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Reviews/Comments |
Robert Pincus, Cisco Records
"WOW! I am very pleased! To be honest, I haven’t been exactly happy with my system for some weeks. The bass has been thin and the upper-midrange has been a bit aggressive. I’d never say that bass is the strongpoint of the EAR 864, but the middle and top are. However, once I put your product into the line stage and heard the improvements I felt real sorry for anybody who hasn’t done the same. I could never go back to the way my preamp used to sound.
"Hey, all talk aside, I love the improvement and I plan to get some more of your rings for the phono section. However, right now I just want to enjoy my 'new' preamp!"
Charles Stevens, Jonesboro, Georgia
"Excellent! I already use your dampers on 12ax7's but you can REALLY tell a difference on a big 300B, especially in SET monoblock configuration. Any tweek you do with a good SET amp is instantly noticeable. Thank you for a fine product."
George Pettas, Athens, Greece
"Your Ultrasonic tube dampers do really work, and in my case particularly well on E88CC D-getters. They have become an active and permanent part of my SF Line 2 tubed with:
Amperex 7308 PQ Holland
Siemens E188CC
Amperex E88CC PQ Holland
"The amazing thing is that the results are very consistent whatever the change of the tube. For me the best position on every tube is just above the top mica support and facing forward, but everybody should experiment with the direction and the position of the damper. What impressed me more was the absence of noise, faster and deeper bass, greater retrieval of detail and more stable soundstage throughout the entire range, with improved dynamics and better transients.
"I had the same results but of different magnitude when I installed the Ultrasonic Tube dampers on the 8 SED 6550C of my SF Power 2. Thank you for bringing such a great investment to us audiophiles."
Rich Pingalore, Auburn, Massachusetts
"I just received the dampers (six UltraSonic 9 for McIntosh MA2275). Thank you very much for the fast shipping. I've been listening for a little over an hour, and all I can say is, 'Wow!' These are amazing. The bass from my amp is tighter, more detailed and deeper. Not only is there a more natural presentation now, the soundstage is even bigger than before. I'll be ordering more dampers for my KT88's in the near future. Thanks again!"
Rizalino Sin, Philippines
"I began to notice something after roughly a little more than 30 min. of listening. The percussion instruments seemed to sound clearer, especially the decay made by cymbals. The bass seemed a little tighter and the midrange sibilants seemed to lessen a bit. The background seemed quieter. Maybe considerably quieter! Thinking that I’m imagining things, I played The Carpenters Singles 1969-1981 SACD (Rounder 2003). Same result. Karen’s voice was really heaven sent. Bass is fat and round. But what’s striking is the chorus portion of Sing wherein Karen was joined by children, is a lot clearer that you can almost distinguish several individual voices. I tried Alison Krauss and Union Station Live SACD. Lovely voice, quieter background and uncanny resonance from Jerry Douglas’s Dobro/National guitar. I especially remember the hecklers in the crowd, in between songs, you can now understand what the hell they are yelling! Denon Jazz Sampler Plus The Audio Tool Box II (Nippon Columbia 1994): crisper, more vibrant percussions, better bass. B&W Presents: The Academy of Ancient Music/Christopher Hogwood: lovelier Canon & Fugue. Big, big bass, gritty riffs and bends in The Sky Is Crying, great(er) playing in Little Wing (plus I heard somebody spoke at the background in the middle of the recording) and acoustic realism in Life by the Drop (The Sky Is Crying by Stevie Ray Vaughan Sony Music 1991). Muddy Water’s deep haunting voice seemed to gain more prominence in My Home Is In The Delta and Good Morning Little Schoolgirl (Folk Singer SACD MCA/Chess). But more noticeable is the subtle, understated guitar playing by the young Buddy Guy is a lot clearer! (Sonic Frontiers SFL-2 Preamp with Amperex 6dj8’s, with four Ultrasonic 9 dampers and four Hal-O 9 MidFi+ )"
Chris VenHaus, VH Audio
"If you own any tubed audio equipment, Herbie's Audio Lab damping instruments are ESSENTIAL to get the best performance out of your equipment. This is perhaps the most effective tube tweak on the market, and is THE best tube damper on the market."
Barry Hii, U.S.
"I put Herbies Ultrasonic 9 Tube dampers on the 6DJ8 in my Dodd battery preamp. Within 5 seconds I was in complete ultra-shock! The noise floor disappear! I hear the purer sound from top to bottom, the bass gets cleaner, the midrange/vocal stood out, allowing me to hear more into the texture.
