Reviews/
Comments
|
More
and More Reviews/ Comments |
Ken Loo, Ottawa, Canada
"I just wanted to tell you that I received the dampers today and that I am shocked by the difference they make. I have them on a pair of 5687s and a 5963 in my headphone amp and it's amazing how much the high end has opened up. I'm now picking up on details that I had missed before. Thanks for making such an affordable and NOTICIBLE "tweak".
Mario Giberti, Portsmouth, New Hampshire
"Loving the damping instruments on my Shanling SP80 monoblocks. Thanks for the great product. I left the amp on all day Saturday, as it was raining , and we were either listening to music or movies. After twelve hours, the EL 34's were quite hot, but the damping instruments were fine!"
Brendan Biever, Tube World
"It's a funky little device. I'm using one in my preamp."
Timothy Altizer, Arizona
"Wow!!!!!!!"
Michael Lavorgna, The Absolute Sound, 6 Moons
"For an average price of about $10 and a 90-day no risk trial, I'll go out on an audiophile limb and suggest you try 'em if you haven't already. I own and use 'em on my preamp's 6SN7s. And they work."
Wira Tanzil, Jakarta, Indonesia
"The HAL-O 9 does bring me up to a new level of elation, and it’s the same old feeling of “how-much-I-have-missed-before” all over again.
"I placed the rings on the first pair of tubes in the position of Differential Amplifier of my Sonic Frontier Line 3. Push them down to about 1/3 from the top of the tube. The vocal sound becomes a lot more forward, even the background vocal harmony jumps out in a protrusive way. The overall resolution increased noticeably, but somehow the sound struck me as too aggressive and rather dry, the usual airiness has diminished.
"The Line 3 is said to be a very neutral amp, and is unforgivingly revealing. For a while I thought, disappointingly, this damping instrument probably does not work out, as my front-end (the California Audio Lab Delta transport and Alpha D/A converter for digital source and Rega P-3 for phono) are not top-line equipments. I listened to the system again without the HAL-O 9, but was immediately convinced that the sound I have been used to all this time was a bit veiled!
"I put back the HAL-O 9, placed it just right on the top end of the tube, and, WOW, this time it works! The soundstage seems to expand a bit more, the vocal is more focused, with all the musical instruments vividly in place. The dryness and forwardness of the vocal sound has gone. Yes, I am a happier man now!"
Vayakara Manohar, United Kingdom
"Oh boy! What an upgrade. My Unico is now in a totally different league. Sounds are more focussed and bass is better. A remarkable and inexpensive upgrade. Thanks a lot. Thoroughly recommended."
Juan Sanchez, Madrid, Spain
"Thanks a lot, the HAL-O damping instruments produce a subtle but noticeable improvement in the sound. Thatīs all I wanted in a system already quite tuned. I want to congratulate you. Music/tube lovers need people that solve the specific problems we find when we try to listen music as best as possible. Iīm glad also to see this kind of professionality in a little but very important issue."
Mike Braunlich, Woodinville, Washington
"I have ordered your tube dampeners two times in the past, and I am very, very, happy with the results. I have been telling all my audio friends about your products."
David Ritz, Leesport, Pennsylvania
"I have the HAL-O dampers on my output tubes and preamp. They make improvements, some subtle, some quite noticeable. I'm glad I'm using them---it's a nice product."
Thanat Phakharatkul, Sungaikolok, Thailand
"The dampers work great, more inner details, tighter bass and I can turn up more volumn without stress (5691, 300B, and 211 tubes).
Martin Black, Downey, California
"I have tried many of the do-it-yourself damping techniques. They make you feel good that you did it yourself, and you say, 'hey, that makes an improvement.' When I installed Herbie's dampers on the input and driver tubes of my SFS 80, however, I just had to shake my head and say, 'Wow, I've just upgraded my whole system!' When I think about it, I actually spent more money on the DIY stuff, with results that were dismal in comparison."
Mike Wedge, Austin, Texas
"I am very pleased with the results from the HAL-O dampers on my preamp (ARC LS-15)."
Steven McCollum, Missouri
"Many folks will sing the praises of these magical little gems! They work far better than any other damping device I have tried."
