Introducing Trafomatic Audio - Giant Tubes, Giant Steps

Fred Crane

Industry Expert
Apr 23, 2020
271
442
135
The Reservoir Dogs of Tube Amplification
1669263636807.png
(Goran, Sasa, Milorad and Andrea…Transformer winders not pictured are Bojan Arsi? , Zoran Cvijanovi?, Aleksandar Tomi?…some bad winding dudes)

A decade ago I began a conversation with a client. This wasn’t one of those, ‘Hi, how are you? Would you care to buy a highly experimental non-existent audio system that we feel will fully engage those aspects of your love of music that have been heretofore unrealized by recorded media?’ Rather, it began like most audio conversations, around something seemingly innocuous: A cartridge here, a cable there, a turntable down the line. What manifested over 1,100 emails was an understanding. He was the most technically proficient client I’d encountered, with actual on-the-ground experience, and he understood that I understood from whence he came. If we were big game hunting, it would require out of the box thinking.
1669263803492.png
Having owned literally every top offering from each amplification sector, and still being left wanting, we began to explore the ethereal atmosphere. Those rare aspects that might lift whatever remained of a veil between him and his favorite artists. For his part, it was imperative that the music be served...nothing was off of the table. He needed power. He needed intimacy and immediacy. He needed a single giant output tube. The GM70 wouldn’t quite get you there. Despite its beauty and huevos, we needed more of the latter. Similarly, the 845 and 211 would not complete the mission in a single ended configuration and the idea of going parallel single ended was a compromise that made no sense this far up the mountain. I had begun collecting Eimac Tubes around 1995 ; 450TL’s, 250TL’s, 304TL’s and 75TL’s before they became more or less extinct. I also had GM100’s but they made better lamps than output tubes. As the conversation progressed, It became clear where our yellow brick road was leading by about email #850.
1669263879334.png

It was decided that we would embark on a mission : An all tube preamp with a voltage input and a current output,(never done before that I know of) and single ended tube mono blocks that put out 130+ class a1 watts per channel with 2600+ volts on the rails. Immediacy, power, space…pure music. It took over 2 years but was well worth the wait. I felt a little like Werner Herzog in Fitzcarraldo, pushing towards perfection whilst bordering disaster. (no one was killed during the making of these electronics) Of course, I was just the talking head, far from having my hands playing near voltages that could snatch the life right out of me or whomever could be found to undertake them. There were only a few people in the world to contact that could construct an amplifier that possessed lethal voltages and required very specialized transformers to reach their potential. Trafomatic Audio (Serbian for ‘transfomers’) was my first and last stop, Sasa Cokic being the primary engineer, or as Matej Isak has referred to him, the Balkan Kondo-san. He had done many one-off amplifiers several of which demonstrated the necessary skill set to attack such an undertaking. Here we see the 75TL’s in an early PSE design.
1669263960128.png
The Nona below. A precursor to the current phono circuit.
1669264444034.png

There were several iterations and circuits that were shopped into being…makers with giant electricity deflecting gloves. Until finally the Drina came to life. A coffee table sized mono block with extensive protection circuits and easily the best sound any of us had heard. The winding for the output transformers is proprietary and will not be disclosed.
1669264539825.png

The Tara 2, now the Tara 30a, accomplished the voltage/current circuit that Sasa had dreamt of for the preamplifier, with each output tube having its own nano-crystal cored output transformer. The pairing are named for Balkan rivers. Sasa is an avid fisherman and lover of the outdoors. The majestic rivers seemed appropriate to name Trafomatic's very top offerings. The Tara River flows south to north cutting across the Tara River Canyon, (the second largest canyon in the world), after which it joins the Piva River to form the mightly Drina. So their is a natural, clear and unrestrained current from the Tara through the Drina.

1669264875681.png


Last stop on the train to perfection was a vinyl archivist’s dream. The Collins Phono Stage, built around the groundbreaking work of Arthur A. Collins.

