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John Costanzo, My Kind of Music
"After many hours of experimentation with various Valve designs that include Audio Aero, EAR-Yoshino & Foundation Research V5 & V6, we, along with our clients, have come to the conclusion that these devices should not be viewed as an accessory but as mandatory requirements. In most cases, the listener has not realized the true capabilities of their system components; the Hal-O's simply allow the listener to realize this. In addition, they offer excellent Return on Investment. Highly Recommended."
Chris Elliott, New Hampshire
"The HAL-O 9s arrived last week. I installed them on the 6922s of my ARC LS-15, and they made a noticeable improvement to the focus of vocals, soundstage width, and tonality."
Luis Lopez, New York
"I received my Hal-os last week (thanks for the quick shipment) and the difference was WOW!!! Really nice separation, clean soundstage, controlled, tight, deep bass, and most of all, the smearing and dirt was gone--heck, I didn't even know it was there to begin with. I'm new to tube amplification in home audio, and have been happy with the warmth and harmonics as compared to solid state, so I typically blamed the recording itself for any grainy and/or smeared sound. I had read about the microphonic nature of tubes but wasn't hearing pings or wierd echos. But now, almost everything sounds good, cds and lps. It's like I have all new gear. I know I'm gushing here, but I've spend about $600 on NOS tubes, and while they (Mullard, Teles, Sylvania, etc) marked a significant upgrade over new Russian or Chinese stock, I still wasn't getting that incredible musicscape that everyone was talking about, not until these little dampers arrived. (Amp: TAD-60 -- Preamp: TAD-150)"
T.R., California
"These Peek dampers are SIMPLY AMAZING! Before installing these, I already thought my system was so awesome already. What more do I want? But now it's even warmer yet still dynamic, maintaining realism, clarity, and detail. The midrange is SUPERB, not suppressed at all, and everything just seems right. Front-row seat has never been better --simply PURE MAGIC! Everyone who has tube gear should use these. I don't know why none of the dealers I know use them. I guess they rather that I upgrade my cables?"
Mike Waite, Charlottesville, Virginia
"Wow, ordered on Friday and got the package on Monday. Nicely done! At this level of equipment quality it usually takes a lot of effort and money to produce any noticeable improvement in overall sound quality. I was not prepared for the quantum improvement I heard last night. Thanks for the great products!"
Allen Cahill, Maine
"After an hour or so with the dampers in place there was in my opinion a move toward greater definition and clarity, without any harshness or brightness. The sound was fuller."
Gilles Lacroix, Canada
"HAL-O 9 PEEK: The improvement was noticeable the moment that I installed it. There is a quietness in the sound now that was not there with other dampers. Also, there is more precisions and feelings to the sound. Can't live without it now!"
David Greene, Black and Greene Records, Los Angeles, California
"Your audio mat and Halo-9 tube dampeners have totally changed the quality of my system. I think the Unisom Unico should come with Halo-9's because the difference is SO huge. My low end is much tighter and deeper, and the entire sonic soundstage is more full and colorful! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!"
William Robinson, New York
"I realized right away the HAL-Os work a heck of a lot better than those ebony disk thingies from Shun Mook that go on top of tubes, and which cost a lot more. I guess I can sell the disks on Audiogon, though. Heck, I've got no use for them anymore."
Jim Yeasky, New Jersey
"I received the Hal-O's yesterday afternoon. Installed and auditioned them last night. I LIKED what I heard. To use fishing lingo, these are keepers. I am going to set up an analog tube front end soon, so I foresee the need for many more of your Hal-O's. I now can't envision using a tube without your damping instrument. I used the Hal-O's on my ASL Explorer DT mono blocks which use ECC83 input, KT88 driver and 805 50w triode output tubes. WOW!"
Kurt Miller, Worthington, Ohio
"I came across your products by accident via the web and went ahead and ordered for all the tubes. I have a Cary SLI-80 all-tube integrated that has all the best NOS replacement tubes and, with Shakti Stones on the transformers, sounds great. But I knew things could be better.
"I started by using a couple of very familiar CD's and SACD's. I started with HAL-O's around the SN7's then added the 6922's, the KT-88's, and finally the RU4's. Each time I added a set of HAL-O's, things got noticeably better right away. I would not call the effect subtle and altogether the result was breathtaking --- especially in triode mode! I expected good results with input tubes, but I would have not believed it would make such a difference on power and rectifier tubes. Your product is superb!"
