Multitap Transformer

Multitap Transformer

Some customers asked us if we could provide easy connections (multitap transformer design) for various speaker impedance – 4 / 8 / 16 Ohm taps. Yes, it is doable but it is something we do not recommend.  

This is the most common method for multitap transformer where different taps are drawn out from the secondary to provide for 4 / 8 / 16 Ohm speakers. This is a seriously flawed design though. If you connect to 16 Ohm, it’s still OK, but if you connect to 4 Ohm or 8 Ohm taps, what happens to the other winding? What happens to the energy that has gone to the other un-terminated ends? 

This is a single tap transformer and this is what we would recommend users to use. There will not be un-terminated taps. The circuit loop is complete. There is no energy being wasted, nor any other interferences being generated due to the open ends. It is easy to make. Nothing can go wrong with this design and it is the most optimized way.

This below is a configurable secondary type of transformer where one can connect the multiple secondaries in multiple configurations to achieve the impedance ratio dedicated for the speaker, say 4 / 8 or 16 Ohm. The output is configured by either having all in series, all in parallel, or in series parallel to achieve the ratio required. It is better than the single secondary multi-tap method as all windings will be used, but still, performance will be impacted as the design is not easy to implement, and if you calculate on ratio wise, 4, 8 and 16 Ohm ratios are actually different. So, to get the windings right, sacrifices still need to be made.

So, to achieve the tight tolerance we require for Precision Series output transformer, multitap transformer option will not be available. It is still doable for Vintage Series output transformer where performance is sacrificed slightly for tone and configurability.

J&K Audio Design

24/12/2013


Product Lists  
Level 0

Level 1: link 1, link 2, link 3

Level 2: link 1, link 2, link 3, link 4, link 5, link 6 

Level 3: depends on type, size and complexity. Email us for details.

Iso-trans: link 1, link 2

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