CT-A10

Over the years we have been asked about the A10 as much as any other legacy transformer. A year ago we decided to seriously evaluate what it would take to recreate this classic. Whatever we came up with, we wanted it to be faithful to the original while at the same time practical to build today. The materials had to be readily available and the techniques feasible for modern manufacturing. It took many calculations, and many, many prototypes, but we finally got it right. The CT-A10 sounds and looks like the original, but you could order a hundred of ours and expect to get them.

We did, however, find a few things along the way where we thought there was room for improvement. The noise floor, for example. If you purchased the separate A-33 mu shielding can for the original A10, you could expect about 15dB of hum reduction. The internal shielding package on our CT-A10 reduces hum by more than 27dB.

Then there are all those taps and terminals. The original A10 was a standard catalog item that could match a lot of impedance ratios depending on how it was connected. But many applications simply used the inputs and outputs in series for a 1:10 ratio, So, we offer several versions with just those 5 connections – 2 ins, 2 outs and a case ground on flexible leads. These versions are built exactly the same as their older brother – we just make the interconnects internally. Not only will that simplify your assembly process, it will also save you $20 per copy.

This 5 lead option also makes it much easier to generate custom variations. The A10 is historically significant, but it’s also a great mic input xfo package. It’s large size and hum bucking construction would produce great results as a 1:2, 1:8, or 1 to almost anything. FYI – most custom variations will cost about the same as the base CT-A10L

The new Crimson CT-A10. Faithful.Quiet.Versatile.Sustainable. Pricing: CT-A10 – $95us; CT-A10L – $75us 4/1/2020

Click here for a CT-A10 datasheet