Mike, Cape Coral, Florida
"I received your Hal-O9 today. I just have to say they really do improve the sound quality; you have an interesting tweek here. I had my doubts, good job and thanks again!"
Cory Corbett, Illinois
"My tube dampers arrived yesterday and I am very impresssed. Lower noise floor, more realistic timber/tone and better focus. Excellent product!"
G. B., California
"Oh my. Suddenly, I could understand that Nora Jones lyric that was just a bit slurred before. Piano notes just a little less 'ringy' too. I can't say improvements were earth-shaking, but they were there, and very real, and a bargain for the price of a halo."
William Irvine, Roeland Park, Kansas
"Halo-9s arrived and worked perfectly to stop the EF86 from ringing. Great product!"
Simon Lau, Kowloon, Hong Kong
"I have bought some New NOS tubes for my amp: Amperex EL 34's, Mullard 5AR4's, Tungsol 5687, and Telefunken ECC81. While these tubes cost more than an arm and leg, they are fantastic tubes compared with EH's, GE's and Philips Jan I used to have. Together with your Halo rings, they just make the background even quieter, clarity with ooze of smoothness and soundstage just incredible. I highly recommend your Halo's to people using NOS tubes, just gets that much closer to 100% operating efficiency!"
Martyn Balsky, Halifax, Nova Scotia
"I have placed the 6 hal-o damper’s on my Hovland preamp. My first impression was greater dynamics, mostly noticed in the bass region. I am also getting much more information. I seem to have more volume for the same setting, but perhaps that is due to the reduced noise floor?"
David Finnegan, Saratoga, California
"I received the six Hal-O that I ordered two days ago. I placed two on the 6N1P's in my phono stage and four on the 6922's in my linestage. I think that these have greatly improved the focus of the sound and defined better the bass in my system and I am, thus, very pleased."
John Revilla, Walnut, California
"Your Halo 9 improved my AH Njoe Tjoeb 4000 bigtime!"
Joe Mendez, Sammamish, Washington
"I've been using your tube dampers with great effect for over a year now. The Hal-Os are very effective and seem to apply just the right amount of damping. Other damping devices I've tried tend to dull the sound of tubes a bit."
Steven Jeffcoat, Herndon, Virginia
"I received my Hal-O's last week. I put them on all six Siemens 6922's in my Sonic Frontiers Line-1. Immediately there was a layer of grunge that was stripped away and music just became clearer and more focused. I can understand the clarity issue, but the improvement in imaging was a real surprise. Instrument placement was just so much more exact."
Andrew Szymanski, Australia
"I have installed HAL-O 9s on my input and driver tubes (Tenor 75 Wp). It was amazing difference; it is 'must have tweak' with this amp."
Norm Luttbeg, College Station, Texas
"I got the Hal-O 60s today and put them on my TJ300Bs. The noise level dropped and everything is so much more vivid and dynamic. Great stuff."
Steve Rouse, Ambience Audio
"Having used Top Hats for years, I was unprepared for the improvement that I heard in my single-ended amps when I first installed the HAL-O tube dampers. There was an increase in clarity, with better focus and they presented a more holographic soundstage. They are the real deal."
Jason McGuire, Florida
"I have owned Ensemble Tube Socks and Vintage Tube Services Mini-tube Dampers, and neither came close to the quality improvement that the Hal-O 9 Dampers have done. The combination of value and performance of the Hal-O 9 is truly amazing. The microphonics are gone and yet the minimal surface area contact allows for proper cooling. Plus, Steve shipped the order the same day and followed up with his support just to make sure I was happy. Steve, I am very happy!"
Jim Horton, Campbellsville, Kentucky
"Can you say CLARITY, IMAGING and FOCUS??!!! I installed your HAL-O's on the 6922 and EL84 tubes in my Cary V-12i and all these aspects improved dramatically. My wife says she has never heard a recording sound more real. Thanks for a superior product!"
Robert Wilcox, Marlborough, Connecticut
"The HALOs are very synergistic in my CD player. They sound a little less analytical than brass anchors. The tubes I am using are JAN Sylvanias 7308s. They sound better than the stock tubes (more lucid, detailed and better bass) but were a little forward sounding. The HALOs just sound a little more balanced than the anchors. The anchors can be a pain to adjust -- it is hard to get the set screws with the same degree of mild tension required. I think the HALOs are more consistent in how they apply pressure to the tube surface."