Iwan Ariawan
"I have tried your tube dampers on my input tubes, which is a pair of RCA 6u8 in Sophia Electric EL34 Push Pull Amplifier. I do hear a significant improvement in the sound quality especially in midrange band for naturalness of vocal, detail and focus."
Added: "bought the HAL-O tube damper for my EL34s. There a significant improvement on the sound quality, especially in depth, focus and presence. In my experience, adding tube damper in input/driver tube made the midrange band detail but smooth and the vocal get warmer. Adding tube damper to power tube make the staging better, especially in depth, focus and presence. Adding your tube damper to all input, driver and power tube made the sound improvement very significant. This is a great and a very cost efficient tweaking, Steve. I'll tell my audiophile friends about your tube dampers."
Joe Pittman, Pacific Northwest Audio Society
From the August, 2005 issue of Audioletter:
"There was another veil lifted between me and the music AND an overall improvement in reality as if real living performers were there, not a reproduction. Best twenty bucks I've spent so far in this hobby. (HAL-O 9's used on Amperex pinched waste tubes, Exemplar-modified Denon 2900 universal player)."
Francesco Porpora, Lecce, Italy
"Your HAL-O 9 damping tools was very useful to me, improving the sounstage of my ARC VT-100 MkII amp. I hope to buy from you again!"
Glenn Oey, Oakland, California
"I'm very happy with the HAL-O tube dampers. It did more than take care of my microphonics problem. Sonically, it improved in areas I did not expect. Tighter bass & improved imaging are a couple of obvious areas."
Youichi Yoshida, Kawasaki, Japan
"These be very cool gadgets. And I love the way they look."
Phil Koslow, Brooklyn, New York
"The dampers arrived on Friday, and I'm happy to say that they're doing exactly what I hoped they would do: i.e., eliminate the edginess I was hearing in the upper reaches of the violin's range. (I spend a lot of time listening to chamber music, so you'll appreciate that this was not a minor issue.) I'm also perceiving some added definition in the bass and a subtle firming up of the image; all in all, this has to be the most cost-effective enhancement I've made to my system so far. Thanks for providing such a useful product and such efficient and courteous service."
Keith Lockwood, Mount Pleasant, Michigan
"They sure do work well for me. My ARC stuff loves(needs) these. They are a 'must have' item for anyone(everyone) who owns tubes. I'll be back for more."
Matthew MacKay, Charlottetown, Canada
"I love my tube dampers--best value per tweak doller I've spent. And they look so cool too!"
Buyung Soeharmadji, Jakarta, Indonesia
"The tube damper yes it really works. They make my system sounds more like high end, I think."
Lodovico Avogadro, Torino, Italy
"Two fantastic HAL-O 35 are now damping my tubes, working perfectly! I will surely order something more in the future."
Scott Simonds, Whitmore Lake, Michigan
"Purchased dampers for my preamp, dac and amp. All I can say is wow, this is the best tweak I've experienced in thirty years as an audio enthusiast. All the improvements others have noted. I wish I had tried these years ago! These dampers should come standard with all tube equipment, they are that necessary for optimum performance!"
Francisco Rodriguez-Consuegra, Valencia, Spain
"They work well. Immediate improvements noted, more musicality, less dryness, especially in symphonic orquestras, big tuttis, and similar. Thanks for the invention!"
John in NC
"Everything I have ever purchased from Herbies Audiolab has delivered with audible improvements to my system. Most recently, the Halo 9 tube dampers that I recently installed on the 6922 tubes in my Raysonic CD 128 CDP. The Halo dampers are my favorites. Not only do they work, they work amazingly well and have brought a level of realism, clarity, increased soundstage, and enhanced imaging that I did not expect. Most impressive is the natural timbre of instruments and voices that these vibration killing wonders have unleashed. Steve, you are a genius. Anyone who prejudges these tweaks as snake oil just doesn't know what they are missing.
David Speed, Canada
"The 9's made a good difference on my Jolida cd player. Thanks."
Mike McCoy, Austin, Texas
"Love my HALO's. I'll be needing one more for the Rectifier soon."
