Audio Transformer Inductance

Ian Thompson-Bell

V0.3 September 2015

Introduction

There seems to be a lot of mystery surrounding audio transformers which is not reduced by
the reluctance of manufacturers to publish detailed specifications. This makes it hard for end
users to choose between supposedly identical transformers from different manufacturers.
When there is a significant price difference between them there seems to be little obvious
justification for choosing the higher priced one other than reputation or hearsay concerning
the 'sound' of a particular transformer.

Given that most transformer manufacturers are equally well versed in the design and
manufacture of transformers, the only real factors that can significantly affect the price of a
transformer are the quality and quantity of the materials used in its construction. The two
main materials used in transformers are wire for the windings and various materials for the
magnetic core. If you use a bigger core and wind more turns of wire on it your transformer will
be more expensive.

This is interesting because using a bigger core and more turns of wire results in a larger
inductance and the inductance of a transformer is a very important audio parameter that
manufacturers seldom specify. The reason a transformer's inductance is important is that the
primary winding inductance largely determines the low frequency response of the
transformer. Suppose we have a 10K/600 transformer with a 600 ohm load connected
across the secondary. This is reflected by the transformer to the primary where it 'looks like'
10K ohms so the driving amplifier only has to drive a 10K load which was basically the whole
point of putting the transformer in. However, the reflected load is not the whole story because
the inductive reactance of the primary winding is in parallel with it and the inductive
reactance depends on the inductance.

Suppose the transformer has a primary inductance of 20 Henries. The inductive reactance is
proportional to frequency and is given by 2 x pi x f x L where L is the inductance in Henries
and f is the frequency in Hertz. So at 1KHz the inductive reactance of our 20 Henry primary is
over 120K which is clearly not a problem. However, at 20Hz, this reduces to around 2500
ohms which is much less than the advertised 10K ohms. If the driving circuit has a low
enough output impedance it will be able to cope with this load without producing distortion at
low frequencies and and with negligible loss of level. However, if the drive circuit is a tube
one with an output impedance of 1500 ohms or more (a typical value) two things are likely to
happen. First, the distortion at low frequencies is likely to rise considerably and secondly the
response at 20Hz will be about 2dB down.

Now, if the primary inductance was raised to 100 Henries (which needs more wire and
probably a larger core) the inductive reactance at 20Hz would be well over 12K ohms and the
tube driver would be perfectly happy.

So, the bottom line is that a larger primary inductance gives a better low frequency response
and places little or no additional load on the driving circuit at low frequencies. With this in
mind I recently invested in an Agilent U1371C LCR meter and used it to measure the primary
and secondary inductances of a number of audio transformers. The results are given in
following pages. For each one the measured primary and secondary inductance are given
along with the calculated inductive reactance at 20Hz (XL20). The meter can read
inductance at 100Hz, 120Hz and 1KHz. Without exception, the highest inductance reading
was obtained at the lowest frequency (100Hz) and it is the 100Hz measurement that is
quoted in the results section.

After posting the initial results at groupdiy.com, several members offered their own
measurements of other audio transformers. These results have now been appended.
Results

Sowter 7490e microphone input transformer:

This is Sowters' version of the 1:10 ratio mic input transformer for the Helios Type 69 mic
pre.

Primary L Secondary L Primary XL20 XL20

6H 619H 754 78K

Note that the inductances are in the ratio of the turns ratio squared. The primary inductance
is sufficient to give little primary attenuation at 20Hz from a 150 ohm source (0.16dB). The
secondary inductance is enormous.

Edcor XSE 10-50-8K output transformer:

This transformer is intended for single ended tube amplifiers to drive a 50 ohm load reflected
to 8K in the primary. I used this in a tube headphones amplifier design as a low cost
alternative to the Sowter 8665.

Primary L Secondary L Primary XL20 Secondary XL20

5.5H 36mH 691 4.5

This is supposed to present an 8K ohm primary impedance but with only 5.5 Henries primary
inductance its impedance only reaches 8k ohms at 230Hz. One reason the primary
inductance is so low is that this transformer is gapped because it expected to carry dc anode
current.. Note that Sowter quote the primary inductance of the 8665 at over 130 Henries
which has an XL20 values of over 15K ohms.

Carnhill VTB8291 9K6:600 output transformer:

This is a standard output transformer intended for capacitor coupled tube output circuits. It is
ungapped so it cannot carry dc current.

