Tube dampeners on ARC gear ... FREE TWEAK

There’s more than one way to skin a cat. Use an external fan like the O 2 Cool (get it?) to cool down the offending tubes. Then you can use the Herbies dampers. I used to have the Bada headphone amp, a great hybrid tube amp that runs real hot. I used the O 2 Cool fan to cool the whole thing down so the tubes were only warm to the touch. No way I'm listening to tubes without Herbies dampers. Period.

Geoffkait, thanks for the suggestion!

I ordered five of Herbies tube dampeners yesterday for the five 6h30's in my pre-amp (ARC REF-3) They should be here this coming Thursday.  Stay tuned. 

To all of you who recommended the Herbie's tube dampeners ... THANK YOU!

I had five rx-9's delivered today to damp the five 6H30's in my preamp.  All I can say is WOW!

 An immediate lowering of the noise floor, letting a lot more of the music flow through the speakers. Nothing is subtracted except the distortion caused by the vibrating tubes.

Everything from top to bottom is improved. Most impressive is the improvement in the lower mid-range right where cellos shine. Lovely indeed. Vocals are much more tactile than before too. Again, its like a new record collection. 

So, five of the tube dampeners cost a total of $140.00.  Not bad considering that it is like an upgrade to a better pre-amp ... and that would cost thousands. 

Now, over time, I will change out all of the ARC tube rings for the Herbie's dampeners. Amp and phono stage next. 

I'm totally impressed. 

OP

Thanks for your report oregonpapa! I've already sold off the dampers I've had for years (Top Hat Tube Dampers, Pearl Tube Coolers), and will be getting a full set of Herbie's for my phono amp, line stage, and power amp. A couple of hundred bucks well spent, hopefully!