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Audio Transformer
Audio Transformers are designed for use in audio ampli er applications for coupling and impedance
matching of ampli ers and speakers

As well as stepping up (increase) or stepping down (decrease) a signal voltage, transformers also have one very
other useful property, isolation. Since there is no direct electrical connection between their primary and
secondary windings, transformers provide complete electrical isolation between their input and output circuits
and this isolation property can also be used between ampli ers and speakers.

We have seen in this section about transformers, that a transformer is an electrical device which allows an
sinusoidal input signal (such as an audio signal or voltage) to produce an output signal or voltage without the
input side and output side being physically connected to each other. This coupling is achieved by having two (or
more) wire coils (called windings) of insulated copper wire wound around a soft magnetic iron core.

When an AC signal is applied to the primary input winding, a corresponding AC signal appears on the output
secondary winding due to the inductive coupling of the soft iron core. The turns ratio between the input and
output wire coils provides either an increase or a decrease of the applied signal as it passes through the
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transformer.
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Then audio transformers can be considered as either a step-up or step-down
type, but rather than being wound to produce a speci c voltage output, audio
transformers are mainly designed for impedance matching. Also, a
transformer with a turns ratio of 1:1, does not change the voltage or current
levels but instead isolates the primary circuit from the secondary side. This
type of transformer is known commonly as an Isolation Transformer.

Transformers are not intelligent devices, but can be used as bidirectional

devices so that the normal primary input winding can become an output
winding and the normal secondary output winding can become an input and due to this bidirectional nature,
transformers can provide a signal gain when used in one direction or a signal loss when used in reverse to help
match signal or voltage levels between different devices.

Note also that a single transformer can have multiple primary or secondary windings and these windings may
also have multiple electrical connections or “taps” along their length. The advantage of multi-tap audio
transformers is that they offer different electrical impedances as well as different gain or loss ratios making
them useful for impedance matching of ampli ers and speaker loads.

As their name suggests, audio transformers are designed to operate within the audio band of frequencies and as
such can have applications in the input stage (microphones), output stage (loudspeakers), inter-stage coupling as
well as impedance matching of ampli ers. In all cases, the frequency response, primary and secondary
impedances and power capabilities all need to be considered.

Audio and impedance matching transformers are similar in design to low frequency voltage and power
transformer, but they operate over a much wider frequency range of frequencies. For example, 20Hz to 20kHz
voice range. Audio transformers can also conduct DC in one or more of their windings for use in digital audio
applications as well as transforming voltage and current levels at high frequency.

Audio Transformer Impedance Matching

One of the main applications for audio frequency transformers is in impedance matching. Audio transformers are
ideal for balancing ampli ers and loads together that have different input/output impedances in order to
achieve maximum power transfer.

For example, a typical loudspeaker impedance ranges from 4 to 16 ohms whereas the impedance of a transistor
ampli ers output stage can be several hundred ohms. A classic example of this is the LT700 Audio Transformer
which can be used in the output stage of an ampli er to drive a loudspeaker.

We know that for a transformer, the ratio between the number of coil turns on the primary winding (NP) to the
number of coil turns on the secondary winding (NS) is called the “turns ratio”. Since the same amount of voltage is
induced within each single coil turn of both windings, the primary to secondary voltage ratio (VP/VS) will
therefore be the same value as the turns ratio.
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Impedance matching audio transformers always give their impedance ratio value from one winding to another
by the square of the their turns ratio. That is, their impedance ratio is equal to its turns ratio squared and also its
primary to secondary voltage ratio squared as shown.

Audio Transformer Impedance Ratio

 
Where ZP is the primary winding impedance, ZS is the secondary winding impedance, (NP/NS) is the
transformers turns ratio, and (VP/VS) is the transformers voltage ratio.

So for instance, an impedance matching audio transformer that has a turns ratio (or voltage ratio) of say 2:1, will
have an impedance ratio of 4:1.

Audio Transformer Example No1

An audio transformer with an impedance ratio of 15:1 is to be used to match the output of a power ampli er to a
loudspeaker. If the output impedance of the ampli er is 120Ω. Calculate the nominal impedance of the
loudspeaker required for maximum power transfer.

 
Then the power ampli er can ef ciently drive an 8-ohm speaker.

Audio 100V Line Transformer

Another very common impedance matching application is for 100 volt line transformers for the transmission of
music and voice over public address tannoy systems. These types of ceiling based speaker systems use multiple
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loudspeakers located some distance from theMore
power
info
ampli er.
By using line isolating transformers, any number of low-impedance loudspeakers can be connected together in
such a way that they properly load the ampli er providing impedance matching between the ampli er (source)
and speakers (load) for maximum power transfer.

As power loss of signals through speaker cables is proportional to the square of current (P = I2R) for a given
cable resistance, the output voltage of an ampli er used for public address (PA) or tannoy systems uses a
standard and constant voltage output level of 100 volts peak, (70.7 volts rms).

So for example, a 200 watt ampli er driving an 8-ohm speaker delivers a current of 5 amps, whereas a 200 watt
ampli er using a 100 volt line at full power delivers only 2 amps allowing smaller gauge cables to be used. Note
however that this 100 volts only exists on the line when the power ampli er driving the line is operating at full
rated power otherwise there is reduced power (lower sound volume) and line voltage.