Primary L Secondary L Primary XL20 Secondary XL20

106H 11H 13K3 1382

The primary inductance is so high that there is negligible loading at 20Hz even for a driving
source impedance as high as 2K ohms.
Edcor XSM 2.4K/600

This is a low cost equivalent to the VTB2291. It costs just $13

Primary L Secondary L Primary XL20 Secondary XL20

28H 9.8H 3K5 1231

The secondary inductance is very simillar to that of the VTB2291. Although the primary
inductance appears low it is high enough for a 2.4K winding with XL20 being 3K5. Note, if
the VTB2291 is wired 2K6:600 its primary inductance measures about 27H so the Edcor is
comparable. Driving the Edcor with the EZTube Mixer output stage demonstrated it performs
as well as the Carnhill in this application.

Carnhill VTB2281 600:600 output transformer:

This is essentially the 600:600 version of the VTB8291.

Primary L Secondary L Primary XL20 Secondary XL20

12.7H 12.7H 1596 1596

Similar inductance to the 600 winding of the VTB8291.

BBC LL/88 ASC 600:600

This is much smaller than its Carnhill equivalent and is contained in a cylindrical housing
similar to those used by Sowter. I am not certain if this is intended as an input or output
transformer.

Primary L Secondary L Primary XL20 Secondary XL20

20.6H 20.6H 2592 2592

This is a very well specified transformer with a more than adequate primary inductance. Even
if fed from a 600 ohm source, the primary inductance is high enough that the loss at 20Hz is
only 0.23dB.

BBC LL81 10K:10K

I believe this is a 10K bridging transformer so it expects a driving source impedance not
greater than 600 ohms. Its construction is similar to the LL/88 but in a smaller cylindrical
housing.

Primary L Secondary L Primary XL20 Secondary XL20

91H 91H 11K4 11K4

Another well specified transformer that presents a negligible load to a 600 ohm source.
ROH DT-171 600:600 output

This is a small PCB mounting open frame transformer.

Primary L Secondary L Primary XL20 Secondary XL20

14H 14H 1728 1728

Another well specified transformer with a more than adequate primary inductance.

Data Supplied by AZ999

Cinemag CMMI-7(C)

Data supplied by Cinemag to AZ999. The is a nominal 200 ohm input microphone
transformer with a 1:7 ratio and a 50 ohm primary tap. Recommended secondary load of
97.6K ohms represents a reflected primary load 2K ohms

Primary L Primary XL20

30H 3768

The high primary inductance means the its inductive reactance is always large resulting in
both minimal attenuation and phase shift at the lowest frequencies.

Data Supplied by MathisD

OEP Z3003e primaries in series for 1:1.

This is a 10K:10K bridging transformer intended for either input or output applications.

Using hand held meter: primaries 65.5H, secondaries 65.5H

Using HP 4262A meter:

at 120Hz - 82.6H
at 1k - 45H
at 10k - no reading, it will only read up to 10H at 10k.

Note: Sept 2015. In my search for low cost good quality line input transformers I purchased a
couple of these (they are just £13 from Canford). I can confirm the original inductance
measurements – the one I tested measured 69H and 70H. I also verified that the frequency
response is essentially flat from 20Hz to 20KHz with a 10K secondary load. I also measured
the 1KHz distortion at an input level of +18dBu and found it to be just 0.3%. A good result.
OEP Mic input 1:6 model Z21808

Using hand held meter: Primaries 5.83H

Using HP 4262A meter:

Primaries at 120Hz - 10.5H, at 1K - 6.9H

Secondaries at 120Hz - 318H

Some others measured with hand held meter

Beyer 1:10 Mic input :Primaries - 5.43H

Beyer 1:15 Mic input (tiny sized canned model): Primaries 4.38H

Lundahl LL1540

Primaries - no reading
Secondaries - 117.6H and 117.3H for each winding

Jensen JT-123-S 1:1 (600ohm)

dual primaries in series - 9.43H

dual secondaries in series - 9.43H

Data provided by NY
Dave
Conclusions

With the exception of the one of the Edcor XSE 10-50-8K and the Mouser types (both of
which are exceptionally cheap), all the transformers tested had sufficient primary inductance
for their intended purpose. The Sowter and Carnhill examples were well specified and the
BBC types even more so. Given their size and high values of inductance, the two Carnhill
transformers tested represent excellent value for money. The Edcor XSM 2.4K performed as
well as the Carnhill VTB2291 and at an even lower cost.

As a simple rule of thumb, for little loading at 20Hz, the inductance of a winding in Henries
should be approximately its specified winding impedance divided by 100. So a 600 ohm
winding should have an inductance of at least 6 Henries and a 10K winding should have an
inductance of around 100 Henries.

Ian Thompson-Bell

January 2012

Version 0.2 5th Feb 2012 – added groupdiy members results

Version 0.3 September 2015 – typo fixes and further tests on OEP Z3003E. Added Edcor
XSM 2.4K/600