I recently changed the output transformers on one of my amps, a Darling with 12sl7 driver. I never felt like I was missing anything with the original Edcor XSE15-8-5K's, but I've been curious about the Robin Hood series from Magnequest for a while now. They're probably intended for biamping projects, but I figured the frequency roll-off wouldn't be that noticeable with my full range drivers.
After exchanging a few emails with Mike LaFevre, I ordered a pair of RH-60's. The wait was about 2 months.
The RH-60's are at least twice as large as the Edcor's, so I had some difficulty clearing out space inside the Darling. Here's the amp with the original Edcor's:
After exchanging a few emails with Mike LaFevre, I ordered a pair of RH-60's. The wait was about 2 months.
The RH-60's are at least twice as large as the Edcor's, so I had some difficulty clearing out space inside the Darling. Here's the amp with the original Edcor's:
Now with the Edcor's removed, new mounting holes drilled, and one Robin Hood installed:
Final product:
Well, "final product". If you notice, I also changed some of the capacitors to more boutique ones. Ultimately though I was unhappy with the sound - perhaps I didn't let them burn in long enough? - and reverted back to the Illinois capacitors. With the Robin Hood's in place, I notice a modest improvement across the board, but I still think the Edcor's are a great bang for the buck.
Hi,
ReplyDeleteWhat's the sonic difference between Illinois cap. and "boutique" ones?
I guess that EDCOR is Low-end transformers. Any actual improvement of sound for Magnequests?
Thanks
Vince
Hi Vince,
ReplyDeleteThe "boutique" caps I tried out were Auricaps, definitely more expensive than the Illinois, probably by as much as 20-30 dollars for each one, if I remember correctly. They're both film caps at the end of the day, but after installing the Auricaps I felt like my music didn't sound as transparent as before. Like I mentioned in the original post though, I only left them in for a couple hours, I just got so impatient with a sound that seemed like a step backwards.
With the Magnequest transformers, I felt like the midrange and mid-bass seemed more weighty, voices seemed more real. I'm not much of a reviewer, as is obvious haha. Music didn't sound bad to me with the Edcor's, like I didn't feel there was something missing, but now that I've heard the Magnequests in this setup, I wouldn't go back. I imagine we've all been down this road before. :)
Nice circuit! It will go well with my K1. So is the matching input transformer just wound on a round toroid, if building it from scratch? Also would a blocking cap on the input (to keep DC out of the transceiver) be a bad idea?best tube amplifier
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