Patrick Ngu, Singapore
"The ebony dampers are magnificent in my preamp, and I simply cannot live without them now."
Jerry Singer, Norfolk, Virginia
"I'm hooked. Incredible detail, and Alison Kraus even sounds right! Cleaner highs, better bass, and clarity. All the stuff everyone else said. You have a great ear in designing this stuff.
"Indeed, a mix of the nickel and PEEK HAL-O 9's is what really dialed in my system. I have a chieved an incredible balance of detail and musicality, although I have to say, since incorporating the dampers I have spent 20 hours or so redialing in everything in my system, as it was way overdamped before due to an over-exuberant treble which the dampers eliminated. The info on your web site was spot on in this regard, and thanks as well for your personal advice.
"Thank you for your 90-day return business model. It allowed me to try every possible permutation of damping the 20 tubes in my system. What has worked out best is damping the 12AX7's on my Rogue M150 monoblocks with PEEK, and the 12AU7 drivers with nickel HAL-Os. Awesome sound. Appreciate your fine product and great service."
Chris Sherman, Richmond, Virginia
"I own several tube amps and preamps. I have tried other dampening devices, but have found yours to be the most effective and attractive looking, at the best pricing.Your customer service is wonderfull as well."
Scott Simms, Pleasanton, California
"This is the second set of HAL-Os for my system and they sound great; better bass control, sweeter highs and improved imaging."
Choy Seong Lin, Victoria, Australia
"I warmed up my Welborne Labs Laurel amps for about half an hour and had a good listen to my favourite track before fitting the HAL-Os onto the 300Bs. And WOAH! A really, really evident change in the sound! A change for the better that is. Instruments sounded cleaner and clearer, vocals became more forward-sounding and very well defined! I didn't think that it would bring such a big improvement to the overall sound!"
Josh T., Brooklyn, New York
"I received the tube damping instruments last week. I listen primarily to jazz and I'm hearing bass lines that I simply did not hear before. Thank you!"
Manchiu Tam, Salem, Oregon
"I put six nickel HAL-O 27's on the EL-34's and one teflon Hal-O 9 on the ECC803's of each TAD-1000 monoblock. The 27's were a third
down from the top, the 9's midway down. I have read reviewers mentioned things like hearing lower noise floors, and I am sure I was hearing that as well. I also think that more than hearing something, I was NOT hearing something or somethings. The music appeared out of the black, suddenly much more relaxed; like layers of glare and grunge had been taken out, leaving me with just the music. It was more pure. I was getting more and more impressed with the sound of the system."Then, we get to the insides of the pre-amp where the tubes reside (Audio Experience Symphonies Plus). The three EH 12AX-7's all were covered by their own metal shrouds which were springloaded. I removed them. The 6x4 tube had a rubber ring around it acting as a tube damper I guess. I removed that. On went three teflon HAL-O 9's onto the 12AX7's midway down and one teflon HAL-O 7 onto the 6x4, a third down from the top. I listened with the cover off, just in case I needed to do something to the dampers. The soundstage opened up wider and deeper than before, instruments and singers more there, bigger. I truly believe the pre-amp is the one place where your tube damping instruments can render fantastic results. Maybe putting these on small signal tubes, therebyaffecting the signal before it goes to the power amp, has something to do with it; sort of like nipping them in the bud, them being microphonic hash, glare, distortion. I then moved the damper down to the middle of the tube on the 6x4 and was rewarded with another increment of improvement, especially imaging.
"At this point, I was absolutely flabbergasted and amazed at how much the system has changed. So one more tweak, lower the dampers to the middle of the EL34's rather than a third down from the top. This seemed to have a mild effect, perhaps a tad more warmth, maybe even less glare, more relaxed."
Guitar Player, Japan
"I put the HAL-Os on my three 12ax7 pre-amp tubes on my Fender HotRod Deville 212. Wow, what a difference in clarity and overall tone of the amp. No more microphonics for me. Thank you for offering such a great product."
Ken Floyd, U.S.A.
