[jparkhur]

Morning,

Tube Dampers: 

Do they work?

Why do they work?

Do they work better on certain tubes: pre amp, amp, etc

Brands you have tried?

Anything else to add.

Jon P

[WireNut]

I use 8 pearl tube coolers because they came with my preamp. They're suppose to work by extending the life of the tubes by keeping them cooler. Do they work, can't say for sure, but I'll try anything once if I can get more hours from my tubes.....
I also like to think they help tube vibration......

[yeldarb]

Go to Herbie's Halos website and try them yourself.  I have one variety or another on every tube in my systems.  And they made an immediate and significant improvement.

[jparkhur]

Thanks guys.  Anyone else go things to say..

Jon

[roscoeiii]

Another rec to try Herbie's. Have liked the products from them I have tried (not tube dampers yet, but some day). Big fan of the easy return policy. Tweaks can be so system dependent that Herbie's return policy is a comfort.

[FullRangeMan]

Thanks guys.  Anyone else go things to say..

Jon

I have see Herbie products and service being praised for years.

[SteveFord]

Same here with Wirenut (same preamp) and I've got a few that came with some Harman Kardon tuners.
I left them on there as I figured why not?

[rajacat]

I use some of the Herbie's dampers and I believe they do have a limited positive effect. However, ever since he raised his prices , they're no longer cost effective and I have recategorized them into the realm of audio jewelry. At close to 30 bucks each, I have better places to spend my money...like more music.

[kevin360]

I'll add another recommendation for Herbie's dampers. They aren't a fix for microphonic tubes, but they do reduce the impact of percussive insults to well-behaved tubes. I haven't compared them to anything else.

[ptmconsulting]

As with anything else, when used judiciously they can make a positive improvement, but sometimes overuse can lead to over-damped situations, pulling the life and dynamic from the music. I would suggest using them on small signal tubes first but leaving driver tubes alone and see how that works for you.

[rbbert]

I use some of the Herbie's dampers and I believe they do have a limited positive effect. However, ever since he raised his prices , they're no longer cost effective and I have recategorized them into the realm of audio jewelry. At close to 30 bucks each, I have better places to spend my money...like more music.

So you don't think the under-$15 dampers work?

[jea48]

Another vote for the Herbie's HAL-O tube dampers. I have been using them for over 8  years.

As with anything else, when used judiciously they can make a positive improvement, but sometimes overuse can lead to over-damped situations, pulling the life and dynamic from the music. I would suggest using them on small signal tubes first but leaving driver tubes alone and see how that works for you.

I use the Herbie's on the small signal tubes in my ARC VT50 amp and in my Sonic Frontiers Line One preamp.

The preamp uses 6 tubes, 6922/E88CC  7308/E188CC
At present I have a pair of Siemens (early 60s all grey plate Branded RCA) E188CC tubes in the center slot. Back row a Pair of Amperex PQ USA white label early 60s 6922 tubes. Front row is a pair of Amperex PQ USA white label middle 60s tubes.   (At present I am not using the Herbie’s on the Siemens E188CC tubes.)

I have found through listening the sound of the preamp will change depending on where the dampers are placed on the tubes. In the center part of the tube the damper may yield the most control but also pulls some of the life, dynamics, air, from the music as you stated in your post. I found placing the damper near the top of the tube, just before the fold, sounds the best to me.  More life, more air.....

I first got the idea to experiment with damper placement actually from ARC.  The owner’s manual, for the VT50, came with a separate sheet of paper showing were to install the O rings, supplied with the amp, on the 6922 tubes. Up 1- 1/8” from the bottom of the glass portion of the tube.

[drummermitchell]

I use to use the HAL-O III's on my Vac pre and the only way I can describe the difference,
With them on about a third from the top of the tubes the sound was more like cd as far as stage was concerned,major lack of space around the recording,everything tightened up which is fine if you like that.
With them off,the sound opened up big time,more the analog sound like an LP.
A huge difference between the two and this was using cds.
I prefer them off as I do prefer the more analog type of sound.
Another way to describe the sound would be compare 2D-3D,quite a huge difference.
Nice to be able to do both just for a change .

[ASMAN]

I tried Herbies on my KT88 output tubes, could tell no difference. Just left them off after changing tubes.
That is not to say that they don't work for some people in some situations, I just couldn't hear a difference.