones the “lesser” steels are more correct.
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Stevem
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Re: Transformer lamination steel
If your doing a build, or replacing a PT then the better Steel is the way to go if you have a sourse for such a Transformer.
In terms of output Transformers it's far better that they are interleaved and wound on a paper bobbin ( not Nylon in the core ) then being made of the better steel.
This I say from my empirical evidenced by Ear, not by technical specs.
The saturation rate of the lesser steel in terms of the output Transformer was part of the great nature of many a cherished classic guitar amps soul to put it in a Nut shell, even at the expense of what could have been greater efficiency!
In terms of output Transformers it's far better that they are interleaved and wound on a paper bobbin ( not Nylon in the core ) then being made of the better steel.
This I say from my empirical evidenced by Ear, not by technical specs.
The saturation rate of the lesser steel in terms of the output Transformer was part of the great nature of many a cherished classic guitar amps soul to put it in a Nut shell, even at the expense of what could have been greater efficiency!
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Not screaming like the passengers in his car!
Cutting out a man's tongue does not mean he’s a liar, but it does show that you fear the truth he might speak about you!
Re: Transformer lamination steel
It would be a good idea to provide at least the very basic details necessary, ie explain the application and your goal.
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Re: Transformer lamination steel
As noted - it depends on what you're trying to do. A sports car is better for zizzing along winding roads, a dump truck is slow but can carry a whole lot more gravel. Improving your driveway with only a sports car to move materials will be very frustrating.
On a separate note, @Stevem, I can't agree with the idea that cardboard bobbin = good, nylon bobbin = bad. Both are non-magnetic materials, and it would take magnetic field intensities similar to an MRI machine to even tell the difference in them magnetically. What does matter, and a lot, is the location and placement of each turn of copper wire relative to one another and the layering/sectorizing or lack thereof in winding the coils. That's easily measurable.
Nylon bobbins get a bum rap because they're easier to misuse. It's very difficult to jumble-wind on cardboard, but nylon bobbins make it easy to just buzz on a jumble-wound coil in a side-by-side section of the core. Cost-cutting transformer makers love this, but the cost cutting shows up in the sound. If you do the same winding - layering, sectioning, etc - on a nylon bobbin, you get the same sound, all else being equal. But people can't see the copper inside. They see the nylon versus cardboard and decide that it's the nylon. It's really the MBA cost cutters that make a transformer sound bad.
On a separate note, @Stevem, I can't agree with the idea that cardboard bobbin = good, nylon bobbin = bad. Both are non-magnetic materials, and it would take magnetic field intensities similar to an MRI machine to even tell the difference in them magnetically. What does matter, and a lot, is the location and placement of each turn of copper wire relative to one another and the layering/sectorizing or lack thereof in winding the coils. That's easily measurable.
Nylon bobbins get a bum rap because they're easier to misuse. It's very difficult to jumble-wind on cardboard, but nylon bobbins make it easy to just buzz on a jumble-wound coil in a side-by-side section of the core. Cost-cutting transformer makers love this, but the cost cutting shows up in the sound. If you do the same winding - layering, sectioning, etc - on a nylon bobbin, you get the same sound, all else being equal. But people can't see the copper inside. They see the nylon versus cardboard and decide that it's the nylon. It's really the MBA cost cutters that make a transformer sound bad.
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