"I ordered your tube dampers on a lark. I figured $20 was a fair price to pay for the outside chance of an improvement in sound. I have two 12AX7A tubes in a phono stage in my system and was fairly pleased with the sound. But a music lover is never really pleased with the sound so I took a chance. Yikes! What a shock to hear the difference. The slight sheen on top was gone. The instruments and vocals were more distinct in the soundstage. Everything sounded better. I could even listen at lower level without feeling I was missing anything (well, the volume control was backed off somewhat but it sounded as loud)."
William Glanz, Sweden
"I'm very satisfied, thank you!"
Don Barber, Shepherd, Michigan
"Thanks, the tube dampers are truly amazing!"
B. Ravi, Lower Hutt, New Zealand
"The Halo-9 on my preamp tubes gave a major improvement which I did not anticipate, as the preamp was already well isolated with sorbothane feet and the PCB inside was isolated with earlier generation Spectra Dynamics compliant washers."
Rob Trankley, Richmond, Indiana
"The ones I borrowed from a friend of mine worked very well, indeed, on my amp (thus I ordered these the next day). I have had good luck with your dampers, first buying a set a couple of years ago for my Lectron JH30. My Ming Da MC88C responds wonderfully to having your dampers on its 5 small tubes (four 12ax7 and one 12au7). I was surprised, as it is completely hard-wired, and I had thought the dampers worked well only on amps utilizing circuit boards. I continue to learn things every day about this hobby!"
Eric Liu, Milpitas, California
"I installed the HAL-Os on my Sonic Frontiers Line3 preamp. I hear the improvement on focus and details right away. Very happy with your products."
Igor Broytman, Brooklyn, New York.
"Just wanted to say thanks for the damping tube rings. It made a huge difference on my Sonic Frontiers Line-1 pre-amp. It lowered the noise tremendously. I used to hear a hiss noise coming from the tweeters in 10-15 inch distance, now I can hear it only if my ear almost touching the tweeter."
Steve Keitzer, Jacksonville, Florida
"I bought your halo's for my 6n1p and 5ar4 tubes and I am amazed at how much they improve the sound. I've had to put them on and remove them several times to verify that what I was hearing was real. They are a great product and stupid good for the money."
Mike Fultz, Vashon, Washington
"Love these!!!"
Byron Kelly, Kingwood, Texas
"I have tried a lot of differenet tweaks over the years and most of them had no impact and those that did were minimal at best. Your tube dampeners installed in my Aesthetix Janus preamp on the other hand had a dramatic impact. Without using all of the traditional jargon, let's just say that there is now a lot more music coming out of my speakers, it is easier to listen to and I just want to keep going and going and...well, going."
Tony Slafta, Lawrenceville, Georgia
"I have used HAL-Os on the 6SN7s in my Hurricane amps for about 2 years now, they do the job quite well."
John Garrett, Battle Ground, Washington
"I REALLY love the Hal-o dampers!!!!! Wouldn't use tubes without them."
Milton D., Brighton, Massachusetts
"I noticed an improvement immediately. I was really surprised because I've never fooled around with trying to make improvements before. I have a guitar amp, and it makes just a nice difference."
Paul Mann, United Kingdom
"Your dampers are doing an excellent job in my system, especially on Bendix 9600's."
Paul Girolamo, New Hampshire
"Thanks! They did the trick. Got rid of some nasty el84 rattle going on. Very happy!"
Sidney Wang, Nesconset, New York
Craig Ericksen, Mississippi
"I really enjoy the HAL-Os that I am using with my ARC gear -- so much so that I'm going to get some for my headphone amp."
Reg Sanders, MD, Washington, DC
"BTW, I love your products. I was surprised how much an upgrade the Peek dampers were over the baseline dampers."
Geoff Kait, Falls Church, Virginia
"I ordered a full complement for my BWS-modified Fisher 500C receiver -- 4 dampers for the aircraft quality power tubes and 5 for the Amperex 12AX7s. I had given up on tube dampers a long time ago, but I have to say Herbies Tube Dampers are awesome!"
Gert Pottelberghe, Belgium
"The tube dampers arrived yesterday and they work very well. Great value for the money. Bass is better defined and controlled. Depth is better and instruments are better separated. Thanks."