Adrianto Soekandar, Jakarta, Indonesia
"The HAL-O Tube Dampers really works! My Audio Research pre and Conrad Johnson amp now sounds higher-end! Blacker background, faster transient, smoother sound, cleaner treble, and also steadier imaging. Wow! You really have a winner product here for tube users :-)"
Luciano DeDonatis, Livonia, Michigan
"The tube dampers that I purchased earlier this year works very well for me."
Larry Morgan, Little Rock, Arkansas
"I was using Mapleshade tube anchors, but they made my tubes run hotter than hell. Before those, I used ARC dampers, but they stuck to the tubes and I couldn't switch them over to my new ones. I'm glad I finally bought the Herbie's dampers because they sound just as good as the Mapleshade and better than the ARC dampers. And, you don't have any of the drawbacks---you can just slide them on and off whenever you want."
Mike Grove, Euless, Texas
"I've been using Teflon encapsulated silicone o-rings as dampers on my nine-pin and octals for years and years and thought I was happy with them. I'd often wondered whether your hal-o's offered any improvement over the o-rings and I finally decided to given them a try. Well after giving the hal-o's a good solid audition this afternoon, I'm convinced that the answer is 'hell yes they do.' The last vestiges of hardness around upper frequencies are GONE, inner detail in the music is more evident ... you know -- the good stuff got more better."
James Fairhead, Midhurst, Canada
"Wow!! I have one SET-300B amp at the foot of each of my four Tannoy Churchills in my home theater. How was I to know? Simply putting one HAL-O on each 6sn7 receiver tube on each of the four amps brought the single largest improvement of anything I have done for years and for the money probably the single most important."
Brad Merila, Laurel, New York
"Regarding the PEEK 9's that I ordered, I installed them this morning (Dynaco ST-70) and listened to a few very familiar cuts. While I was not bowled over immediately, I will admit that I have noticed a bit more clarity in the sound. The bass does seem a bit tighter and the high end appears a bit clearer. I did hear some high end information in some recordings that I didn't know was there, so that is a step in the right direction. My soundstage appears to be the same as it was before I installed the dampers. I'll probably have do do some experimenting with placement; right now the dampers are installed not quite a third of the way down from the top of the tubes."
Randy Grinc, New York
"Excellent product, Steve. I have fitted all the tubes on my CJ MV60 and PV15 with HAL-O dampers. These things WORK!"
Fred Nater, Flemington, New Jersey
"I installed the HAL-O 9 on the 12BH7 driver tube of my amp. I am very impressed with the outcome!"
Don Nguyen, U.S. Army
"The tube damper arrived yesterday and has been running in my system for about 12 hours now. What a difference it makes in terms of sound stage and I am very pleased with it. Outstanding service!"
Bob Walters, Santa Clara, California
"I've installed the tube dampers -- great stuff!"
Morgan Hew, Burbank, California
"The Hal-O PEEK is very impressive indeed and it takes 10 hrs to fully shine. This is far superior compared to Top Hats, Tube Socks and damping rings. The noise floor of the tubes drop significantly and the quietness enable the component to sound louder. Certainly the bass frequency and highs have expanded; you can hear the improved deep bass and count the strands of each bass note in the jazz band. The voices have better clarity and stunning image details. The Hal-O just grabs the complexity of the orchestra raging score and release the music in control distinction. What blew me away are the un-anticipated improvements in sound from my preamp tube power supply with the Hal-O. Oh yes, the tubes in the power supply do make a sound difference with the Hal-O."
Geoff Fleet, England
"The improvement was noticeable straightaway. The main thing I noticed was that a layer of noise disappeared -- noise that I wasn't aware of before. This made the music pop out from a quieter background, allowing me to focus on the message and the details much more easily."
Garry MacDonald, Camino, California
"WOW -- THANKS! I just recently got a slightly used (2005) Peavey Classic 30 (guitar amp). I guess these are notorious for tube rattle. The four Nickel HAL-O 9s on the EL84 power tubes got rid of the rattle immediately."
