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Bob O'Neill, Bound for Sound
Bob O'Neill's review of the HAL-O Damping Instruments is featured in the July 2002 issue of Bound for Sound Magazine. Here's an excerpt:
"I used the HAL-O devices on the 6DJ8s in my Presence line stage preamp. This mutha weighs in at over 50 lbs., and it's built in such a way that vibrations are attenuated naturally due to the quality of construction. Initially, I was skeptical as to how the HAL-O was going to improve on such an already optimized situation... but they did. Putting the HAL-Os on the preamp tubes made things way, way better--- better focus everywhere. Best of all, the HAL-O will not melt and bond with the tube it is being used on like some of the tube damping devices of the past. A well thought-out, quality product that addresses a real need."
Len Fuller, New York
"The tube dampers work extremely well, turning glaring Russian tubes into musical gems."
Peter, Seattle, Washington
"Got the Halo 9s today and found them to be a boon from the get go. And I love that I can tune in the kind of sound I want by raising/lowering them! I'll definitely be buying more in the near future -- for all my tubes -- and will not hesitate to recommend them to all my tube friends."
Kwang-ho Kim, Seoul, Korea
"I removed the tube coolers and placed the damping instruments just above the top half of the glass and the improvements were marvelous. Like they say, Hearing is Believing!"
Juan Valentin, Keyport, New Jersey
"I have enjoyed my amp for sometime now without the rings but the trial period with the rings has brought me closer to musical bliss. Vocals are dead center with no variation unless the singer moves themself. In a hobby and passion with so many bogus tweaks it's great when one comes along that actually works and works so well. As far as customer service, you guys set the standards by which all others should be measured."
Charles Stevens, Jonesboro, Georgia
"The dampers REALLY work!! I have an Antique Sound Lab OTL Mark III headphone amp, and after a series of tweaks--Walker SST, Auric Illuminator on the discs, this tweak alone betters them. I didn't realize how much vibration can be internally produced inside the unit until I tried the hal-o dampers. I did back to back testing with several discs, and the dampers revealed subtle nuances that were just not there before. Thanks for a great product :)
Gordon Burkhart-Schultz, AUDIOPAX
"We put your dampers on just about everything ;-) You are absolutely right. Things just got clearer and clearer. REALLY nice ;-)
Graham Diack, Lisburn, United Kingdom
"Instantly improved! (Vox AC-30 guitar amp.) The bass seemed to tighten up some, which has made the amp more focused and less muddy -- and I didn't even know it was muddy. Best of all, when overdriven, the tubes have increased clarity, and the breakup is smoother and more defined. Stunningly quiet and none of the rattle I was getting before."
Candace Thompson, Denver, Colorado
"The rings are nearly phenomenal. I get a lot of ear fatigue listening to music and it seems I am particularly bothered by any glare and general grunge. The rings have greatly lessened the fatigue I was experiencing. I listened for 6 hours last night at a good volume and am back at it tonight with no ear fatigue. Thanks thanks thanks."
Geoff Christensen, Hull, Massachusetts
"I have received and tried the HAL-O's and am happy to report that they have made improvements. High end is cleaner, imaging is slightly more focused. The biggest difference is actually in bass, which is much more controlled now. I didn't expect that much difference in the low end."
Michael Rinus, Dortmund, Germany
"Many thanks for my HAL-O's. They work very well, as music now sounds totally natural without any hint of sharpness as before, and the bass is unbelievable! Unbelievable as my speakers are fullrange electrostatics who literally have no deep bass -- but they got even more punch than they had before! A very big step forward"
Matthew Marine, Madison, Wisconsin
"Wow. Damn. I mean -- really -- wow! I just installed three Halo-9's on my original Audible Illusions Modulus. Best tweak EVER. It's like I got a whole new preamp for thirty bucks and change! Voices are much more clear, the air is more airy, and the bass -- good god! Who knew this old tube preamp could do fast, tight, take-your-breath-away bass?! The tubes/pre I use are particularly susceptible to microphonics. I could tap on the shelf it sits, and hear it easily through the speakers. Not any more! I can drum on the faceplate with my fingernails all night and it doesn't ring a bit. It's scary quiet! Lovely. A-1. Super-duper. Keen and neat-o, even. Color me impressed. Congratulations on a fine product, and thank you!
Kenneth Lauburg, East St. Louis, Illinois
"I have been happy with all of the HAL-O damping instruments I have purchased. I have one on each of my 17 tubes!"
Ian Threadgold, Warrington, U.K.