1669265252588.png

1669265323831.png

The Elysium was conceived as a less powerful, (but still quite powerful) version of the Drina, sporting the 250TL instead of the 450TL.
1669265441231.png

The result is the most ‘you are there’ set of electronics we’ve heard. This trio of mad innovation did trickle down to more attainable fruits like the Pandora and Glenn Monoblocks, the Luna Phonostage, the Lara Linestage, the Rhapsody Integrated, the Stealth Integrated and the Primavera Headphone Amplifier.
 
Last edited:

Fred Crane

Industry Expert
Apr 23, 2020
271
442
135
The Reservoir Dogs of Tube Amplification
View attachment 100720
(Goran, Sasa, Milorad and Andrea…Transformer winders not pictured are Bojan Arsi? , Zoran Cvijanovi?, Aleksandar Tomi?…some bad winding dudes)

A decade ago I began a conversation with a client. This wasn’t one of those, ‘Hi, how are you? Would you care to buy a highly experimental non-existent audio system that we feel will fully engage those aspects of your love of music that have been heretofore unrealized by recorded media?’ Rather, it began like most audio conversations, around something seemingly innocuous: A cartridge here, a cable there, a turntable down the line. What manifested over 1,100 emails was an understanding. He was the most technically proficient client I’d encountered, with actual on-the-ground experience, and he understood that I understood from whence he came. If we were big game hunting, it would require out of the box thinking.
View attachment 100721
Having owned literally every top offering from each amplification sector, and still being left wanting, we began to explore the ethereal atmosphere. Those rare aspects that might lift whatever remained of a veil between him and his favorite artists. For his part, it was imperative that the music be served...nothing was off of the table. He needed power. He needed intimacy and immediacy. He needed a single giant output tube. The GM70 wouldn’t quite get you there. Despite its beauty and huevos, we needed more of the latter. Similarly, the 845 and 211 would not complete the mission in a single ended configuration and the idea of going parallel single ended was a compromise that made no sense this far up the mountain. I had begun collecting Eimac Tubes around 1995 ; 450TL’s, 250TL’s, 304TL’s and 75TL’s before they became more or less extinct. I also had GM100’s but they made better lamps than output tubes. As the conversation progressed, It became clear where our yellow brick road was leading by about email #850.
View attachment 100722

It was decided that we would embark on a mission : An all tube preamp with a voltage input and a current output,(never done before that I know of) and single ended tube mono blocks that put out 130+ watts per channel with 2600+ volts on the rails. Immediacy, power, space…pure music. It took over 2 years but was well worth the wait. I felt a little like Werner Herzog in Fitzcarraldo, pushing towards perfection whilst bordering disaster. (no one was killed during the making of these electronics) Of course, I was just the talking head, far from having my hands playing near voltages that could snatch the life right out of me or whomever could be found to undertake them. There were only a few people in the world to contact an amplifier that possessed lethal voltages and required very specialized transformers to reach their potential. Trafomatic Audio (Serbian for ‘transfomers’) was my first and last stop, Sasa Cokic being the primary engineer, or as Matej Isak has referred to him, the Balkan Kondo-san. He had done many one-off amplifiers several of which demonstrated the necessary skill set to attack such an undertaking. Here we see the 75TL’s in an early PSE design.
View attachment 100723
The Nona below. A precursor to the current phono circuit.
View attachment 100724

There were several iterations and circuits that were shopped into being…makers with giant electricity deflecting gloves. Until finally the Drina came to life. A coffee table sized mono block with extensive protection circuits and easily the best sound any of us had heard. The winding for the output transformers is proprietary and will not be disclosed.
View attachment 100725

The Tara 2, now the Tara 30a (after the 4 output tubes employed), accomplished the voltage/current circuit that Sasa had dreamt of for the preamplifier, with each output tube having its own nano-crystal cored output transformer.

View attachment 100728


Last stop on the train to perfection was a vinyl archivist’s dream. The Collins Phono Stage, built around the groundbreaking work of Arthur A. Collins.

