Tube Damping Instruments Hal-O

[ezc]

Has anyone tried these? They have gotten good reviews! Any input is appreciated! Im new to tube equipment so Im trying to learn what may work & what wont!
Thanks!
http://herbiesaudiolab.home.att.net/halo9e.jpg
forgot to include the web site address
http://herbiesaudiolab.home.att.net/

[pjdami]

Hey ezc,

No I haven't tried those yet but there are forum members here who believe in some sort of tube damping devices like the rings that go on top. I posted a thread a couple of weeks ago on Pearl Tube Coolers which I've been thinking about trying out.

Those that you are looking at are fairly inexpensive and worth a shot for sure. Didn't your Ah! cdp come with the orange ring dampers that they show on the website?

Paul

[Zero]

I hear that burning chicken feathers works wonders on the right tubes..

[ezc]

Paul,

Ordered the Hal-o's this week. I bought a set for the tubes & salo for the IC's. Figured since Im paying shiping may as well try the IC's too since its not that expensive. The Tjoeb didnt come with the orange damping rings. I needed to order the super tjoeb to have it included. So far the player is sounding better & better as it breaks in! Much Much better than my yamaha cd player!

[danger boy]

hey what's the theory behind tube dampers anyway?

[pjdami]

Sean,

How could you even say that? You of all folks;)

As far as the theory, there's a lot of it in the link below. Check out the link in the thread. Hbomb also had a nice writeup on micorphonics.

http://clubpolk.polkaudio.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=17837

Danger, aren't you using the ring dampers on your CAL Delta DAC?

PJ

[danger boy]

Originally posted by pjdami
Danger, aren't you using the ring dampers on your CAL Delta DAC?
PJ

tis true. i am using some dampers on my tubes.. the tubes came with them installed already. but i never knew what effect they were suppose to have on the tubes. i was just curious. there are so many dampers out there.

[danger boy]

these are my dampers. i don't think they are the ring kind are they? they add weight to the tube.

[pjdami]

Yeah DB, those are tube damper rings as well. There are a ton of variants out there but the goal is to reduce tube resonances and microphonics. I have yet to confirm this myself but plan to in the near future. They are realatively cheap though and worth the experimental effort.

Here's another variant:

http://www.amusicdirect.com/products/detail.asp?sku=AMDTDRHITEMP

[Zero]

Paul,

Following the same logic, we should all take apart every single piece of electronics and dampen the hell out of it to where no vibration could ever occur. Im talking mats all over the place. Im not saying it wouldnt help, Im just saying it seems a tad over-board...

Why dampen just ONE item of an entire system. Whether its the PC boards, Transistors, or a tube..

[pjdami]

Sean,

One has to be practical with damping components. I am no expert by far but the documentation suggests that tubes are a primary source of microphonics. The Pareto Principle have you. 80% of the problems are caused by 20% of the "stuff." Yes, I just finished my statistics class this past week forgive me;)

By practicality we talked about that the other night. Heat transfer must still be allowed. Any damping of internal components would have to be carefully thought out and engineered. CD players often have damping sheets installed in them (like my modified Jolida), but CD players also do not generate much heat. Damping an amp incorrectly would ultimately cause potential overheating problems.

[Zero]

Paul,

Interference of any sort contributes to degradation, no? Why stop at the majority source, why not make the best effort to eliminate all interference. I would imagine this would not sound too far fetched to avid audiophiles who use blocks of wood to isolate their gear.

Accordingly, the application must be precise enough as to effectively reduce noise while keeping the product safe and functional. I believe common sense applies here in most cases. I put a hell of a lot of materials in my pc, but I kept the fan paths open. Ironically enough, it runs cooler than it did before the application. By narrowing down the air flow I increased the flow over the intended path, keeping it even cooler. All works out fine. As for amps, well, just don’t do anything stupid!

[pjdami]

Ironically enough, it runs cooler than it did before the application. By narrowing down the air flow I increased the flow over the intended path, keeping it even cooler. All works out fine.

Sean, think about it. Your computer will give off a certain amount of heat. That value will not change and should be constant once it is warmed up. How can the temperature be cooler now? The fan whirls at a certain rpm which is fixed at max rates (if it is a variable speed). You very well may have increased the velocity of the air by narrowing the path but may also have insulated off heat generating components with no heat transfer to the air thus the cooler temperature. fine line here between velocity which helps heat transfer and mass of air moved which also helps. Usually when you restrict the downstream flow the velocity may go up but one has also comprimised volume of air moved. If you have insulated off any heat generating components then that could be causing a cooler temperature or the air but the component itself may be overheating and you can't get to it to measure it. What are you doing sticking a thermometer in the computer?

"All works out fine". You have resolved the motherboard problem you were having??

[Zero]

Paul,

Other components in the pc, such has the hardrive, network cards, sound cards floppy drives, rom's, run fairly cool by themselves during operation. I made sure to vent out the Video card, chip, and the large surrounding area's fairly well.

A month or two ago I saw a guy on Tech TV who built a noise-free pc. It was an EXCELLENT article full of rich information. I should have bookmarked it. It inspired me to do a ghetto job.

So long as the airflow is concentrated over the items that produce heat, I fail to see the immense danger.

My MOBO has been screwed since day one. And it may have something to do with a screwdriver slipping from the cpu fan clip and knicking out contact points along the mobo. :p That was soldered up, but who knows if it did the trick.

Im getting a new MOBO soon anyways.

[pjdami]

So long as the airflow is concentrated over the items that produce heat, I fail to see the immense danger.

Sean as long as you've done your homework with this all should be good. You never told me you did that to your motherboard. Yikes no wonder. here I am trying to help you troubleshoot why it isn't working...and now you tell me this valuable info:)

Yeah, new motherboard is in order. good move there.:D

[organ]

Thanks for the link Ezc. I wanted to buy some but forgot the addy.

Microphonic problems in tubes is no voodoo. I once turned up the volume on my pre and gently tapped the signal tubes with my finger nail and the sound came out through the speakers. Didn't hear anything from the power tubes though. A microphonic tube will make systems "ring". That's why guitar players are very picky about which tubes to use on their combo amps. tubestore have a list of current production tubes where the microphonic levels are listed.

Maurice

[ezc]

Got the Hal-o on friday. Put them on my tubes & IC's out of the cdp(receiver end not enough room) The sound seemed to smothen out with the damping rings. There is a slight difference with the rings on. I tried the halo's on the ic's but really couldnt tell a diffrence. I left the Halo on the IC figure it couldnt hurt & probably dose help.

[organ]

Cool. Thanks for the update. I'm going to try them after I get the ASL repaired. Which tube are you using for the cd player?

Maurice

[organ]

Cool. Thanks for the update. I'm going to try them after I get the ASL repaired. Which tube are you using for the cd player?

Maurice

[ezc]

Maurice,
Im using the tubes that came with the player JAN 6922. Ill try different tubes shortly. Want to make sure everything is broken in before trying other tweaks!