"I'm still stunned I am beginning to think that my ears just somehow get more potent today."
Erik L, Decatur, Georgia
"The dampers have a dramatic effect on the Winged-C 6550's, far more detail and depth."
Frank Haro, Triefenstein, Germany
"The Dampers fits very well on my old Tesla E88CC. With red silicone o-rings on my tubes I got a resonating feedback around 1kHz. With UltraSonics not!"
Michael Blackwell, Knoxville, Tennessee
"I want to congratulate you on your outstanding products. I have been using the same tube electronics for years, always knowing I had not achieved the sonic quality that was possible. However, upon installing your Ultrasonic Instruments, my equipment has now far exceeded my expectations. There is now the smoothness, clarity, tightness of image, and naturalness that we are all looking for.
"Further, you have established a customer service that is next to none. I appreciate the time you have taken to give real time feedback. From the time the orders were placed, to the time the products were shipped, I was always in the know about what was happening on your end. The products arrived at predictable times, without delay.
"You will be hearing from me again, very soon, because my plan is to complete the installation of your products on ALL my tubes. Thanks for making my audio life a pleasure!"
Paul Douma, Chicago, Illinois
"I just received my Ultra Sonic Tube Dampers and their effect is nothing short of amazing. I'm using them on my tube preamp which was so wooly and unfocused that I would bypass it whenever possible. (Even with some hotshot NOS RCA tubes.) Now, each instrument has snapped into focus, the image has expanded, and the bass is just rock solid. These little wonders have got to be considered essential equipment for anyone running tube gear. Thanks for this amazing and affordable product, and also for your consistently excellent service."
Paul Pearah, San Jose, California
Yes, this is just the ticket. Piano comes to life a bit with more realistic dynamics. My system was already very good at microdynamics but now it's a touch more so."
Sigmund Finman, Pennsylvania
"I recently swapped out the teflon dampers I had been using which were a definite upgrade from the stock dampers that came with my cd player. The new ones are titanium and they're remarkably realistic and glare and grunge free. Even with cryovaced, antique Siemens CCa tubes, I'm hearing a big difference in detail and punch. Everything is clearer, transients are more defined, lows are fuller and more extended, music has more punch and is more visceral and lifelike. A real good deal for $34 which included shipping. Note: they needed an hour or so to break in. After that, just sweet music."
Paul Burke, San Angelo, Texas
"These things are dynamite. Works real good on my EF86 tubes, plus they even look cool. Thanks for getting it to me fast as well."
Ralph Würthner, Apriori Audio, Germany
"Your tube dampers arrived yesterday and after insalling them my ARC CD7 sounded as good as never before! Installation was easy and sound improvement was clearly audible. Better bass, darker background/more silence, more microdetail, slightly better pinpoint imaging! These are great products, I already use them in my other tube gear."
Alan Zoric, Belgium
"You know i'm surprised at the clear difference of the new 'ultra' thingies over the 'old' model. it was clearly audible: more focus, clarity, tightness."
Gerry Maroulis, Spring Hill, Florida
"Hi there, I installed the Ultrasonic Mini dampers today and unless I am hallucinating I hear things that make me wonder. The sound became more focused, more accurate, more musical. I wish I mastered a better vocabulary to express what I am hearing but the gadgets are a KEEPER."
Marc Andes, New York
"The dampers work great on the 845s. I had a hum that I thought was a transformer hum, but it turned out to be the tubes. Totally cured by the dampers. Now I want them on everything."
Frank Niemeyer, Germany
"The Ultra sonics 9 are great on my Raysonic CD 128, they work!"
Roger Macklin, Tennessee
"UltraSonic 9 dampers for Bendix 6900 signal tubes; UltraSonic 35 for Philips metal base GZ34/5AR4 rectifier - in Modwright SWL9.0 Signature linestage. Improved clarity/defintion most noticeable in sustain/decay phase."
John Garrett, Battle Ground, Washington
"I received my UltraSonics last week. I'll give you this -- earlier versions wouldn't grip at times on 9 pin signal tubes. These puppies have SERIOUS grip-i-fi-cation! I work with Dan at ModWright. We enthusiastically recommend your damping instruments to our customers!"
