Name: Jim Sylvester, Philadelphia Review: Incredible product...tight and detailed sound, especially in the bass. I agree with you that all tubes are microphonic, but I didn't realize how much. I'll help spread the word. Name: Ken McGuire, Alberta, Canada Review: Well Steve, you were right again. I received four UltraSonic SS dampers to try on my phono stage Telefunken 12AX7 and Amperex 12AT7 tubes and put them on today. Even with my 'Tarnished Ears' (i.e., not Golden) I could hear a positive difference: There seems to be much more clarity, especially on low level sounds within the music, and instruments have more depth (overtones/undertones??).
I think I should also add how easy - and safe - it is to put the dampers on the tubes. I was a little worried that I might damage a tube putting them on but it was very easy. Ken Name: Rune Johansen, Sande, Norway Review: Greetings from Norway! I have received your tube dampers and I had never thought there would be such a difference. From I turned on my amplifier for the first time with the dampers – there was an improvement – No noise during startup. A 'black hole' is the best description. The same when I started to play – the sound is much more tight, with a black hole behind it. I'm really pleased with the dampers. So pleased that I wrote an email to my supplier and not only told him, but asked him to get them into his assortment. I’m going to buy a tube RIAA from him, but I must have it with Herbie’s dampers. Luckily I bought two spares with that in mind.
Just for your info I put the dampers on four Amperex Bugleboy from 1959 and 1963 in my Jolida JD502BRC from 2009. Name: Robert Browne, Santa Monica, California Review: Thanks for getting my recent order of tube dampers to me quickly. They arrived on December 24th, just in time to install them in my Audio Note L3 pre-amp for music listening over the Christmas holiday.
A pair of Preamp UltraSonic 9 dampers went on the Tung-Sol 5687 tubes, an UltraSonic Rx-9 damper went on a Mullard 6BM8 regulator tube and an UltraSonic Rx-30 damper went on a Bendix 5852 rectifier tube. Similar to my previous experience with your tube dampers there was increased focus and midrange clarity along with more bass detail and a subtle smoothing out of some lower treble grain. Everything became more coherent and this was especially noticeable on piano music. Without the dampers on, some recordings the lower notes were a bit muffled and occasionally there was some glare on certain higher notes. The most surprising change that I wasn't expecting was a quite noticeable increase in dynamics that contributed to the realistic and life-like presentation.
With these results on my pre-amp I'm going to have to order more tube dampers to use with my power amp. Thanks again for making products that have such a positive effect on the music listening experience. Name: Richard Kachur, Winnipeg, Canada Review: I really found that these made a big difference in my pre amp. I'd been using them and pulled them out the other day. Wow. Put them back in right away and made a note to purchase more to try in my power amp. Name: Wilson Yee, San Francisco, California Review: I'm really enjoying the preamp ultrasonic tube dampers - they really do bring out the best from my 6DJ8 tubes. They are better than the original ultrasonics that I have. Name: Rosser Clark, Falls Church, VA Review: I have to admit that I was skeptical about how a few little pieces of silicone pressed against the outer glass could make any audible difference. But I had had such good results with your products before that I thought I would give the dampers a try. I just did a major refurb and modification of my Dynaco SCA-35 -- new boards, new tubes, new power supply caps and diodes, etc. After all that, I listened to it a while, and it sounded great. Then I put the tube dampers on (four Preamp UltraSonics for the preamp tubes and four UltraSonic Rx for the power tubes).
I don't know how you do it, but the dampers made more difference than almost all the other new parts combined. The amp went from sounding good, great even, to sounding absolutely magical. There is a coherence to the sound that I have never experienced in my own system. Everything sounds tied together in a very musical way now. In addition, I'm hearing details in familiar pieces that I've never heard before -- I mean a lot of things that are very easy to hear now, that I never knew were there. The separation and 3D placement is also so much better I can hardly believe it. On top of that, the background is much quieter. The only downside that I thought I heard at first was the high frequency transients sounded a little rolled off -- esp the cymbal attack. But after listening a while, it seemed more like that without the dampers the sound was kind of uncontrolled, and one result of that was an overemphasis or ringing of the highs. There is no way I would go back to the sound before. Anyway, I am so happy with the sound with the dampers that my jaw has been dropping.
Thanks again,
Rosser Name: John Kugler Review: Your stuff is just amazing. Every piece of gear I treat "sorts out" the music better, top to bottom. Guitar strings become gently separated; lower piano registers are more associated with the instrument and clearly defined - and the result, of course, is that there is a much easier flow to the music your brain doesn't have to work so hard to hear around. And yet I don't hear any spectral shift or lack of dynamics at all - music is punchy, fun, and energetic when called for; bass is just as deep, but better controlled in the midbass. Yes, this stuff does tend to tell you when a recording engineer was on crack, but in anything approaching a decent recording, it serves the music (and the engineer) very well indeed. I wish I found you years ago!
