Tubes - Top hats, and Tube socks

My experience in a Jadis JP80 and JA80s, using the devices on 12AX7s, 12AU7's and 6DJ8s, was that the Top Hat's did a better job, focusing the images a little better. The differences between the two weren't earthshaking, but definitely in favor of the Top Hats, to my ears. They can make the sound a shade leaner as they dampen vibrations, but nothing objectionable. The things are pretty expensive, though, for what they do; a problem of high tooling costs and small sales volume, I guess. See if you can try before you buy, or get a money back trial. I think you can buy them direct from the manufacturer, Right Way Manufacturing (they may advertise in Stereophile, possibly in the classifieds--they also advertize Suspendors); otherwise, you can contact Andy Bouwman at Vintage Tube Services (616-454-3467), and I believe John Ruttan at Audio Connection also carries them. Hope this helps.

For me the best bang for the buck is Audio Research tube rings. Less hastle,only 5 bucks ea.and easy to apply.

I have tube socks, top hats, and tube rings. They all work, but the top hats are the best. Also the most expensive. Hard to tell the difference between the socks and the rings. The rings are by far the most cost effective. But hey! This is high-end audio. Who cares about money! I just ordered some of the brass tube dampers from Andy at Vintage for my 6SN7s. Hope they work as good as the top hats for octal tubes.

Glreno--knowing Andy, and having seen them, I think they may be better.

Top hats are very effective, but that does not mean it will sound better. In preamp tubes a smidge of microphony can lead to a sense of "air" and with dampers the midband can harden up. So try it both ways as every tube and every situation is different. Don't assume anything. We go naked here.

Thanks for the input. Are there multiple types of top hats or only one for each tube size/type?

I should add that this is for an ARC LS-7 with Amperex 7308's.

Miketw-only one size for all the small tube types. Kevin Deal is right--that's the leanness I mentioned. See if they offer a money back guarantee.

Thanks Rcprince for the input. Keven at Upscale is right. A tweak doesn't necessarily make it better, just modifies the sound. Whether it's an improvement is a matter of preference. I've been playing with all kinds of isolation devices, power cords, cones, and other kinds of tweaks. Today I put something under everything, and the sound was too analytical. More detail, yes, but less musical. So go slow and don't assume more is more.

Tried the Octal Tube Dampers from Vintage. There work extremely well. The blackness between images, depth, and width of the soundstage improved, as well as inner detail. If you have octal tubes in your system, you've got to try these. I put them on the 4 Tungsol 6sn7 tubes inside my Wyetech Opal pre. They come with a 30 day money back trial period. I can only imagine how much better my VAC 30/30 Mk 3 would have sounded with these things. And they look cool, as they are made of polished solid brass.