A Pair of

"New" Line Output Transformers

HL-10K-6

from Hashimoto Electric Co., Ltd.

Tokyo, Japan

Possibly One of the Best Sounding Line Output Transformers

Ever Built

As Good as Tamura or Tango, or Better

With 21st Technologies

 Based on 60 years of Sansui Experiences

Hashimoto HL-10K-6: 

The Hashimoto HL-10K-6 is a very versatile line output transformer with a wide frequency response; 20-45Khz +- 2dB.  The primary (10K Ohms in series or 2.5K Ohms in parallel) and  the secondary (600 Ohms in series or 150 Ohms in parallel) are reversible, and the secondary can be configured as a balanced output into 600 Ohms.  The rated DC current of the HL-10K-6 is 15mA with the max DC level of 35mA.  The insertion loss of the HL-10K-6 is mere 0.7dB. 

The HL-10K-6 measures 58 (W) x 52 (D) x 85 (H) mm, and weighs 0.8Kg (1.72LB).  The HL-10K-6 consists of a double Cut-Core in the shell type.  The core material is 0.27mm Orient Core Hi-B, which is the enhanced directional silicon steel, from Nippon Steel Corporation.  Hashimoto engineers has intentionally avoided to use permalloy or amorphous cores for sonic reasons. 

How do Hashimoto transformers compare to the best products in the world?  Hashimoto products are regarded as one of the premier tube amp transformers among Japanese hi-fi enthusiasts and columnists who originally introduced the sound of single-ended amplifiers in the world during1980’s and 1990’s.  In fact, some of most influential columnists have been switching their favorite transformers of their choice from Tamura or Tango, to ones with Hashimoto brand, such as the HL-10K-6.    

Who is Hashimoto Electric anyway?  Hashimoto is by-no-means a new comer in this very traditional, but exciting industry.  Hashimoto Electric, Ltd., in Tokyo Japan has been a long-time Sansui transformer OEM (since 1960’s).  Hashimoto merged Sansui’s transformer business in 1978, and Hashimoto was the company who reproduced the AU-111 transformers when Sansui reissued the famed AU-111 in 1999 as the AU-111 Vintage.  As a matter of fact, Hashimoto is the only company that still carries the original Sansui logo on its product lines, and some of Hashimoto’s key engineers are ex-Sansui engineers. 

Today, Hashimoto Electric produces not only various traditional transformers that Sansui pioneered many years ago, but also high-end tube amp transformers under its own brand name.  The amazing thing is that all Hashimoto transformers are still handcrafted one-by-one by very skilled and experienced employees (Please refer to the actual photos I took when visited Hashimoto last June).

Because some of Hashimoto engineers have more than 40 years of transformer designing experiences through out Sansui and Hashimoto era, all Hashimoto transformers still maintain the superior characteristics and sound of Sansui transformers.  In addition, all Hashimoto transformers are redesigned from the ground up.  This means that Hashimoto transformers are the 21st Century products that have been fine-tuned with computer aided programs and have utilized new materials that were simply not available forty some years ago.  As the result, the HL-20K-6 is one of the leading Hashimoto products that have been winning reputations among critics as, "The sound through Hashimoto transformers simply belongs to a different class compared with that of competitions."