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[OTR Mastering]

Keep reading about people performing mods to get rid of I/O transformers and seeking gear that does not have them (Example: Forsell mod on an NSEQ-2). Why? I personally like what they do for a mix when you get the right signal strength thru them.

Please weigh in on what it is that transformers do that many do not like....

Thanks.

[Hermetech Mastering]

I think if you want transparency, then transformer saturation/transient eating can be a bit much sometimes. Of course, it's ideal to be able to have the option of an extremely transparent chain, or a more coloured one, depending on what sounds best on the source.

[Viitalahde]

Good transformers don't smear or saturate.

I have a few transformers in the chain, and in those applications they are absolutely required for the circuit to function correctly.

As with everything, it's a matter of balancing the whole chain and finding the right patch order.

[djwaudio]

I've had transformers that I thought sounded good and others I couldn't imagine using in mastering. 

In the Massive Passive, they change the tone somewhat, and to my ear for the better.  Nice low-end chunk. Of course others prefer to go without.  I think it has a lot to do with what it's connected to. 

I went through my chain looking carefully at the input and output impedance of each device, and realized there were some better ways of connecting things (order change) that resulted in lower distortion.

[bradsarno]

I think that good transformers, well implemented and integrated are pretty hard to beat. But I found with my Massive Passive, that I do prefer the capacitor coupled output over the Manley-wound transformer output. There's something cleaner and more open about it. Although I did replace the stock Multicap's with Solens, which I think sounds even nicer. But I would like to experiment with the loading on the Massive's transformer to see if that coloration can be tweaked to sound better, zobel network stuff. I felt like there was something smeary or irritating as well as veiled in the top end and upper mids with the transformer compared to the cap output.

With transformers, I think there's no rule to it. Sometimes they're the best in a certain place. Some transformers will never sound great. There's quality as well as circuit context at work there. I do have great luck with Jensens in general. Reichenbach (Cine-Mag) too.

Brad

www.bluejadeaudio.com
www.sarnomusicsolutions.com

[bblackwood]

A number of years ago it occurred to me that every piece of gear I really liked was electronically isolated and those I Immediately dismissed were virtually always transformer isolated.

Since then I've paid closer attention and come to the realization that I'm just sensitive to most transformers out there - they just bug me.

That said, the WE 111C's I keep on hand sound really, really good, though still not 'transparent'.

[aleatoric]

I'm a big fan of the Carnhill output transformers in my FCS P3S ME.  They add a nice subtle "warmth" to the low end and low mids that can be very pleasing on lots of material.  However I also like that I have the option to disengage the transformers via a switch on the front of my FCS P3S ME when I am not looking for that sound. 

[John Roberts {JR}]

I am pleasantly surprised to see some push back against 'transformer sound". Long ago and far away, transformers were the best (only) tool for the job and good engineers back then worked hard to make them as linear and colorless as possible. Since then solid state electronics has caught up and passed them by for path dynamic range and purity.

There is surely a place for transformers in recording as an intentional coloration for effect.  Of course very good transformers used within their design limits can be quite clean. That was the original goal for all transformer design. 

While putting bypass switches on transformers is an interesting concept, I'm not holding my breath. FWIW when I advised the design engineers who did Peavey's tube mic preamp (VMP-2), I got them to add a separate non-transformer output in parallel with the low Z transformer output. This unbalanced Hi-Z output was only useful for short feeds, but arguably one transformer cleaner, while this may seem silly in the context of a product, marketed on the expectations having a tube sound.

JR

[Gold]

For common mode rejection there is nothing finer. It's not a critical need with line level audio in mastering rooms. If I was in a remote truck I'd want a transformer mic splitter and transformer input mic preamps. They just work. And of course good transformers sound good. And good transformers are expensive.

I've never been a fan of them for the most part. One exception was when setting up my SP75 console. There are two versions of the output cards. One with transformers and one without. My original plan was to use the transformerless for the main outs and use the transformer to feed the preview. I auditioned both and the transformer output sounded more like the input than the transformerless one. I still can't explain that one.

[OTR Mastering]

IME, when you get the signal flow right thru the unit (at least the ones I have experience with), the transformers just have a way of making the bottom end really solid. I'm no electronics wizard, so maybe what I'm liking is the negative feedback circuit - no idea. I just know that since I started running the output signal hotter which I suppose is somewhat saturating the output transformer, the bottom end has gotten nicely tight, puffier and warmer; more of the desired analog flavor I've been looking for...

[Joe_caithness]

My TFPRO p38v7 compressor has transformers on the input (not sure which ones, not had a chance to take it out coz it's always been in use!) and a massive amount of gain on that knob available, it's great, there is an effect on the tone with no compression, but its very subtle and is really pleasing coming from digital sources, it just does a kinda "gelling" of the mix, which can be controlled by pushing the input harder or softer, Ted Fletcher put a big range of threshold and output variables to make up for any extra boost you do on the input for "vibe".. that's the kinda thing that makes analogue gear fun to work with, it's "alive" and reacts in different ways.

