2. amps-preamps
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Tube dampener questions

I bought some tube dampeners and on when I put them on the tubes on the amp and DAC it seemed to suck the life out of the sound so I removed them.

Doing some tube rolling and while the new tubes sounded good the vocals were disconnected somehow.  They seemed to distort during dynamics so I put a dampener on the input tube and it seemed to help at the cost of a little bit of life.

What is the correct way to use tube dampeners?
As vibration control are they like a guitar string and where they rest on the tube changes the frequency of the vibration?

Several burns later I think I got it right but I'm sure someone out there knows how to do this correctly.
128x128danager

Showing 4 responses by tomic601

tomic601's avatar
tomic601
12,864 posts
 
@charles1dad - there you go acting rational vs a blanket condemnation… I believe the fuse community loves to say and i paraphrase: If you haven’t listened you don’t have a valid input. 

My reaction after listening twelve hours strait yesterday could have been summed up - keep trying and listening….

i don’t have dampers on the 4 tubes in my Aesthetix DAC or my Herron or Croft phono preamps because in that circuit of Jim Whites / Keith Herron / Glen Croft, they don’t help, even prove detrimental.. But as described they do benefit other components in the chain..

Although, i need to back and put the ADC damper on just the Mullard Neon in the regulator circuit…..

Best to those w open ears, minds…
tomic601's avatar
tomic601
12,864 posts
 
also tubes like Tele that you cast aside as thin……well, maybe listen again…..
tomic601's avatar
tomic601
12,864 posts
 
Brian - The Croft of mine does not benefit, el cheapo  chassis..and all…

but i tried

It benefits from an HRS damper tho….. greatly
and Stillpoints.
tomic601's avatar
tomic601
12,864 posts
 
well, like most things..sometimes a firmly held belief often developed w a small sample read experience  size, should now and then be revisited.

 The 6H30 tube does benefit imo. Albert has never heard this amplifier, nor the caliber of gear you would run with it.  Zoom in on the tube damper that serves another function as well. Some parameters, very audible are a function of temperature, so why not kill two birds….w one damping block ?

The ARC Ref series preamps using the 6H30 tube , using an elastomeric damper benefit also. Let me know when Albert creates anything better than  an ARC preamp…..

Notice the entire amp hangs from an HRS isolation truss. HRS like ARC and Vandersteen are measure and listen companies.

https://systems.audiogon.com/systems/3803#&gid=1&pid=5

none of my more mundane preamps benefit, well except for the CJ which…wait for it..dampens the entire board.

carry on, but think and listen…
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