I understand that wrapping thin strips of meat around your tubes may seem messy, but this will both damp the tubes and cook the meat. Win win.
Best tube dampers that you have used
I currently have a Thor Audio monoblocks TP-150, 8 EL-34's Sovtek tubes for each amp.
Was wondering in anyone's experience will tube dampers improve the sound quality.
Am hesitant to proceed as I have read that tube dampers can melt from the heat of the tubes and sometimes
cause smoke. Any thoughts would be appreciated.
Was wondering in anyone's experience will tube dampers improve the sound quality.
Am hesitant to proceed as I have read that tube dampers can melt from the heat of the tubes and sometimes
cause smoke. Any thoughts would be appreciated.
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- 46 posts total
I've had very good success with Mapleshade Halo tube dampers. https://shop.mapleshadestore.com/Tube-Gear-Upgrades/products/316/. The Halo tube dampers come with grounding straps. As one of my audiophile friends said, "...what a steal at such a great price..." I put the Halos on my tubes after hearing the SQ difference in his system. I just got two more Halos because my new preamp has 4 tubes instead of the 2 like in my previous preamp. |
Try going to the local O-ring industrial supply shop and buy some high temp silicon O-rings (usually white) you can get various sizes but taking a simple ruler and measuring the aprox diameter of the tube is all you need you can get various thicknesses to try. they work excellently and at the minimal cost you can experiment with different thicknesses. this will tell you if spending more is going to be worth it in your system. I got a dozen of various sizes for under a few bucks. they are essentially the same thing as the custom guys sell for way more. |
I have tried pearl coolers, and ARC silicon rings on both power and small signal tubes. I always end up removing them after listening for a short while. They seem to kill the life and musicality of my tube equipment. Never tried Herbies, as they are not cheap. They seem to get good comments around the web, so maybe they would work better. I would not use them unless I had some microphonics from the tube gear that I could not deal with. I am happy with the sound I am currently achieving in my room, so I won't F with a good thing. I have also found the same life robbing effect when using spike feet on my amps or preamp, crossover, etc. Think spongy rubber feet on my amps make an improvement, spikes are detremental. Spikes do improve my speakers though. |
- 46 posts total