"The dampers have surprised me with how effective they have been and am very pleased with the results. I fitted 4 to my Art Audio phono stage and they made a noticeable improvement, by that I mean a 'real' easily distinguishable improvement that was audible immediately. I then tried six of them on the front end of my Graaf power amp and whilst not quite the same order of improvement as with the phono stage it was very noticeable and great for the money."
Michael DeBlanc, Cumming, Georgia
"I'm a skeptical person. I took a chance on your product because of the satisfaction guarantee. I considered my system pretty nice sounding, that was until I installed your dampening rings. The effect was immediate. My stereo's imaging is more tightly focused with the soundstage broadened and deepened. I'm simply amazed and would recommend your product to anyone. They work as claimed.
"Here's a rundown of my equipment: Pioneer Elite PD95, Perpetual Technologies P-1A and P-3A with ModWright Signature II modifications. Monolithic Perpetual Technologies Power plant. Harmonic Technologies Pro SilwayIII interconnects. Cary SLP98 Pre-amp, Carver M1.5T power amp. Thiel 2.2 Amberwood loudspeakers. Adona Corporation 4 tiered equipment rack."
Tapani Lappi, Hämeenlinna, Finland
"Get today dambers. Yes it work, upperbass is more accurate, sound is more pure, treble is accurate. Thanks very much. My system is Acapella Campanile speakers, Audio Physic digital monoamps, Audio Aero Prestige sacd, Finite Elemente ref rack, Transparent ref xl all cables and power isolator, Velodyne DD 18 sub and two Acapella Fondato Silenzio under amps. Happy listening."
Peter Ward, Warwick, United Kingdom
"Sadly these things work. Hence my need for another 14 to treat my 2 mono Leak Stereo 20s. Better stereo, improved bass, more detail -- all true!"
Andy Biro, Qualicum Beach, Canada
"The four I am using have proven themselves."
Steve Miller, Newton Center, Massachusetts
"I recently bought a set of 4 HAL-O tube dampers for my Audible Illusions Modulus 3 preamp, and was pleased to find they did provide a small but noticeable improvement in tightness and focus. The first CD I listened to after installing them was a live recording of Jim Hall in a club, and, for better or worse, the background conversations were much clearer, amongst the actual small improvements in the music."
Douglas Deacon, Middletown, CT
"I received the six HAL-O 9's I ordered last week and, as they say, 'Wow!' They greatly reduced some nasty resonances on dynamic female vocals (think 'screecy sopranos') that I thought were caused by stylus mis-tracing. My preamp has six tubes and doubling up the HAL-O 9s on the phono stage tubes was even better than putting one on each phono stage tube plus one on each line stage tube. Overdamping has not occured, HF's are still crisp and transients are undimmed, so I guess I need more of your little rings. Thanks for a great tweak!"
Kenneth Sternberg, Langhorne, Pennsylvania
"Very happy with the tube damping instruments and the cd mat -- a pleasure dealing with you!"
Peter Hardie, Auckland, New Zealand
"Highly recommended."
Shaun Pearson, Darmouth, Nova Scotia
"I was sceptical at first, but after listening to Horowitz play Scarlatti a couple of dozen times with and without the HAL-Os, I know it's not my imagination. The HAL-Os impart a bell-like tone to notes that's really magical."
Kevin Grier, Norman, Oklahoma
"WOW, these puppies really make a difference. The background is blacker, low level sounds are more focused and beautiful, the soundstage is more palpable, hanging out in the air (I guess this is what people mean by "holographic"), there is more focus and detail without loss of beauty and pleasure in listening. At ten bucks or so a pop, I recommend them highly.
Cliff Schaumburg, Falls Church, Virginia
"Received my HAL-O 9s and installed them on the pre-amp and reverb driver tubes in my Alessandro Working Dog guitar amplifier. I’ve played it in excess of eight hours in two sessions and haven’t heard anything but guitar (that’s a good thing, by the way). Prior to installing the HAL-O devices, every tube I put in these positions would feed back after an hour or so. I haven’t noticed any of the subtleties of tone that I read about in some of the reviews. I attribute that to the nature of the beast though. The big difference is now I can use pretty much any of the 12AX7 and 12AT7 tubes in my collection without microphonic feedback and that’s good enough for me. Good product. I will recommend it to my friends. Thanks."
Xu Ren Kang, Flushing, New York
"Thanks, I get it and test it. HAL-O is great, much better than any kind of tube damping."
