Do "Tube Rings" really work?

Tube rings are like many tweaks: NOT hearing an improvement in the sound creates a "cognitive dissonance", and the more money spent on the tweak, the greater the need to hear an improvement. The only way to accurately gauge whether tube rings really improve the sound quality is by A-B blind testing, and in high-end audio these days, the subjectivists have the upper hand over the objectivists (quite a change from 20 years ago). My personal belief is that if your tube preamp and amp are reasonable well isolated from acoustic and mechanical vibration, there shouldn't be much need for tube rings, since any "microphonics" would buried at a level far below the signal.

I put Hal-Os on an AES AE3 preamp and did not hear a difference. I do, however, have the preamp on a Bright Star Air Mass 3 isolation platform and that did make a differnce when I added it. I don't know if the Hal-Os would have made a difference without the platform since I didn't try that.

Sometimes a tiny bit of microphonics is not all bad (makes music sterile/lifeless with the rings). It may really depend on whether you have a microphonic problem. If not, then you'll may not notice anything with the rings. No different than those with clean AC power to start with find no benefit with AC filters; those with a very stable rack find no benefit with issolation devices; those with a well made CD player find to benefit from a separate jitter device; and so on.

I use Audio Research clear tube rings (the cheapest out there) and the signal seems cleaner and maybe a little sterile. I will take them off soon and listen some more. At the very least they are a tweek to be used when you have found your perfect system and just can not stop yourself from tweeking (like most of us). In other words do not bother unless you are done buying your main components.

Thanks guys...as always, you've been helpful. I don't think I have a microphonics problem, but as Philjolet says, it's something else to play with!!!

m-