Question about Inductors affecting Sound Quality

[bobober]

I want to try and clone the EQ section from the vintage desk in the studio I work in. The EQ circuitry contains inductors made by the desk manufacturer, which are impossible to buy/find now.

How much do inductors with the same value vary? I.e. would 5 different 1H inductors made by 5 different companies sound completely different?

I'm guessing there will be differences since transformers with the same turns ratio vary wildly? And they work on similar principles...

 

[JohnRoberts]

As long as they are the same value and have similar saturation levels, they should sound the same, but to dot all i's and cross all t's you need to quantify the non-deal specifics (like series R, etc).

JR

 

[CJ]

they are probably wound on a powdered core, either torroid or pot core, permeability for those type cores was a lot lower than is possible now days, this means today you need less turns to get the same inductance, less turns means less capacitance between turns, so your high end will be better, but less turns also means more saturation for the same level, especially due to the fact that the higher the perm, the quicker the core will saturate,

less turns means a more selective  resonance circuit as the DCR of the wire will be less, so you have a sharper peak, (higher Q)

Inductance varies with level and frequency, so you might want to see if you could borrow one of the inductors and check inductance against level and frequency to get a good match,

of if you can not borrow one of the inductors, you can measure the DCR and core size, then you can make a stab at some the other specs like number of turns and the perm of the core material.

 

[abbey road d enfer]

would 5 different 1H inductors made by 5 different companies sound completely different?

"Sound" of inductor-based EQ's is disgustingly serendipitious  .
You cannot go to a winder and ask for a specific sound; you have to give a set of objective parameters and alter the design almost blindingly if you don't like the sound. Some designers end up using ferrite materials that are not optimized for audio applications, because it gives a "sound" they like. Smaller cores saturate earlier, which may be to the liking of the designer (or not).
There is no magic receipe, nor academic answer for "good-sounding" inductors.

 

[Whoops]

If you want something similar or close to what you have, take pictures of the inductors, show us, then take notes on the specifics and material used in those inductors