I have a radioshack audio output transformer, and i assume it can be used for amplification, but how? i tried just wiring it up straight, both ways, but it didn't do anything but get quieter. can someone tell me how to do it?

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• ok, yeroca, so what is a plausible audio output application?

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  by slowkid247 on May 5th, 2008

• Well, if you want to amplify an audio signal, you need an amplifier. Unlike a transformer, amplifiers are active devices and require power to operate. Engineering-wise, there are many different types of amplifiers that can be designed with different metrics:
  
  1) Amount of amplification (aka gain in db)
  2) Frequency response
  3) Amount of output power (peak and sustained)
  4) Amount of distortion
  5) Amount of noise
  6) Efficiency
  7) Complexity of design
  8) Cost
  9) Weight
  You can make audio amplifiers for a cost from a few dollars to many tens of thousands depending the criteria above.
  
  There's what looks like a good article on Wikipedia about Audio Amplifiers: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audio_amplifier

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  by yeroco on May 5th, 2008

• Re-reading your comment, I think I may have mis-interpreted it. By "what is a plausible audio output application?" I guess you mean, "how do I use an audio output transformer?". If you have an amplifier with a high output impedance, say 100 ohms, and you want to connect an 8 ohm speaker, you take the square root of the impedance ratio. The square root of (100 divided by 8) = square root of 12.5 = 3.5. So you'd find an audio output transformer with a windings ration of 3.5:1 and that would match your amplifier to your speakers.

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  by yeroco on May 6th, 2008

• oh, ok. thanks for the help.

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  by slowkid247 on May 12th, 2008