Bill Turley, Ventura, California
"Never have I heard so much done by so little. My once excellent AI M3A is now brilliant with the Hal-Os installed. I could name specific improvements, but I hope you have heard them all before. This has to be the best value on the audio market. Listening to it now, I still can't believe it actually, but there you are."
Jerome Lizarondo, Manassas, Virginia
"The tube dampers work great. When I used the PEEK HAL-O 9s on my preamp tubes, they made my system sound a little too warm, but they were just perfect on the driver tubes."
Richard Fanning, Camberwell, Australia
"I consider myself very fortunate to stumble across your products -- in my opinion, in combination, they have been just as significant as carrying out a major upgrade to my system. Sorting out the amplifier in particular has made it perform way above its starting point! In my opinion, anyone not trying to sort out issues that your products address is missing out on a heap of their system's potential."
Tho Huynh, Southampton, United Kingdom
"On the smaller dampers fitted on my GE 5751 valves (also Raytheon, RCA); very IMPRESSIVE even though I had thought my Wavac MD805 would not make any further improvement as they are extremely good in sound quality. Very surprised: The bass is much more tuneful and one can feel the low frequency really absorb into one's body much more intense! Sound stage and mid range are a little better but I do not expect this because the Wavac amp is quite excellent in this regards.
"On the larger tubes the HAL-O Rings also work extremely well. The sounds seems to be louder and better tonal balance, slightly better bass, warm with good texture, altogether it gives a very grand scale of music. One thing that I really surprise is some of the 805 tubes I thought it came to their last leg of service time and I put them in the drawer for a long time, BUT I now put the RINGS on them and the small noise completely disappear and now they work fine no problems at all!
"I must say the dampers for the driver tubes is extremely effective, I can distinguish the bass from the drum and bass from guitar so vividly. PLAYING XRCD shows this with the warmth and intimacy that I have not experienced before."
Max Coutinho, India
"I recently purchased your Dampers for my MF XCAN V3 Headphone Amp and what can I say...They ROCK !!!"
Lars Sundin, Sweden
"To my opinion there is an overdose of snake oil products in the Hi Fi world, curing every problem heard or unheard of. I had a few of teflon dampers and changed to Blackbery. The sound changed pretty much like your description, even though I can not really understand why the ring material should make any difference at all. Even putting a damper on the rectfier tube made a difference, more 3D realism in general."
Dan Evans, Jacksonville, Florida
"The HAL-O #9's work beautifully in my system. I have an Art Audio Vinyl (phono stage) which is located OUTSIDE my listening room on a target shelf with a Neuance isolation shelf. I wasn't really expecting too much. But everything seemed to clean up and the imaging just won't be denied."
Erich Seehafer, Waldorf, Maryland
"I want to say thanks and tell you how much I'm enjoying the Hal-O-Rings I recently purchased. I've been playing guitar for just over forty years now, and I've always enjoyed the sound of the good old tube amps such as those made by Fender (in particular), Marshall, and Hiwatt. I played professionally for quite a few years and am very familiar with the tonal characteristics and performance capabilities of these amps. I love tweaks; over the years I've made some enhancements. By replacing and upgrading the speaker wire in my Hot Rod Deluxe I achieved an improvement in tone and output. Paying attention to biasing helps also. Now, the single biggest difference happened when I slipped five Hal-O-Rings onto my little Fender's tubes. The gain noise that has always been a part of my amps has all but vanished; that in itself is huge. Equally important is the tonal change: highs are less strident, plenty bright and, to me, more pleasing sounding. Mids are wonderful, can't ask for anything more in that range. Bass now has an organic sound and feel to it; hope this makes sense, but that's how I'm perceiving it, very cool. I'm getting the word out to my fellow guitar players, most like me, fiftysomethings who think they've heard it all. Wait 'til they hear the difference!"
Claudio Rocco, Santiago, Chile
"It was just over 48 hours ago that your tube dampeners arrived at my home, yet I felt compelled to write back to you to thank and praise these products. So far my CDs have shown improvement in bass reproduction as well as better instrument separation within heavy symphonic passages. Timbre has become more even during reproduction of a record as well. I have to tell you I was not very convinced before purchasing, but the effect is like 'placing a finger on a resonant light bulb,' and it really works! Sorry to take time away from you, but I thought it would be nice to send a personal word of thank you."
Keith Fertig, Mogadore, Ohio
"I'd say the HAL-O's improved everything 10 percent. The low/mid bass detail improved dramatically; I heard notes I've never heard before. Midrange is just phenomenal."
