Tube Dampers?

[David Matz]

Has anyone compared tube dampeners to footers and vibration resonators that go on top of the equipment, such as the Resonator or Shakti stones?

Thanks!

 

[DTB300]

Has anyone compared tube dampeners to footers and vibration resonators that go on top of the equipment, such as the Resonator or Shakti stones?

I use a VPI brick on my Pre Amp for mass loading.

I use a Shakti plus a home made brick on top of the Shakti on my CD player. The Shakti helped take out a "very slight" upper range "zzz" noise or sibilance - but again very slight.

Easy thing to try with mass loading...go to Home Depot and find some of the landscaping stones - weigh 2-4 lbs. I covered mine with fabric left over from treatment panels, then put a piece of felt on the bottom so it would not scratch the component tops. Cheap, simple, easy test to see how mass loading affects the sound or not. You can try one or many to see its affect.

Besides room acoustic treatment (which has a greater effect IMO), resonance treatment - feet, mass loading, etc. is another great way to help out the sound of ones system.

 

[David Matz]

I use a VPI brick on my Pre Amp for mass loading.

I use a Shakti plus a home made brick on top of the Shakti on my CD player. The Shakti helped take out a "very slight" upper range "zzz" noise or sibilance - but again very slight.

Easy thing to try with mass loading...go to Home Depot and find some of the landscaping stones - weigh 2-4 lbs. I covered mine with fabric left over from treatment panels, then put a piece of felt on the bottom so it would not scratch the component tops. Cheap, simple, easy test to see how mass loading affects the sound or not. You can try one or many to see its affect.

Besides room acoustic treatment (which has a greater effect IMO), resonance treatment - feet, mass loading, etc. is another great way to help out the sound of ones system.

Dan,

Thanks for the tip. I have heard the Finite Elemente's The Resonator on some of my equipment. When I tried it on the SS cd player and amp, I was ready to declare it snake oil. However, when I put it on top of the tubed preamp, it was a nice improvement!!!

I was actually surprised how much vibration there is on fairly expensive equipment. I guess the manufacturers are more concerned with what goes inside the case, rather than the case itself. I am curious to try your more cost effective version.

 

[sleepysurf]

The prez of our Tampa Bay Listening Society is a local audio guru, who's a vocal advocate for the extensive use of DIY cables, and various resonance/room tuning devices. I would describe his audio shop as "Sanford and Son meets High End Audio." His audio setup is cobbled together with mid-fi and lower high-end equipment (nothing particularly expensive), with LOTS of wood blocks, weights, and resonance and acoustic treatments (see pic). I must admit, his soundstage, imaging, and overall tone, are pretty darn impressive. There's lots of interesting "white papers" on his website...
http://www.vansevers.com/technical.html

 

[sleepysurf]

Just an update. RUR/Ken graciously sent me one of his metal-base GZ34/5AR4's to try in my setup. Compared to my NOS black base RCA/Mullard, the metal base version is definitely a step up in bass detail, midrange clarity, and overall tonal balance.

As a relative tube newbie, I've been amazed with how much sonic differences there are between various rectifiers tubes. Thus far I've used...
1) The stock Sovtek 5AR4- sounded fairly good until it blew, but not as detailed bass as I'd like. Never had the chance to compare it head to head with the others.
2) A Ruby 5AR4- Perhaps the most detailed in the mids and highs, but a bit fatiguing after a while, and still lacking in bass. Perhaps it will improve with "burn-in", or the addition of a tube damper.
3) A TAD "select" 5AR4, which I haven't listened to much- Thus far seems nicely balanced, and "smoother" than the Ruby, but still a bit flabby in the bass.
4) A NOS RCA/Mullard black base- I'd rank this one just a notch below the metal base version for overall tonality and bass detail.
5) The metal base Mullard- Definitely the most "musical" sounding of all, but alas, I had to send it back to RUR . I'm not sure if it's the actual metal-clad plastic base that's responsible for the superb sound, or some other aspect of their internal construction. I can't say I'm ready to plunk down $200+ in a bidding war for one, but thus far, it's my new "reference" for what I'm aiming to achieve in my system.

For those who've not yet tried tube rolling... I assure you it's yet another wild ride in the land of audiophilia! Thanks to Ken, I'm fastening my seatbelt, and rarin' to go!

 

[sleepysurf]

Well, a NOS version of this Phillips metal-base GZ34 just went on eBay for $370! Unfortunately, as these remaining NOS supplies dry up, it's a sellers market. Looks like the only way to find one at a reasonable price would be to luck out at a garage or estate sale. I sure wish I had free weekends for hunting!

 

[tonepub]

Curious to what you guys with the tube rectifiers are experiencing 500-1000 hours down the road....

I know when I had the 9.0 SWL with tube rectifier, it got increasingly noisy after about 250 hours and increased steadily up until about 500 hours or so.

My Emotive Audio Poeta was the same way. I got better results upgrading the rectifier to a 274B, but still noticed more noise down the road. Not a deal breaker, but there nonetheless.

When I asked a few other top audio designers about this they all said "That's why nobody uses a tube rectifier any more, too problematic!"

In the end, I preferred my earlier 9.0 with the solid state rectification (but with the upgraded MWI caps) to the tube rectified one. Also, have any of you MW owners noticed that whenever the 9.0 with tube rectifier blew a fuse, it took the tube with it?

I had that problem repeatedly and that's why I never rolled an expensive tube in there.....

 

[sleepysurf]

I've had my tube-rectified version for over a year now. Probably over 1000 hrs listening, no noise issues whatsoever. I *did* have a problem with a bad Sovtek 5AR4, which kept blowing fuses, but Dan told me he stopped using them due to similar issues. I haven't had problems since rolling other rectifier tubes... Ruby, TAD, and NOS Mullard-the best.

 

[RUR]

Well, a NOS version of this Phillips metal-base GZ34 just went on eBay for $370! Unfortunately, as these remaining NOS supplies dry up, it's a sellers market. Looks like the only way to find one at a reasonable price would be to luck out at a garage or estate sale. I sure wish I had free weekends for hunting!

Alan, keep an eye on a few of the foreign eBay sites e.g. Germany, Sweden & UK. Also, when you do your search of the US site, make sure the "International" box is checked so that all auctions show up. This latter was how I picked up the pair of two NOS which included my loaner to you for a very good price.