Then you have the irreducible production cost of the machine time that fine, high count windings requires. You need low hysteresis core materials, you can't use the cheap silicon steel that you use in mains transformers, you need fine gauge wire, lots of it and for most low level audio transformers you need a mu-metal screen and the wherewithal to manipulate and heat-treat it. The materials for a decent audio line or microphone transformer will cost more than $6. Your $6 audio transformer pipedream is just that, a pipedream. They come with drawbacks, relatively poor distortion, poor frequency response, large size and cost the very fact that professional audio gear still uses them, in the face of the drawbacks, is an indication that their disadvantages are outweighed by their advantages. Transformers also provide impedance transformation if you have a microphone with a 200 ohm output impedance and an input stage with input impedance in the megohms region you can get some noise-free gain for 'free' using a microphone transformer. Transformers firstly provide galvanic isolation, this is a safety and circuit protection feature and allows one to mitigate ground loops - a typical studio or live performance rig contains 100s of interconnections, each one coming with the risk of a ground loop. You seem to be approaching this as if the use of audio transformers is some sort of audiophool preference. Audiophile = a freaking disease!!!! Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk Yet I've already downloaded the old spec sheets, reviews, and marketing for what I've got. Because, to my ears at least, that was what sounded the best. At the end of the day I walked out with the $700 Cambridge Audio IA even though I listened to several pieces of gear that were more expensive and also "reviewed" much better than the CA. Along with not tipping his hand as to which product I was hearing. Who was also nice enough to oblige my request of setting up several products within my "lowly" budget of $1500 prior to my arrival. I was lucky enough to have a dealer that sold gear ranging from ~$300 to upwards of ~$100k. But I think I'll just keep reminding myself that I chose the Cambridge through "blind" auditioning. I'm tempted to stress on the thought that hopefully the IA's budget wasn't blown entirely on the massive toroidal power transformer & beefy construction, leaving little for the signal input, it's path, and output stage(s). "Higher end" as compared to an AV or integrated amp that includes a phono stage for the same money, that is. Don't even know if that uses transformers or a higher end electronic solution. Instead, they make an accompanying phono stage that runs another ~$600-$700. And also why they chose not to include a phono stage in said IA. And likely any other manufacturers products in the same price range. Welp, I suppose this rules out line in/out transformers in my ~$700 Cambridge Audio stereo integrated amplifier. Go with Jensen's if you don't need as much serious isolation, but need a tighter flatter response. You go for Lundahl if you want extra serious voltage isolation or different gain and multi-output configurations. Lundahl also has many more configurations and an excellent IV transformer/or/MC phono cartridge adapter (1:32 output if I remember) for use as the IV stage in current output audio dacs making your voltage output. Though the Lundahl aren't so perfectly flat from 1hz to 50khz, instead of 250vac isolation, they have 2-4kvac isolation. The 70$ transformer operates from 1hz(-1db) to 50Khz(-1db), measured, and has a CMMR of 107db. What do you expect the performance of Digikey's 5$ transformer is at 20hz if it is already at -1db at 660hz? And Digikey's transformer is only sensitive from -45dbm to +10dbm. Compare that to Digikey's 5$ 600:600ohm transformer, 660hz to 3.5Khz, +/-1db. A measured spec of 20hz through 20khz, with a flatness response +/-0.05db with a +21dbu range through an isolation transformer is one thing which is not snake oil, it is ridiculously difficult to achieve.
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