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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 2 responses by charles1dad

charles1dad's avatar
charles1dad
10,230 posts
 
@tomic601,
I don’t question your outcome using tube dampers in the least. My experience with their use years ago was different and is not a blanket condemnation covering all manner of tubes in any number of situations. It sure appears to be an individual case by case scenario influenced by numerous variables.

Here’s another example of outcome variance. My use of upgraded fuses has been positive. No doubt that this is not the case for everyone who’s tried them.
Charles
charles1dad's avatar
charles1dad
10,230 posts
 
My experience with tube dampers mirrors what most here are reporting. I tried them years ago and they deaden the sound and the natural vibrancy was suppressed. Yep, took the life out of the sound/ music reproduction. Some listeners swear by them.  I got rid of mine.
Charles 
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