[mresseguie]

Question for those of you who understand transformers.

There is a small company in Taipei that makes custom tube gear. They proudly proclaim that they use Magnequest/Peerless B7 nickel output transformers. Are they really good? How good are they? Why are they so great?

Thanks....

http://s8audiolabs.com/Line-Stage.php

[poseidonsvoice]

Michael,

“Sideways 8 Labs” I have heard for a good 5 years now so they seem to be established. Magnequest is definitely a premium transformer company having taken the torch from the original Peerless transformer archives way back when. Magnequest is run by Mike La Fevre and has been around since the early 90’s ( right when I remember getting into diy). Dan Schmalle of Bottlehead was one of the first to use them and made Magnequest a household name. Magnequest was then used by several high end companies around the globe but due to cost probably remained a small niche company. They have stiff competition from Lundahl, Electraprint, etc...

All good stuff but they do sound different.

I used the B7 nickel’s in my headphone build over 10 years ago. It’s an excellent little parafeed output transformer.

https://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?action=gallery;album=615

Do understand that circuit design is terribly important as well. The output transformer is only one part of the puzzle.

Best,
Anand.

[mresseguie]

Anand,

That looks lovely and big! I imagine it's a bit on the heavy side, too.

I nearly also asked how they compare to Lundahl transformers, but you mentioned them. I'm unsure if I'll ever get an opportunity to compare a Magnequest transformer's sound to a Lundahl's sound, but maybe I'll bump into someone who has both some day. I may pay Sideways 8 a visit one day.

Michael