Miro Baitgofsky, Ajax, Ontario
"You guys are great communicators and easy to deal with. I have ordered a quad of Teflon rings for my preamp. After installation the sound improved immensely. I'm very happy with your product."
Steve Keitzer, Jacksonville, Florida
"I love your damping instruments; they make a subtle but ultimately huge difference."
Tony Leung, Singapore
"Here are my initial comments on the Hal'O 9:
- Difference is immediate.
- Have a more 'solid' tone than before.
- Vocal seems to have more body.
- Overall tonality improved.
- Good Job Steve!"
Irving R. Clemo, Castro Valley, California
"Installed my HALOs on my Audio Mirror SET monos -- man, what a difference! Much cleaner, much more separation and detail, and MUCH better bass! The sound is a little firmer, but is loaded with life-like verve, snap, extension and harmonic balance -- a lot like a good NOS Sylvania tube. Vinyl especially is another world entirely; my records now have much more authority and life force to them. An amazing difference! Couldn't be more satisfied."
Alan Brain, Peru
"My main amplifier is a Conrad Johnson MV50. WOW--The soundstage is amazing and has more depth. Also, there is a lot of air between the instruments. The background is silent and the voices have more detail.
"I thought of the tubes without the rings as a ship in a very hard storm, so it was difficult to reproduce everything so accurately and now it is like the storm continues but the ship has thrown an anchor and has more stability to reproduce the sounds. Thanks a lot Herbie from the distant Peru."
Ron Crawford, Washington
"I recently installed my first set of HAL-Os on the two EL84 power tubes in my combo guitar amp, and they work great. So well, in fact, that even though my audible vibrations were clearly coming form those power tubes, I’m considering adding HAL-Os to the three 12AX7s as well."
Moreno Mitchell, Witchita, Kansas
"I received the tube dampners today. I own a $110,000 audio system, I play only 2 channel music, and I have tried many tweaks to only be disappointed, however I can honestly say your product is simply amazing, I have not experienced a product at this cost that made so much of an impact to my music. Your product actually does what it says it can do. The background in every CD I have played has jumped out at me, I hear things on my system that I have heard before, however now it is as though the musicians have stepped up to the mic's. You have a real winner, all I can say is THANKS!!!"
Jon Papajcik, Chicago, Illinois
"The tube dampers are great. Made an immediate and noticeable difference in my phono pre and tube dac. There's just more detail, or maybe the noise floor has dropped. Hard to describe, but there's more detail there."
John Parks Jr., Birmingham, Alabama
"PEEK HAL-O 9 dampers made a huge, immediate improvement with tubes on the DAC. Dynamics came forward, subtle nuance I guess you'd call it jumped right into place. Very nice."
John Honinx, Antwerpen, Belgium
"The Hal-o i recieved are just amazing, never expected such a huge impact on the overall quality. You are really doing a great job. Thanks a lot."
Peter Camperos, Altadena, California
"I just wanted to let you know that with your PEEK halo dampers I am hearing much deeper into the music than ever before. I decided to wait approx a month before I sent in my comments on the PEEK halo dampers. I also decided this was really what my tubes needed or should say was missing. I took out the dampers for a couple of days and then put them back on my all tubed integrated amp. I can honestly say that this is not a tweak but a necessity for any one seeking to bring out the best of their audio system. To say that I am happy with the results is an understatement."
Robert Brown, Ottawa, Canada
"Your tube dampers are awesome! I can't believe how good my amp sounds!"
Albert Lee, Ontario
"The Tube Dampeners work very well on my SET tube amp. The noise floor dropped quite a bit. The background is blacker. There is more subtleness to the music (especially classical). I can hear more detail that was not present before. I wholeheartedly thank you for the amazing product. It made quite an improvement to my system."
Philip Lemanski, Tucson, Arizona
"The PEEK tube damper has been a wonderful surprise. My tubed universal (apl hifi re-designed Denon 3910) came with the original halo, so I wasn't expecting much with the upgrade of a damper. I'm so glad I was completely wrong in that assumption. I just re-read your description of the effects while I was shopping for more of your stuff and it was dead on. Finally, the highest octave of the piano is rendered correctly. Thanks. That was driving me crazy -- didn't know what was causing it."