Bill Wrightson, Orangevale, California
"I’ve only used the devices on one set of 6sn7 tubes on my monoblocs. They were one of my favorite NOS tubes, but I had to pull them because of excessive and annoying microphonics; now I can use them again. It’s been 48 hours with no microphonics. The major thing for me is that this opens up other tube possibilities. I can now order tubes I was reluctant to buy given the price and the possibility of microphonics."
Andy Diep, Anaheim, California
"They are great!"
Rob Gillette, Mont Vernon, New Hampshire
"I installed your Hal-O tube damper on the 6SL7/ECC35 input tube of my Golden Tube SE-100 power amp. In terms of 'bang for the buck' this is by far the best upgrade I have ever made to my system and is competitive with upgrades that have costed 50 times more. The main sonic benifit that I discerned is better spatial integrity of each instrument. The gray area between instruments is now black. My compliments on a great and highly affordable product."
Phil Lemanski, Tuscon, Arizona
"With the HAL-Os in place, musicality increased very substantially."
Ilianto Mirawan, San Francisco, California
"They works marvelous!"
Stanley Wong, New York
"Thanks, great product and even better service."
Peter Camperos, Altadena, California
"I only wish I could have found your website sooner (those Mapleshade tube anchors were a pain in the rear to install and because they are brass which I thought would be better are very hot in temp).
Jeff Garshon, Gahanna, Ohio
"I love these little guys!"
Conte Massimiliano, Bagno a Ripoli, Italy
"I recognized good improvement on general musicality of my system, like a cleaning of the response spectrum. Incredible, but the new position of rings as you suggested (at the middle of the 6hb5s, instead of on the top), gives a better effect on my amps."
Kevin Boxma, Casselman, Canada
"Very satisfied!"
George Bahry, Oakville, Ontario
"I got my HALO's, 4 (6DJ8's) in my Modulus 3a and 6 (6SN7's) in my Antique Audio Lab Hurricanes. They are certainly welcome in my system for the added solidity to the sound."
Hiroshi Ishii, Fremont, California
"They literally shut up most of noise from 6C5s in my EQ circuit."
Norman Thomas, Seattle, Washington
"I've had the dampers for maybe a year and they are lifesavers. They make even some cheap tubes sound pretty darn good."
Jeremy Price, New York
"I put one HAL-O 9X on each of the two tubes in my Unison Research 'Unico' integrated amp -- the one Sam Tellig raved about in 'Stereophile' to be a product of the year -- and instantly noticed the improvements. Much better tightness and clarity all round -- much better separation of instruments and vocals -- and the sound seemed to even get a little better after very little settling in. A superb tweak. Thank you!"
Anand Raman, Orchard Park, New York
"Thank you so much for the dampers. It tweaked my headphone amp/linestage to the next level."
Howard Lee, Toronto, Canada
"You probably have heard this many times now. But just wanna say you have a great product here and it actually works. I used the tube dampers on my 2 small tubes in my preamp and the 4 input tubes for my power amp. The biggest change comes from the power amp input tubes.
Preamp: Soundtech preamp 1 (local Canadian brand)
Power: Sonic Frontier SFS 50 (the earliest model)When I first installed them, I considered sending the dampers back because there seemed to be a loss of ambience and air. Further listening proved that I was so wrong. What I thought was ambience and air was actually distortion. I had to re-educate myself to understand the new sound. What is now obvious is the ability to see the soundstage. As a result of the dampers, there is a jump in the level of subtlety and harmonics. The effect can be clearly felt when listening to voices in opera. Strings are smoother. Dynamics is better. The short way to describe it is like when your camera is put back in focus. As you have suggested, the dampers allow me to hear what my amp should sound like."
Tony Cocco, Nepean, Ontario
"Your product works wonders. I placed my first order a while back just to try it out on some of my tubes and make sure it works. It worked so well that I'm placing this 2nd order to complete my system. I'm looking forward to damping all of my tubes. Excellent product, thanks again."
Marcel Treier, Woelflinswil, Switzerland
"The tube dampers arrived last week. Since then I had a great pleasure to test them. Here the results.
GE VT4-C: Now the tube is perfect (no more this ringing).
6SN7: No change in sound with the CV1988 from Brimar but now I can use the coin-base RCA as replacements because with the rings they sound really good, not like before.
E88CC: No changes with Siemens/Mullard/Brimar.With the Russian ones I have they are better with the rings (not anymore that hard peak sound).
"For me the rings are worth the money, especially the big ones for the VT4-C, because they hit my target 100%. Thanks and Regards from Switzerland."