Jim Ricordati, St. Charles, Illinois
"Placed the dampers on all my tubes (ASL amps and preamp) and was pleasantly surprised at how much better the images of both voices and instruments were presented. The music emerged from a much darker background is how I would describe the effect. I would recommend the tube dampers as a worthwhile addition to any tube setup, and look forward to evaluating their impact on much more of my music collection. Thanks for a simple and effective product that works, and a speedy delivery service."
Elton Evans, Carson, California
"Things bloomed in front of my ears! Placement and Sound stage got very focused and voices became 3D and centered! Amazing!! The best part the room is not set up yet! So I know it can only get better, because I now can see what my system can do!"
Duke Dykstra, Madison, Wisconsin
"The new Black PEEK deliver the goods! I am amazed at the clarity my Amperex PQ 7119 have once the Black PEEK are in place. The nice thing about these Tube Dampers is the IMMEDIATE improvement."
Richard Schallenberg, Otago, New Zealand
"Thanks for those dampers. They work! Didn't completely remove the rattle of my EL84s (in a combo amp) but significantly reduced it. I think I'll keep 'em!"
Alfred Kainz, Apple Valley, California
"This dampening instruments are the best I've ever hear - great improvement! Thanks a lot!"
Larry Root, Miami Beach, Florida
"The PEEK sound is AWESOME so far! More detail than the old ones, but still very neutral and musical sounding. The biggest difference over the older ones I have heard so far is increased detail and clarity, also better tangibility re: imaging."
Dave Smalley, Stockton, California
"Well, the results are in and your HAL-O Blackbery tube dampers are definitely kicking some microphonics butt, at least so far in my Hammond system. After over e month of evaluation, trying different tubes, with and without your tube dampers, all I can say is you'll never see my 3 dampers back again!!! WOW are they sweet."
John Kruczek, Orefield, Pennsylvania
"I only ordered 2 HAL-O's to start, as my past experience with the 'normal' red silicone/rubber tube dampers out there was inconsequential at best. I put the HAL-Os on the tubes in the Ah player figuring it's best to kill the grunge at the beginning (Ei tubes). The results? WOW, and not a little wow. Let me tell you, these things do their job. We all suffer from unwanted harmonics from the systems themselves and room vibrations from the music we are making and the HAL-Os snuff it right out. Clarity and focus are everywhere. I used the HAL-O 9's in white at $10 each and it is simply the best 10 bucks any tube user can spend."
Jeff Zaret, Lancaster, California
"I only did some listening last night for about 30 minutes with the Hal-O 9's and it is like another level or veil was lifted from the overall sound I was used to. My preamp, Conrad Johnson Premier 17LS, had some kind of Teflon rings, 2 each on all 4 tubes but the Hal-O 9's made it better!"
Added: "I just purchased a set for my new amp, Conrad Johnson LP70S, which consisted of three HAL-O 9's which are the new BlackBery design and four HAL-O 45's. I do hear a bit more definition in the lower mids and at times there is also a bit more clarity throughout the entire audio spectrum which I can attribute to less vibration or unwanted harmonics from the tubes."
Frank Englander, Phoenix, Arizona
"The HAL-Os are working out very well. A big improvement in the Decware Taboo. Swapping between the HAL-Os and the Duende's on the Calypso was very close. Perhaps a slight improvement in the midrange, a little more detail. They do the job, very well and at a much better price point than the Duende's. For me that is a home run."
Eka Prasetya, Indonesia
"I'm receive the package yesterday noon. I think it improve accurate and dynamic for high frequency on my system. The sound more natural when I try to listen harp, violin, and flute from my chinese audiophile CD. The CD mat also improve too, the background more quiet.
"And, nice ordering from you, Steve. Also, you have a good attitude on your business. Thank you."
Bruce Mushrush, Pleasant Hills, California
"Blacker background, better dynamics, more detail, better imaging and a layer of veiling removed. A great budget tweak."
Bill Bostancic, Wooster, Ohio
" Hi. Received my tube dampers around a week ago and am very pleased. Seems to have tightened up the sound-sounds cleaner. Also pleased with the reasonable pricing. Too many companies overcharge for their products in the high end audio realm. Also pleased with the good service. Keep up the good work and I think you will be in business for a long time."