Gapped vs Ungapped Transformer

[sponzorb]

Sorry for reviving an old thread but I am trying to go back and read as much as I can about this stuff.

@ruffrecords - what do you mean by better performance in this sense? Lower distortion?

While I can’t speak for Ian, I imagine the performance is increased because the ungapped transformer will have a higher inductance on the primary for the same number of turns as a gapped transformer. This means less current in the transformer for lower frequencies because the higher inductance has a higher impedance at lower frequencies, which results in lower distortion. This is not without a caveat because you also end up with a two pole high pass filter with potentially high Q created by the high inductance and low series resistance.