View attachment 100729

View attachment 100730

The Elysium was conceived as a less powerful, (but still quite powerful) version of the Drina, sporting the 250TL instead of the 450TL.
View attachment 100731

The result is the most ‘you are there’ set of electronics we’ve heard. This trio of mad innovation did trickle down to more attainable fruits like the Pandora and Glenn Monoblocks, the Luna Phonostage, the Lara Linestage, the Rhapsody Integrated, the Stealth Integrated and the Primavera Headphone Amplifier.
1669267513671.png

1669267550735.png
1669267576624.png

1669267615431.png
1669267658506.png

The air is very fine at the summit of Mount Trafomatic. We hope you’ll hear the heart of tubed goodness the Balkan way. The voicing is a perfect balance of East to West…clear holographic water, lest you run the mesh plates.

Sasa and Fred tiny.JPG
Sasa Cokic and Fred Crane at Munich.
 

bonzo75

Member Sponsor
Feb 26, 2014
22,448
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London
Thanks Fred, for a nice write up that further throws light on your vast experience.

what speakers did the client have to request such an amplifier?

also, given the focus of the forum on audio language, when did the huevos move from breakfast to audio?
 
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morricab

Well-Known Member
Apr 25, 2014
9,391
4,988
978
Switzerland
Nice gear Fred! I have many times considered trying Trafomatic gear as I tend to have a soft spot for Eastern European SET gear. For whatever reason I never pulled the trigger. I wonder though, why the 833 output tube was not also considered as it will make the requisite amount of power?
 

Fred Crane

Industry Expert
Apr 23, 2020
271
442
135
Thanks Fred, for a nice write up that further throws light on your vast experience.

what speakers did the client have to request such an amplifier?

also, given the focus of the forum on audio language, when did the huevos move from breakfast to audio?
At the time the contract was initiated, he had large Rockports. Two plus years saw some changes, but they actually worked in our favor. Can you imagine switching gear with alacrity and never really thinking about selling that which was being rotated out? Such was his situation.

Huevos live happily in all three dimensions. : )
 
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Fred Crane

Industry Expert
Apr 23, 2020
271
442
135
Nice gear Fred! I have many times considered trying Trafomatic gear as I tend to have a soft spot for Eastern European SET gear. For whatever reason I never pulled the trigger. I wonder though, why the 833 output tube was not also considered as it will make the requisite amount of power?
I like the 833 too and it was considered. We just wanted to use the Eimac tubes. No one had really done them correctly, and we prefer the sound to what we'd heard from Wavac. (which of course, could just be a difference in voicing.)
 

Fred Crane

Industry Expert
Apr 23, 2020
271
442
135
Thanks Fred, for a nice write up that further throws light on your vast experience.

what speakers did the client have to request such an amplifier?

also, given the focus of the forum on audio language, when did the huevos move from breakfast to audio?
One of the cool attributes of all of these amps, is being able to adjust the anode voltage to accurately support whatever tubes are being used...for instance, EML, EML mesh plates, NOS tubes, etc. it does actually make a difference when we comply with the proper voltage.
 

Fred Crane

Industry Expert
Apr 23, 2020
271
442
135
FabulousFred. I always love reading about what’s going on with Prana Distribution
Thanks Steve!! Can't wait to have you visit and see things first hand.
 
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Ron Resnick

Site Co-Owner, Administrator
Jan 24, 2015
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Beverly Hills, CA
I like the 833 too and it was considered. We just wanted to use the Eimac tubes. No one had really done them correctly, and we prefer the sound to what we'd heard from Wavac. (which of course, could just be a difference in voicing.)

Eimac is a wonderful U.S. tube manufacturer with its origins in amateur radio. The best amateur radio HF RF amplifiers all use Eimac tubes.

Do you know if Sasa considered using the GM100 tube?
 

Fred Crane

Industry Expert
Apr 23, 2020
271
442
135
Although the GM100 is a great looking tube, we never felt it was a great sounding tube.
I had a pair that were made into lamps. I know Dave Slagle used to have a GM100 lamp he would
bring to shows as well. I gave him my last single. The Eimacs just sound better in our humble opinions.

Of course, before we kicked off in earnest, we looked at every serious contender...every single tube that could
produce over 100 watts class A from a single output tube. There aren't too many that actually have a great sound.
 