Steven Gerin, New Hyde Park, New York
"OK, got the amps (Quad IIs). Absolutely freaking awesome. Can't get the sound any better yet with the dampers on the great sounding but really cheap Chinese KT66s, but I only tried them at the middle of the tubes so far. Surprisingly (to me, anyway) the dampers on the rectifiers (5V4Gs) made a larger difference than the ones on the input tubes. When I put the dampers on the rectifiers, the very noticeable sweet spot is about 1/3 of the way down from the top. Really helps the bass! I think the dampers on the rectifier tubes made a bigger difference than the ones on the preamp tubes."
Brian Varner, Seattle, Washington
"Received the Ti-9 today and installed it in my preamp which is a hybrid and has only one tube. I heard a difference for the better immediately. Clarity was increased across audio spectrum. Needless to say, I am impressed at what this product can do at such a small cost. Thanks!"
Stephen Spillman, Greensboro, North Carolina
"Until the other day, I had never heard of your company. I happened to read that other people on Steve Hoffman Forums had listed your products in their systems. I have personally used 3M damper rings, Pearl tube dampers, Audio Research, and up until today I was using Mapleshade. I recently bought some NOS Mullards and was nervous about using the Mapleshades for fear of over tightening. When I went to your website and saw your product for the first time, I knew immediately that I should order some. It was apparent that this is a superior design in every aspect. Such a simple, yet ingenious design! When I heard them in action, a smile came across my face. I listened to my system around 12 hours today! I use an EAR 834P and the design of your dampers allow them to be used where space is at a premium. It was also very refreshing to see how you stand behind your products without charging a fortune for them."
Patrick Ngu, Singapore
"I've just received your Ultrasonic 45 dampers today -- wow! what a great difference it made to my Cary SLI-80 amp!"
Brent Feorene, Westlake, Ohio
"I have four UltraSonic 9 Damping Instruments I purchased for my phono stage, which is in the shop for a mod. So, I took these four and used them on the input and driver tubes of the SFM-160s. I was flabbergasted! I have never had such a small tweak produce such a significant improvement. The sound stage grew in breadth and depth a bit, but the most noticeable difference was the focus and clarity of the instruments in space. I never thought my sound was fuzzy, but after the dampers, clearly the prior sound was fuzzy. I feel the frequency extremes were extended and clearer, as well.
"The UltraSonic 9 Damping Instruments are not a toss-away tweak. These accessories should be de rigueur for anyone owning tube equipment. I plan to purchase four more for the phono stage and then save my pennies to purchase the twelve I will need for the Line 3 line stage Chris Johnson is modding.
"The UltraSonic 9 Damping Instruments were a shocking improvement – who would have thought that four c-shaped rings could do this!"
Mark Henshall, Arlington, Virginia
"Installed the dampers in my ARC LS-16 -- Wow! Even after a quick warm up the system sounded more natural with a quieter background. THE most cost effective tweak I have ever heard. Thanks for your prompt shipping and an excellent product."
K. Sims, Oakland, California
"Your shipment arrived on time. I haven't written you sooner since I had nothing interesting to say. At first I applied four Tenderfeet to the new monoblock amp; no surprises there since it simply matched its partner that already had Tenderfeet.
"The news came today when I used two UltraSonic 9s on the new stereo preamp I was expecting, with two 12AU7s. Wow. :^) Hahahaha! I know I shouldn't be surprised, but what an improvement they made.
"The UltraSonics removed glare and slop; let transients and percussive low midrange and bass events be rendered with immediacy and authority; and generally cleaned up the sound field, letting events relax in or pop from the soundstage as they were meant to. Very impressive.
"Where A = without and B = with, I did an A/B/A/B test on a pair of huge-and sweet-sounding Dutch Philips Miniwatt tubes, getting consistent results. An A/B test on a pair of precise, articulate, spatial-sounding cleartop American RCA Conn tubes showed the same results. The evidence in this application was clear: the UltraSonics gave reliable improvements and (in my opinion) great value for money."
James Irving, Blue Elephant Audio & Home Video Consulting
"The Damping instruments have worked a treat reducing the overall background hash and letting the musical nuances shine though. I'm hearing multi-tracked recordings as never before with every overdub clearly audible, no need to guess how many girlie backing singers there are, you can hear them all clearly."
Klaus Rottenwoehrer, Regensburg, Germany
"The tube dampers have arrived well here in germany yesterday. Thanks for excellent packaging. After having installed them on all of the tubes of my Horning Hybrid SATI 520B it was immediatly clear that these little pieces do really help to make music reproduction much more believable, much more musical. It's quite magic. Thanks for making them. All my best wishes for christmas for you and your family."