Scott, New Zealand
"After experimenting, I didn’t want to take any HAL-Os off the phono stage; they improved it too much! Anyhow, the line stage benefits equally. These tube dampers are fantastic. They have made a huge difference, notably tighter, deeper and more dynamic bass, more expressive midrange (especially voices and piano which are even more ‘there’ than they were before), and cymbals are now much more believable than previously. All from a quieter background meaning that low level detail is improved, too. Feel free to quote me – I’m totally convinced of the improvements they have made in my system."
Steve Liebman, West Harford, Connecticut
"The tube dampers have really improved the sound of my amp. Thanks."
Edward Maron, Brooklyn, New York
"This is a great product. I use them on the 6DJ8 tubes in my phono stage. I had the Audio Research dampers before, but these HAL-Os are perfect -- they don't overdamp. I highly recommend them."
Patrick J. Cunningham, Midwest Audio
"Bravo! These are the best solution yet against microphonics."
Carl Schenke, Roswell, Georgia
"Even if they didn't make an immediate sonic difference for the better (which they did), they're so clever, so simple, so affordable and so cool, I would have kept them anyway!"
Don S., Vancouver, British Columbia
"I put them on the CV181 in my preamp and the 12au7's in my power amp. Very noticeable difference immediately. What was a very good system is better. Images are more focused with no loss of air, highs, lows, detail or anything I can discern. The vocals are better. My wife noticed it immediately as well and she didn't know I had put them on. I have now ordered a set for the EL34 outputs."
Mark Cox, Bond Head, Canada
"Music seems to play louder at the same volume setting and vocals especially seem to be a lot more present in the room. I am very satisfied with the bang for the buck."
Michael Vogel, Zurich, Switzerland
"I received my first order this week and I'm really astonished about the effect of your damping rings. These little devices really bring so much improvement to the sound quality. Many thanks."
Mike Knapp, Tampa, Florida
"You have a wonderful product!"
Pierre Ghaliounghi, Geneva, Switzerland
"It made a very big difference with the preamp but the real differences is certainly with the 845 tubes in my amp. There is better definition and focus, less ringing."
Mikko Kärki, Jyvaskyla, Finland
"HAL-O's have worked great in my CAT SL1, more detail and less microphonics. Excellent price/effect ratio!"
Norman Wong, Luyang, Malaysia
"Always a doubting Thomas, I still had doubts even as I slid the HAL-O 9 onto the two 5814A tubes in my Unico. Always also the type to almost never give praises, this one gets me to say: 'Exceptional.' Being in high-end for 20 years has taught me to be wary of a lot of what I view as ignorant exaggerated claims and praises heaped on products by ranting deaf fools simply hearing psychological improvements. I have just placed an order for another 2 for spares. Thanks."
Paul Levy, Macungie, Pennsylvania
"The result is terrific, there's no doubt about it."
Andreas Tournavitis, Thiva, Greece
"Thanks so much for the damping rings. They perform fantastic on my Unison Research S6."
Peter Bogdan, Cos Cob, Connecticut
" I purchased four tube dampers for my Audible Illusions preamp a while back and they work great, so when members of my family started to ask me what I would like for Christmas I immediately started sending web links directing them to your website. I am now the happy owner of a grungebuster CD mat which I just tried out today and four tenderfoot pads which now grace the bottom plate of my rebuilt Dynaco ST-35. The CD Mat and the tenderfoot pads came from my sister and brother respectively. My mother finished off the Herbie’s Audio gift fest with six tube dampers also for my ST-35."
Gary Smith, Bellingham, Washington
"I tried your products at the recommendation of a friend. I must say, I am impressed with your act. You have a nicely polished customer service presentation. While the Grungebuster did not work for me, the tube dampers are clearly a superior product. I would like to take advantage of your generous satisfaction guarantee and return the mat and clamshell.
"The tube dampers are another matter. If you want those back you will need to pry them from my cold fingers. I will be ordering four more to cover all of my signal tubes."
Alan Clifford, Nottinghamshire, United Kingdom
"I've never found a 'tweak' that didn't make me think I'm probably just imagining a difference, until the Hal-o's. Findings so far using Heart CDP6000 and Reflektor 6H23 tubes: A remarkable tidying up of a slightly lumpy bass, a strengthening of the timbre of cymbals and hi hats, wider soundstage. Taking off the Hal-o's made the system sound flat in comparison.
"I am very impressed with what I've heard so far and wouldn't have expected such a difference, many thanks."
Kyle Brooks, New York
"I use them in my ARC LS5 MRK II (10 OF THEM) and there is a definite improvement."
