Tube dampener rings

[Diynot]

Legit cure for tube rattle or snake oil? My Swart 6v6se has some wicked rattle that I’d like to put in check.

 

[jwin615]

High temp orings will be a lot cheaper and shockingly similar in appearance I bet.

 

[Diynot]

High temp orings will be a lot cheaper and shockingly similar in appearance I bet.

At 44 cents a piece (not including shipping) they aren’t going to break the bank.

 

[GAStan]

High temp orings will be a lot cheaper and shockingly similar in appearance I bet.

At 44 cents a piece (not including shipping) they aren’t going to break the bank.

I've got some of these, they feel like a silicone material and are a bit stretchy.

(Un)Fortunately I don't have any tubes with a rattle so don't know if they work. But at 44 cents I'd give it a try, especially if I needed to order other things anyway.

 

[iamjackslackof]

I have heard they are useless snakeoil, but for the price, who cares? Not like it's a $1000 power cable or some other audiophile nonsense.

 

[hamerfan]

I have an old Roland Bolt 30 amp with very special (aka rare aka expensive) RCA 7591A output tubes. These are 6L6 with a different pinout. These boogers started to rattle. I bought 4 rings and use 2 on every output tube. Works for me!
( Okay, okay i could rewire the tube sockets and buy a set of 6L6 - or get some russian reissue 7591A, but hey i am cheap and lazy)

 

[Ginsly]

I think these helped me out years ago with a rattly Prosonic combo...

Pretty sure I used two or three per tube, and it did indeed make a difference. I think tubes can rattle for a couple different reasons, so it may or may not help - worth trying though!

 

[Alan W]

I tend to throw these on power tubes and preamp tubes (that aren’t in the metal can surrounds). I have bags of different sizes that I get at McMasters. Even if the tube doesn’t seem to rattle, the glass most likely (see how unscientific I can become, fast?) vibrates at some sympathetic frequencies, and the rings probably damp that. Hard to say, especially in a combo amp, where everything is vibrating like crazy anyway.

But I will say that I’ve heard tube hi-fi amps improve in clarity from using dampers, and with tight fitting sockets, too.

 

[Diynot]

Thanks for the replies. I have a couple on order with fingers crossed. Also ordered up a 6L6 to try in this little beasty. The folks at Swart seem to lean towards trying different tubes to find one that doesn’t rattle, but as good as their amps are, I imagine it is hard to mitigate it in such a small cabinet.

 

[tegendemuur]

Well, I guess there's more use to these if they don't solve your problem.

 

[Joben Magooch]

I had them in an old amp years ago (ac30) and it did seem to work nicely for me. Might’ve been placebo but they’re so cheap there’s basically no downside to trying imo

 

[hamerfan]

The placebo rumor is based on the promise to improve the fidelity of tube hifi amplifiers, which is nonsense.