good read about Si steel lams
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Electrical steel costs $1/pound at Zanesville, a hell of a lot cheaper than we pay for a transformer, especially an audio transformer.
True, the $0.60-$1.25/pound price is for huge quantities (many tons) of wide strip: extra for narrow strip, small orders, etc. The distributor price for small quantities may be 2X or 3X higher. Then it has to be stamped to core-size and stacked, a non-trivial process. And half the weight of a transformer is copper, which is much more costly (especially in the small diameter needed for few-watt windings).
Still it would seem that the exact type of electrical steel (not Permalloy and other exotic iron) has almost no effect on the final price of audio transformers.
I had a good dig and AK does not seem to document iron properties at anything less than near-saturation. That is the only place to run power transformers, but audio trannies always run far below saturation, where the permeability will be very different.
True, the $0.60-$1.25/pound price is for huge quantities (many tons) of wide strip: extra for narrow strip, small orders, etc. The distributor price for small quantities may be 2X or 3X higher. Then it has to be stamped to core-size and stacked, a non-trivial process. And half the weight of a transformer is copper, which is much more costly (especially in the small diameter needed for few-watt windings).
Still it would seem that the exact type of electrical steel (not Permalloy and other exotic iron) has almost no effect on the final price of audio transformers.
I had a good dig and AK does not seem to document iron properties at anything less than near-saturation. That is the only place to run power transformers, but audio trannies always run far below saturation, where the permeability will be very different.
G
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[quote author="PRR"]Electrical steel costs $1/pound at Zanesville, a hell of a lot cheaper than we pay for a transformer, especially an audio transformer.
[/quote]
Why to use Si steel for audio transformers?
Second world war is far away and permalloy is not deficient.
Only at single ended output transformers can be used C-cores
with oriented Si steel.
For other output transformers use amorphous cores.
And for input use mumetall. And without compromises!
Compromise transformer can degrade all audio path.
[quote author="PRR"]
but audio trannies always run far below saturation, where the permeability will be very different.[/quote]
Yes, and variable 1:10.
Iron transformer can do dynamic bass enhancement and
other types of distortion.
xvlk
[/quote]
Why to use Si steel for audio transformers?
Second world war is far away and permalloy is not deficient.
Only at single ended output transformers can be used C-cores
with oriented Si steel.
For other output transformers use amorphous cores.
And for input use mumetall. And without compromises!
Compromise transformer can degrade all audio path.
[quote author="PRR"]
but audio trannies always run far below saturation, where the permeability will be very different.[/quote]
Yes, and variable 1:10.
Iron transformer can do dynamic bass enhancement and
other types of distortion.
xvlk
> Second world war is far away
Some people here still think 1940's electronics sounds best.
By the way, the stuff sold now for "electrical steel" is VERY different from what we had in the 1930s. "Better", if you just go by saturation and peak permeability.
I'm not sure what the real audio improvement is. A little less loss, which is irrelevant past mike-input level. Less weight, but in the studio that is not very important.
Some people here still think 1940's electronics sounds best.
By the way, the stuff sold now for "electrical steel" is VERY different from what we had in the 1930s. "Better", if you just go by saturation and peak permeability.
I'm not sure what the real audio improvement is. A little less loss, which is irrelevant past mike-input level. Less weight, but in the studio that is not very important.
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