Preamp Deal of the Century

Walter, thank you. I don't live too far from the Asheville NC area, so that may be a possibility. I would enjoy that. I doubt your turntable needs any tweaking, but I am flattered that you would consider me for that task. I really would like to hear that Syrah with your analog front end. Perhaps one day soon, when my car is out of the repair shop, I could contact you.

Hey, That's excellent, Twl! I would enjoy it immensely. When your car is out of the shop, please do contact me. I'm actually about 30 miles west of Asheville--but still fairly close (perhaps even closer for you?). I just can't imagine a guy with your experience and knowledge wouldn't appreciate the Syrah. Best Regards.

Hey Fiddler, where did you get the Hal-O-Rings and how much did they cost? Does one ring per tube do the job? I have seen them somewhere, but I can't remember where.

Slowhand, I have seen the Hal-o tube dampers right here on the Audiogon Classified. I think that one of the main dealers puts an ad up regularly. They also have feet and other isolation materials of the same stuff.

I think that if you play reasonably loud, the dampers are a good idea for the Syrah. The Syrah has the tubes standing up right in the open. This allows alot of airborne vibration to get to them. Vibrating tubes in a preamp is not a good thing, because any vibrational effects that happen in them is going to be re-amplified many times as the signal proceeds down the amplifiction route. The situation would be the worst in the phono section tubes, where the amplification factor may be on the order of 100,000 times before it gets to the speaker. The Hal-O tube dampers seem to be a good design, and don't melt, from what I've heard. It is also important to get non-microphonic tubes for a preamp application, for the same reasons stated above. You see, the plates in the tubes also vibrate internally, causing anomalies. When you buy your tubes, make sure that they have been checked for microphonics, and accurately represented by the seller. Andy, at Vintage Tube Services, is very good for this.

The tube dampers sometimes make the sound less "airy" because in some cases, the "airy" sound is produced by some small level microphonic effects in the tubes.

Some people also put tube dampers on the tube bakelite bases to reduce vibration there, and sometimes even use a damping treatment to the tube sockets.

If you like some of the "airy" microphonic effect, you don't have to do all of the tubes, or use only one damper per tube, depending on your particular needs.

Mick advised that construction of my Syrah will begin next week. My order dates to mid-June. Perhaps a Thanksgiving day treat!
Thanks to all postings with advice on tube recommendation.This will be the next challenge. I have been working on dedicated power while waiting for the pre.
The Supratek will be be in front of Air Tight ATM3 mono amps. Listening to other tube preamps suggests the Syrah will be a great addition, especially with the phono ( LP12 ).