Copper Stoppers anyone?

[Zippy]

This is a new one on me - how it could work... I dunno.

Should tubes run cooler? Will a cooler glass envelope actually change the temperature of the elements in a vacuum?

http://www.audiotubes.com/damper.htm

"Stop tube vibration, microphonics, and electromagnetic hum problems dead with the massive, solid copper "Copper Stopper" tube damper. This unique tube damper/tube cooler is the most massive on the market. Made entirely of solid cast copper, it completly sheaths the tube within it's sixteenth-inch thick walls. A long cushion strip inside contains dozens of shock absorbing "fingers" that grip the tube gently. The combination of the heat resistant cushion, plus the sheer mass of solid copper surrounding the tube eliminate even stubborn ringing or microphonic problems. The damper can be adjusted up or down on the tube, effectively shielding the plates completely. It can also be lowered completly to the point at which it touches the metal chassis of your equipment, effectively grounding out stray RF or electromagnetic hum fields. It's large outer diameter effectively doubles the heat-radiating surface area of the tube, and it vents heat away from the tube like no other cooler can. Our listening tests reveal The Copper Stopper brings the music into sonic focus, puts air around the perfectly placed instruments, and both deepens and widens the soundstage. Forget those puny wire or plastic tube dampers, or ineffective finned tube coolers. This burnished solid-copper damper/cooler beats them all! Custom handmade and available ONLY from Brent Jessee Recording & Supply, Inc. "


[img:607:530]http://www.audiotubes.com/copper2.jpg[/img]

Any reasons this should work and have audible results?

[Gaz]

I can see how the physical mass would stop vibrations, but it seems like it would only inhibit cooling (how could it not?).

As far as shielding I call BS - we all know the shield must be grounded. I mean, that's exactly what makes a shield a shield, otherwise it's just a piece of metal sitting there, right?

[Prairie Dawg]

No. Such devices have been around nearly as long as tubes with similar claims. I have a few cappers for 01A tubes, circa early 1920s, and I have seen tubes with sprayed on metal shielding.

That does not mean that people won't swear up and down that these are the greatest thing since sliced bread.

[roberto]

12ax7s have a diameter of 22mm, and it seems around 2mm thick, so it's something like a Di=23mm De=27mm, height around 40mm, copper, so 9000 kg/m^3, so around 58 grams.

Four times the weight of the tube itself.
Could not be a good idea if your amp knocks something.

[Structo]

Yeah I saw those a while back.

The first brass ring looks like a coupler for plumbing.

Not sure what they put inside them to make them a snug fit to the tube.

If it doesn't conduct heat then they might cause the tube to run hotter.

But couldn't be any hotter than a tube shield.

There are heat sink type finned dampeners that do help to cool the glass.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/PEARL-MCF-9-12A ... 337bafdd78


According to Tomer in his "Getting the Most Out of Vacuum Tubes-1960" in Chapter 10
he has some tips for increasing tube life.

Running the tube at the specified filament voltage is first.

Reducing the surge of current at start up is another
Dampening vibration by mounting the tubes on a shock mounted socket.

And reducing operation temperature are all things that will help.

http://archive.org/details/GettingTheMo ... mTubes_105

[roberto]

Never seen that heater to cathode voltage vs failure plot, nice one Structo!

[renshen1957]

Yeah I saw those a while back.

The first brass ring looks like a coupler for plumbing.

Not sure what they put inside them to make them a snug fit to the tube.

If it doesn't conduct heat then they might cause the tube to run hotter.

But couldn't be any hotter than a tube shield.

There are heat sink type finned dampeners that do help to cool the glass.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/PEARL-MCF-9-12A ... 337bafdd78


According to Tomer in his "Getting the Most Out of Vacuum Tubes-1960" in Chapter 10
he has some tips for increasing tube life.

Running the tube at the specified filament voltage is first.

Reducing the surge of current at start up is another
Dampening vibration by mounting the tubes on a shock mounted socket.

And reducing operation temperature are all things that will help.

http://archive.org/details/GettingTheMo ... mTubes_105

The Pearl coolers work better if a fan is present.

Then again, a fan by itself might work better at cooling tubes.

The book Structo had a link to deal with weight on a glass surface eventually causing failure.

Best Regards,

Steve

[Firestorm]

Hmmmm...physics. Heat doesn't transfer through a vacuum. So it ain't that.

If it's grounded, it's a shield and might be bad or good.

But if it's just a damper (like neoprene rings- which I have a physics problem with too), well, I don' t know.

[telentubes]

Sorry that I can't get past the plumbing compression fitting or the section of copper pipe or the nylon "silicone" washer for $12.99, $24.99, and 2 FOR $4.99!!! respectively. The credibility of that site, which I thought I had learned a lot from, has just gone down the tubes, with all the other plumbing parts. Burnished copper? Give me a friggin' break.
It reminds me of back in the day when a certain well known mandolin player was selling contact pickups for $75 or $100 dollars or whatever. We soon discovered they were just heart monitors that you could get HANDFULS of at your local hospital for about a dollar, which we did, and glued into whatever we wanted to amplify. Like the tube gizmos, I'm not saying they won't work, or are or are not a good idea (I have no idea), I just can't get past that kind of hype.

[roberto]

Hmmmm...physics. Heat doesn't transfer through a vacuum.

This is why the sun always feels so cold.

[Reeltarded]

Isolation takes the life out of the sound. I don't like dampers on preamp tubes of any kind. The tube needs to vibrate along with the notes to raise Hell. I spend half my time chopsticking stuff to interfere on purpose inside the amp.

Power tubes may be a little different, but I am not convinced of that. When I run remote cabinets for recording I sometimes lay another cabinet on it's face wherever I am recording from to shake the amp head. I like it to be lively and organic..

I don't like great gobs of speaker wire any more than I like lamp cord either, except for the ability to lock it at both ends on a couple of my rigs.

I am not sure why people keep inventing things. All the good shit done been 'nvented 'long time'a go. I am copying 40-50 year old stuff with 40-50 year old parts.. sheesh.