Tubes, to damp or not to damp?

generally no

Don't spend a fortune on audiophile o ring dampers, get these a couple of dollars.
https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=m570.l1313&_nkw=Red+silicon+o+rings&_sacat=0
But not too tight as over time they will dent the glass with the heat.

Cheers George

Hi,
silicon or rubber is a no for two reasons, the crack over time due to heat and loose their grip and overdamp but are cheap. I found herbies to be a much better solution, they come in different configurations they are nice with the less signature but all of them make tubes sound more or less linear if you like that. If you want to go extreme, damping at certain points the pcb will bring the best results.

silicon or rubber is a no for two reasons, the crack over time due to heat and loose their grip and overdamp but are cheap.

Sorry you’ve got that wrong the red silicon are very high temperature industrial silicon rubber, made for extreme temps and don’t stretch or crack over time. The black ones are not high temp and may sag.

Cheers George

OP, do you think your tubes need damping or are you experimenting?

I’ve used Herbies dampers in the past on various components but I don’t seem to need them in my latest system. Currently there isn’t any benefit to damping.