Jim Quan, Chico, California
"Your damping rings rock!!"
Long Ho, Broomfield, Colorado
"I can't believe what an improvement it made to my Supratek Chenin."
David Pelleg, London, United Kingdom
"They work great on the Rogue. They really should be shipped standard on hi-end gear."
Dr. Fook Lam, Ipoh, Malaysia
"Just to inform you that I have received your Hal-O dampers two days ago. They have greatly improved my system and the sound is lively and I am already happy as it is now."
Randy Young, Clinton, Tennessee
"Your tube dampers are a lot better than the pearl coolers. With the pearl coolers my Tung Sol's were getting a little too noisy but now they are not that noisy at all -- just about what any tube is when warming up. After that there is no noise I have heard yet and that is great. The bass seems to be increased also with more detail because of less noise, I guess. I love them and keep up the good work."
René Thonissen, Drunen, The Netherlands
"I didn't expect so much difference. I think it's the best upgrade I have made since years."
Jim Aller, Des Moines, Iowa
"I am using them in a Sonic Frontiers Line 1 preamp with NOS Amperex PQ 6922 U.S.A. tubes. The HAL-0 9 s made a big improvement."
Chas De Chastelain, Northampton, United Kingdom
"Replacing my EL84 valves with Mullard NOS, I let these burn in for about a week, fitted the dampeners and sat back, a selection of discs chosen, from Mushroomhead to Bach and listened, sat up and listened more carefully: more detail, more and better defined bass, sweeter treble, clearer and bigger sound stage. These things really work. I have been burning the midnight oil and have found a new desire for all my discs (even the missus has heard the difference). Thanks for these magic little things. I will be ordering two more for my preamp valves."
Chris Evans, Denver, Colorado
"The dampers sound very nice in my system. I can clearly hear a more refined sound coming my speakers. I'm using a couple of them on my guitar amp since it suffers from severe microphonics."
Lou Alpaca, Michigan
"The dampers make a significant improvement to the sound."
George Manak, Cedartown, Georgia
"The dampers have made a big difference in my preamp -- much smoother sound, without any sacrifice in detail."
Hollis Derryberry, Laguna Woods, California
"The grungebuster and HAL-Os have improved my system, both image-wise and dynamically."
Barry Rubin, Calgary, Canada
"The effect on my Aesthetix Janus is quite significant and immediate. Similar to going from a stock to a megabucks powercord/interconnect. Sound was good before the dampers but I can't imagine not using them from now on in. My 12ax7's are long plate tubes perhaps making them more microphonic than many, but the dampers have eliminated that from being a problem."
Frank Andersen, Auli, Norway
"Recently installed them in my Cary PH 302 RIAA. Even after only a couple of hours the sound is just great. The instruments more focused and the silence is (much used phrase) blacker. There has also been an increase in sounstage height and deptht. Fancy to observe the effect of those little gizmos."
Tormod Halleraker, Oslo, Norway
"I'm very satisfied with the Tube Dampers."
Larry Bourdage, Minneapolis, Minnesota
"I ordered the Tube Halo's for my Decware Zen Select Amp (all four tubes) and the Grunge Buster CD Mat. Both are very effective and worth every cent. Thank you for a very fair price on such effective TRUE tweeks."
Andrew Tebbe, Atlanta Georgia
"HAL-Os did a great job in my Conrad Johnson PV14L2 pre. They silenced some very microphonic Tungsols. And generally improved the sound of some other tubes."
Vaughan Warren, Penzance, United Kingdom
"Applying the dampers a third of the way down the tubes looked very retro - almost Dalek like! The Quad ELS 63s then proceeded to reveal why they are such an international standard of sound reproduction - explosive percussion transients and driving bass - yes bass rhythms, with 3D voice and vocal backups. The Halo dampers had obviously solved a problem I was unaware of! Thanks again for providing such excellent products that really work and enhance the state of one's equipment."
Davide Lentini, Hong Kong
"The tube dampers are quite shocking: it is like having a new amp. The sound is a bit less 'round and rich, but the new clarity makes more than up. Reproduction is more natural now -- I enjoy listen to music more."
Estes Moustacalis, Oakville, Ontario
"Well I bit the bullet (so to speak) and pulled the preamp out & opened the cover (6sn7 tubes, Rogue preamp). The actual installation of the dampers took about a minute -- the rest (removing the preamp, cables, etc.) took about 30 minutes. I have listened for the little while & the improvement is clear. The overall sound is 'clearer' allowing more of the music/emotion to come through. Money well spent, with the improvement being worth more than the money spent."