Jac Pouliot, San Diego, California
"I must tell you that the results on both my primary and secondary systems are astonishing. Thank you for an effective product at a reasonable price."
Bob Walters, Santa Clara, California
"On the phone with me 10 days ago, you suggested that I might be surprised by the improvement that damping my 845's would make. Right on, big improvement!"
David Leggett, Uxbridge, U. K.
"Having listened to my system for some time now since fitting the tube dampers to my Mac 2275, I can honestly say that the improvements are very worthwhile.The overall sound (which was already very good) seems more natural and more focused. Thanks for a great product and keep up the good work."
Brian Malzahn, Walled Lake, New York
"I just got my 1st 4 tube dampers today... Dude?! Why didn't you tell me about this stuff sooner!"
Angel Ramirez, Ceiba, Puerto Rico
"I received the UltraSonic 9's; I like them very much. They work best with tubes that are very quiet, that don't seem to be microphonic. Brings out more detail and musicality."
Tiffany Ryan, Long Beach, California
"WOW! These things actually work. I thought it was a bunch of BS and didn't really expect to hear any difference. I put 4 dampers on my SLP98 pre-amp and Norah Jones never sounded sweeter!!"
Keith Olszewski, Coral Springs, Florida
"They are wonderful! Easy to install, smooth and liquid sound. The black surface on the pads looks cool. Thanks again."
James May, Seattle, Washington
"The damping instruments arrived in perfect shape. What a terrific addition to my Thor 2000 preamp and VAC 70-70 amp. Larger, more defined soundstage, quieter background, etc. Great product -- thanks!"
Lee Shelbourne, Penarth, U.K.
"Fitted the dampers to the signal and driver valves of my 300B PSE monoblocs. Superb. It has improved the low-level detail, and seems to have improved the imaging too. Everything in the soundstage seems to have a 'sharper' edge to it, and appears to be less 'fuzzy round the edges'. Many thanks for the excellent, super-speedy service. I will no doubt be in touch in the near future for a few more. Cheers."
Will Berdan II, Richmond, Maine
"I placed the dampers on all the tubes in my Audio Research LS-25MKII preamp, and VT-100MKII amplifier. I am impressed -- these definitely work in my system, and they won't be going back! I would recommend them to anyone using that particular ARC gear."
Sjoerd Wijdoogen, The Netherlands
"Thanks a lot for the fast shipping. I could hardly wait until I got home from work to put them on my tubes. :-) The results are, and I can't say it in a different way, stunning! Especially the Full Music 805's benefit from the dampers which result in a much tighter overall sound. The dampers also bring rest in the mix, better positioning of instruments and the depth and width of the stereo image is more precise. I often listen electronic music (yes, electronic music with a very good sound quality exist!) because there are no rules. You can do anything with sound/instruments/ vocals, also place them in the stereo image where they don't belong compared to 'traditional' pop/jazz/classical music, e.g. placing a vocals in very deep reverbs or a sound with a 180 degrees phase shift. This way an amazing and surrealistic soundscape can be created. With the Ultrasonics on my tubes I was able to divide the different reverbs on vocals and instruments much better, the front to depth width is extended with better projection of the mono signals while left to right image stayed nearly the same. It is better in balance now."
Cameron MacInnes, Ottawa, Canada
"I would like to say that if someone had upgraded my system components and achieved the improvements your products produced, I would have felt them justified in charging me thousands of dollars. I feel I am in your debt to have received these benefits at such a modest price."
Lon Armstrong, Austin, Texas
"These are a great product. The sonic character is a lot like that of the Pearl Tube Coolers, but seems to not quite darken the sound as much and to fetter the dynamics a bit less. This is good news; I really liked the affects of the coolers, and this has the affect and not some side affects. These Herbie's products have replaced the Coolers in my system. There is less constriction of dynamics. Things sound more open. The Coolers are not going back in."
Gerald Grochowski, Redondo Beach, California
"I don't believe the focus, clarity and speed (no hangovers) your products are achieving in my system. May the Lord prosper you in your enterprise---these devices perform according to the ads! By the way, your product is replacing Pearl tube coolers and Ensemble Tubesox."
Dave Gladchun, Van Nuys, California
"The rings work great. They do absolute wonders for Telefunken tubes. I'm still evaluating the mat but it too seems to be a winner. The rings get my vote for most tweek for the buck, they also don't take away any of the dynamics of the tube, something other tube dampeners have done."
