• WARNING: Tube/Valve amplifiers use potentially LETHAL HIGH VOLTAGES.
    Building, troubleshooting and testing of these amplifiers should only be
    performed by someone who is thoroughly familiar with
    the safety precautions around high voltages.

HAL-O Damping Instruments

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Geek said:
There was quite a discussion on those a while back on Usenet. Google "vibration damper" on the group rec.audio.tubes and you should find something :)

IIRC, someone discovered a 50 cent automotive (high-temp red) O-ring worked about the same.


I put two of the automotive o-rings on each of my amps tubes and to my surprise it made a positive difference. The tubes are less microphonic and the sound is "cleaner". For 50 cents each it is worth a try.
 
Yes, I have used Herbie's tube dampers in a BAT CD player and in a Cornet phono stage. They work for me. I notice a smoother high end and better (more defined) bass. But there can be a loss of "air" or presence. I usually use the dampers on half the tubes as a compromise. I haven't compared inexpensive O-rings to the Herbie's.
 
alejo said:
Sherman, you use O-rings automotive teflon? please put a pic to see the look in valves.

thanks
alejo


I thought I had a pic on my drive but apparently not. :confused:

I'll take one and post it either later tonight or tomorrow.

Basically they are just little red o-rings that fit tightly over the tube. They don't have the little pads that the Hal-o dampers have, just a flexible ring.
 
diyAudio Senior Member
Joined 2002
Hi,

But there can be a loss of "air" or presence.

Sure, lowered Q would have you believe that. If you care to check it thoroughly I think you'll notice that it wasn't meant to be there in the first place, at least not as you heard it at first prior to adding the dampers.

Basically they are just little red o-rings that fit tightly over the tube.

They come in blue, black, red...all kinds of colours really.
Basically they're just silicon-based plumber joints or automotive sealing rings etc.
They're more heat resistant than plain rubber rings and should have better damping properties as well.

For those of you really wanting to investigate how effective these device can be check out Pearl Hi-Fi. These devices damp and cool quite effectively at the same time.

Cheers,;)
 
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