[SafeandSoundMastering]

This couldn't be simpler.Sometimes the sonic adjustments imparted by a transformer suits a track and sometimes it doesn't.

You don't add stereo width enhancement or any given eq curve to every single track you master so why impart a transformers character to everything you do.

and to my ear for the better.  Nice low-end chunk.

Unless you have a mix with a lot of low end chunk.

"No presets in mastering", it goes for analogue too, watch out for that seductive side it can end up making your work worse.

[zenmastering]

Small correction: The stock NSEQ-2 does not have transformers in the audio path. The Forssell mod eliminates the vacuum tube circuitry that was in the stock model.

I too like the Carnhill transformers in my P3S comp...but about once in 20 projects. I'm more into line amps with colour (may also have transformers...)

Graemme



 

Keep reading about people performing mods to get rid of I/O transformers and seeking gear that does not have them (Example: Forsell mod on an NSEQ-2).

[PBM]

Good transformers don't smear or saturate.

I have a few transformers in the chain, and in those applications they are absolutely required for the circuit to function correctly.

As with everything, it's a matter of balancing the whole chain and finding the right patch order.

I agree - obviously there's transformers and transformers: I have Lundahl amorphous core in the Knif Soma and I don't think they're adding any of the usual transformer adjectives to the sound.

Cheers,

Eric

[Matt_G]

I agree - obviously there's transformers and transformers: I have Lundahl amorphous core in the Knif Soma and I don't think they're adding any of the usual transformer adjectives to the sound.

Yes indeed Eric, I had a set of Lundahl amorphous core transformers put on one set of my REQ-2.2's outputs recently & I prefer these to the standard transformerless output stage. They really don't sound like a typical output transformer at all. In fact I found that by comparison they preserved slightly more detail and just sounded clearer overall.

On the coloured side I have Neve 1272's (Marinair), the 32087 (Marinair), Neumann PEV's (?), Thermionic Culture Phoenix (Sowter) & they all have varying degrees of colour and texture.   

[djwaudio]

A number of years ago it occurred to me that every piece of gear I really liked was electronically isolated and those I Immediately dismissed were virtually always transformer isolated.

I understand you are a fan of PF "The Wall". I remember reading a Bob Ezrin interview (probably Tape Op) where he mentions how they spent a fortune on the first transformerless multi track machine. I have an early pressing of The Wall and find it to be among the best sonics of any rock record I've heard.

In my first analog chains I had transformerless gear, and I think some good sound came from them. At some point the Massive Passive showed up and I was shocked by how much distortion the transformers added to the low-end. Then in use, I found I usually liked that sound.

Naturally, the blind use of potent processing tools, can be counter to the musical vision. All my favorite restaurants use seasonal ingredients. The ones I don't like always taste the same.

[Joe_caithness]

Last year I entered university in the final year to bump up my academic qualifications, I am studying a BSC in Audio and Recording Technology, basically electronic and acoustic engineering for audio.


I am currently writing my dissertation on the relevance of transformers in modern studios, so when I have some conclusions I will happily share them with you and start a bit of a discussion.

I am currently at the stage of having built some transformer boxes to run some 600:600 signals through and recorded the audio back through, to start going to some friends studios to do some blind testing and questionnaires.

[Hermetech Mastering]

Thanks Joe, I'd be very interested to hear your conclusions! There are ten transformers in my chain, so they have to be doing something to the sound!

Are you studying full time, part time or by distance learning? I've also been considering a distance learning masters in Creative Music Technology.

[Joe_caithness]

I commute two days a week.. it's a pain in the arse!

[Hermetech Mastering]

Yeah, I'm from the UK originally, but now living in Milan. I'd need a course in English, which only leaves distance learning really, but audio specific distance learning Masters seem few and far between! AM thinking about going with this one from the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama:

http://www.rwcmd.ac.uk/courses/mmus_creative_music_technology.aspx

Good luck!

[Viitalahde]

Right now I have quite a few transformers in the chain, and apart from one of them I am unable to find them sounding bad.

I have tried it with every source material, doing A/B comparisons level matched and blind to make sure I'm not fooling myself. What is the weirdest thing is that I put my Knif Pure Mu (Lundahl I/O) in front my NTP 179-120 (Jensen input and Triad output) temporarily, just to have some sort of level control before the fixed-threshold NTP compressor, and it just works wonderfully.

There's a Sowter step-down transformer at the input of my custom passive EQ, and that is the only place I'm considering trying out a solid-state input. It doesn't sound bad, but it just doesn't work with everything like the rest of the chain does.