So for a 100V (70.7V rms) line speaker system, the line transformer steps up the audio output signal voltage to
100 volts so that the transmission line current for a given power output is comparatively low, reducing signal
losses allowing smaller diameter or gauge cables to be used.

Since the impedance of a typical loudspeaker is generally low, an impedance matching step-down transformer
(usually called a line to voice-coil transformer) is used for each loudspeaker connected to the 100V line as
shown.

100V Transmission Line Transformers

 
Here the ampli er uses a step-up transformer to provide a constant 100 volts transmission line voltage at
reduced current, for a given power output. The loudspeakers are connected together in parallel with each
speaker having its own impedance matching step down transformer to reduce the secondary voltage and
increase the current, thereby matching the 100V line to the low impedances of the loudspeakers.

The advantage of using this type of audio transmission line is that many individual speakers, tannoy’s or other
such sound actuators can be connected to a single line even if they have different impedances and power
handling capabilities. For example, 4 ohms at 5 watts, or 8 ohms at 20 watts.

Generally transmission line matching transformers have multiple connections called tapping points on the
primary winding allowing for suitable power levels (and therefore sound volume) to be selected for each
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individual loudspeaker. Also, the secondary winding
More infohas similar tapping points offering different impedances to
 match that of the connected loudspeakers.

In this simple example, the 100V line-to-speaker transformer can drive 4, 8, or 16 Ohm
speaker loads on its secondary side with ampli er power ratings of 4, 8 and 16 watts on
its primary side depending on the tapping points selected. In reality, PA system line
transformers can be selected for any combination of series and parallel connected
speaker loads with power handling capabilities up to several kilo-watts.

But as well as constant voltage impedance matching line transformers, audio transformers can be used to
connect low impedance or low signal input devices such as microphones, turntable moving coil pick-ups, line
inputs, etc to an ampli er or pre-ampli er. As input audio transformers must operate over a wide range of
frequencies, they are usually designed so that the internal capacitance of their windings resonates with its
inductance to improve its operating frequency range allowing for a smaller transformer core size.

We have seen in this tutorial about audio transformers, that audio transformers are used to match impedances
between different audio devices, for example, between an ampli er and speaker as a line driver, or between a
microphone and ampli er for impedance matching. Unlike power transformers which operate at low
frequencies such as 50 or 60Hz, audio transformers are designed to operate over the audio frequency range,
that is from about 20Hz to 20kHz or much higher for radio-frequency transformers.

Due to this wide frequency band, the core of audio transformers are made from special grades of steel, such as
silicon steel or from special alloys of iron which have a very low hysteresis loss. One of the main disadvantages
of audio transformers is that they can be somewhat bulky and expensive, but by using special core materials
allows for a smaller design. This is because as a general rule of thumb, a transformers core size increases as the
supply frequency decreases.

74 Comments

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Kesava kumara swamy Lanka

Cost

Posted on March 20th 2020 | 12:38 am

 Reply

Manikandan
I am assembled the 1000w power ampli er but impedance transformer which is the best

Posted on March 09th 2020 | 7:21 am

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Eli Saina
Hello,

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 Ok lets say the output impedance is 120 when I connect several audio transformers in parallel – The total
impedance will be lower than 120!
1/Rt=1/R1+1/R2+1/R3+……….1/Rn
R – Impedance of each audio transformer.
Rt – Total impedance of all in parallel connection.
So how do I make it right?
Thanks,

Posted on March 03rd 2020 | 10:53 am

 Reply

Wayne Storr
connect them in serial and parallel combinations

Posted on March 03rd 2020 | 11:21 am

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Eddie Gonzalez
if the output transformer is 15K/600K (15k primary & 600K secondary) with a 5.1 turns ratio, what should
the ohms of the speaker be in order to be perfectly matched?

Posted on February 19th 2020 | 4:12 am

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Andrew Harold Livingstone Squires

Goodstuff

Posted on February 15th 2020 | 5:39 am

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Norisham
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 Tq so much for information used

Posted on February 15th 2020 | 2:43 am

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Ujjwal Shelke
Happy valentine to this therum
Love it.
A simple language and well structure is the beauty of this .

Posted on February 14th 2020 | 3:30 am

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Mizanur rahman
Pls any one can give the equation for audio transformer windigs.[ primery and secondary ]

Posted on January 25th 2020 | 9:59 am

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N.k.sreekumar
Sir, Matching transfomer primary coil how many turns.what the gauge coil.secondry coil how many
turns.what the gauge copper coil.

Posted on January 24th 2020 | 3:47 pm

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John Anderson
I want to convert an Amazon Echo Dot’s 3.5 mm output, which works quite well with headphones, to
operate
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 I assume a pair of 4-ohm car-door speakers would work well, but their low impedance would overheat the
Echo’s ampli er, or at least introduce intolerable distortion.
The Echo seems to claim about 4.5 watts per channel, or about the same as a table radio, so I assume a
matching transformer could make this work. Any suggestions?

Posted on January 23rd 2020 | 6:48 pm

 Reply

Wayne Storr
You can not plug a loudspeaker directly into a 3.5mm headphone socket. Headphone sockets are
for high impedance headphones in the thousands of ohms range whereas loudspeakers have a
vey low impeadance, 8 ohms or less. You will need ampli cation or an active speaker.

Posted on January 24th 2020 | 6:37 am

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