Ron Resnick

Site Co-Owner, Administrator
Jan 24, 2015
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Beverly Hills, CA
If Drinas ever find themselves wandering around — lost, cold, far from a friendly 240VAC outlet, with no place to sleep — I could give them a good home.
 

Fred Crane

Industry Expert
Apr 23, 2020
271
442
135
If Drinas ever find themselves wandering around — lost, cold, far from a friendly 240VAC outlet, with no place to sleep — I could give them a good home.
Are you running 240 vac in your listening room?
 

Ron Resnick

Site Co-Owner, Administrator
Jan 24, 2015
16,017
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Beverly Hills, CA
Are you running 240 vac in your listening room?

Yes — in both the listening room and in the adjacent equipment room. I prepared for all electrical contingencies. (Embarrassing in retrospect, but I even have two separate chemical grounds, which can be engaged individually or together.)
 
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Fred Crane

Industry Expert
Apr 23, 2020
271
442
135
Yes — in both the listening room and in the adjacent equipment room. I prepared for all electrical contingencies. (Embarrassing in retrospect, but I even have two separate chemical grounds, which can be engaged individually or together.)
That's fantastic. As you'll know, certain pieces just sound better at 240v
 
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Ron Resnick

Site Co-Owner, Administrator
Jan 24, 2015
16,017
13,347
2,665
Beverly Hills, CA
Although the GM100 is a great looking tube, we never felt it was a great sounding tube.
I had a pair that were made into lamps. I know Dave Slagle used to have a GM100 lamp he would
bring to shows as well. I gave him my last single. The Eimacs just sound better in our humble opinions.

Of course, before we kicked off in earnest, we looked at every serious contender...every single tube that could
produce over 100 watts class A from a single output tube. There aren't too many that actually have a great sound.

Eimac is a real deal tube. Anyone involved in high power tube RF knows this.

I would not be concerned about an Eimac tube going Chernobyl. I’m not sure if I could ever truly relax while looking at a glowing GM100.
 

Fred Crane

Industry Expert
Apr 23, 2020
271
442
135
Eimac is a real deal tube. Anyone involved in high power tube RF knows this.

I would not be concerned about an Eimac tube going Chernobyl. I’m not sure if I could ever truly relax while looking at a glowing GM100.
As a company, they under-promised and over-delivered. I've had Eimac tubes that have run double their projected life span...which is an industrial amount of hours as it is.
 
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EdSawyer

Member
Mar 18, 2021
1
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Sounds like the client is Dan. He's the only one I know that swaps gear like that and has the $ to throw down.

Eimac's "haven't been done correctly"? WTF... Josh would have a word... as would many others. Bottom line: they've already been done, and probably better than this.

Others you should have considered (easier than 250TLs/450TLs): 851 or even 849. Lower Rp, better suited to class-A, etc.

And damn, for whatever this stuff costs (too much I am sure), at least use the tantalum-plate versions, they sound better than the molybdenum plate ones.
 
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Fred Crane

Industry Expert
Apr 23, 2020
271
442
135
Sounds like the client is Dan. He's the only one I know that swaps gear like that and has the $ to throw down.

Eimac's "haven't been done correctly"? WTF... Josh would have a word... as would many others. Bottom line: they've already been done, and probably better than this.

Others you should have considered (easier than 250TLs/450TLs): 851 or even 849. Lower Rp, better suited to class-A, etc.

And damn, for whatever this stuff costs (too much I am sure), at least use the tantalum-plate versions, they sound better than the molybdenum plate ones.
The client was not Dan, sorry. I've been to Josh's place on a few occasions and very much enjoyed his company and sound. It's his own great Josh gestalt. I've also been to Jeffrey Jackson's a few times to hear his work, and heard the Eimac he'd done that I'd seen for years on line. If you read the actual post, you'll see that I did say there were a few people who could have been approached for this project. I know you did a 75th, and Josh did the GM100, a 304tl, and some others...but few have done the big boy Eimacs. I felt that Sasa was the most qualified.

As for the rest, we did try a variety of tubes. This was the sound that we wanted and it was the sound Sasa produced.
 

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