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Post by Deleted on May 23, 2021 8:41:11 GMT
Do tube dampers actually do anything?
I remember seeing the EAT Cool Damper, which had varying success in reviews, with a lot of people saying they made things worse. They have been discontinued now, but are still available in some shops.
Then we have the Herbie’s UltraSonic Rx, which many users say are superb, but they are $30 a pop + shipping.
Of course, there are also the orange rings, which are cheap.
Any experience of tube dampers on this forum?
I am specifically thinking about my BB3, so I am assuming the only place worth fitting a damper is the ECC83.
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Post by electronumpty on May 23, 2021 9:59:54 GMT
I use these www.jacmusic.com/accesories/Duende/index-WT.htmlYou can get them in tje uk, think Deco audio do them about £15 a pop. Or if you are in the EU you can use JAC music providing you are happy to deal with his "interesting" customer service. Honestly don't know if they make a difference, that would depend on the tubes I guess. They look cool though. I have them on all 3 bb3 valves. |
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Post by Deleted on May 23, 2021 11:11:40 GMT
Out of interest, what is the max temperature of the glass on the ECC83 and PCC88?
Just wondering if 123 degrees C seals are good enough?
5mm Black Nitrile jobbies. I have them in the garage, so they will be free.
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Bigman80
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Post by Bigman80 on May 23, 2021 11:13:01 GMT
Out of interest, what is the max temperature of the glass on the ECC83 and PCC88? Just wondering if 123 degrees C seals are good enough? 5mm Black Nitrile jobbies. I have them in the garage, so they will be free. No idea! I use food grade ones. They're are silicone and happy up to 350 degrees. They do seem to help but I accept it may be psychological |
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Post by firebottle on May 23, 2021 11:48:01 GMT
I am specifically thinking about my BB3, so I am assuming the only place worth fitting a damper is the ECC83. Not just the ECC83. If you can hear any noise when you ping a valve then fitting a damper is a good thing. |
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Post by antonio on May 24, 2021 0:23:30 GMT
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Post by sq225917 on May 24, 2021 0:34:39 GMT
Surely microphony from valves comes from the relative movements of the active elements in the valve? Putting something on the glass has zero effect on this it just mildly damps the glass. If the glass is buzzing at its resonant frequency then it'll shift that a little due to the change in mass.
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Bigman80
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Post by Bigman80 on May 24, 2021 7:20:04 GMT
Surely microphony from valves comes from the relative movements of the active elements in the valve? Putting something on the glass has zero effect on this it just mildly damps the glass. If the glass is buzzing at its resonant frequency then it'll shift that a little due to the change in mass. Simon, if you are going to contiue to apply logic and science to our totally unqualified beliefs and our need to buy snake oil products, we may have to look at your membership status. Right, i know of a sale on cables lifters and fuses.....everyone, get your wallets out!  |
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Post by firebottle on May 24, 2021 7:46:56 GMT
Surely microphony from valves comes from the relative movements of the active elements in the valve? But what is the support structure in contact with? The glass, so any damping will be beneficial to reduce mechanical transmission. |
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Post by Deleted on May 24, 2021 8:45:56 GMT
I have tapped all of my valves when fitted to my phonostage. No sign of Microphonics, so no need for any dampers. 👍
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Post by sq225917 on May 24, 2021 16:54:21 GMT
Surely microphony from valves comes from the relative movements of the active elements in the valve? But what is the support structure in contact with? The glass, so any damping will be beneficial to reduce mechanical transmission. I guess it depends. Are the internal valve parts moving due to excitation caused by current and voltage shifts within the parts, are they moving due to the bloody great transformer or are they moving due to the wobbly valve mounts and the huge amounts of bass in the room exciting the glass? I genuinely don't know. i suspect it's a tiny tiny bit of 1, mostly 2 and in some cases a bit of 3. Should be easily measurable though. I don't doubt they can do something, i'm intrigued by the larger how and why. |
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Post by brucew268 on May 30, 2021 12:02:21 GMT
I had a couple valves on a headphone amplifier that seemed rather microphonic. When I pulled them and cleaned the pins and socket well, it went away.
Another couple valves did not ping but had a slight ringing that came through the music at certain frequencies. I bought a few sets of O-rings. What I read seemed to say that silicone has higher heat tolerance than nitrile. I tried 1mm, 2mm thick. I tried ID the same, 1mm smaller or 2mm smaller than the valve diameter. I also tried a smaller diameter o-ring around just the pins. In my setup the 2mm o-ring overdamped and the o-ring that was 2mm smaller than the diameter (tighter fit) over damped. So a 1mm ring with a light fit worked best, but these were on fairly small valves (EF92).
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