The Cool Damper is a radical new device for the tube accessory industry from EAT – EuroAudioTeam. This beautifully crafted audio product offers much more than simply adding a new styling twist to your valves, it also brings exceptional acoustic performance and function to your system by delivering sound that redefines the tube dampening category.
Carefully chosen materials for our Cool Damper device allows using it as a truly effective vibration-consuming damper. This results in reduced distortion from the tube circuit, as well as vastly reducing the tendency of most vacuum tubes to act in a microphonic manner. In addition, the sound from a component utilizing Cool Dampers can be heard to have more controlled and deeper bass, a cleaner sound stage, crisper and greater dynamic range, and better focus of the entire sound field.
The Cool Damper also reduces the operating temperature of the vacuum tube by about 10%, which of course acts to appreciably extend the lifetime of the tube.
The Cool Damper is a result of many years of rigorous research and development. This high-fidelity, consumer-friendly product is easy to install, and fabulously simple in design. We found, from all tested materials, that the most suitable is a relatively soft aluminum extrusion coated with a special blended mix of Teflon and Carbon composite PTFE. The precise shapes of the EAT Cool Dampers are finished with long-lasting anodic oxidation colours. This makes these cooling rings an aesthetically attractive, as well as functional, accessory for your valued vacuum tube equipment.
For flexible and easily detachable contact of the aluminum body to the sometimes erratic cylindrical surfaces of various tubes, we use six special carbon-teflon composite stripes (V profile). Appropriate design and materials of the Cool Dampers compensate for the naturally resonant tendencies of both glass and aluminum, and work to transform active vibrational energy into thermal energy, which is then dissipated as heat radiation.
Tube dampers in one form or another have been around for many years, but these from EAT are so much more effective than any previous efforts that they deserve to be auditioned on their own merit.
Actual testimonial from an Elusive Disc, inc. customer regarding the EAT Vacuum Tube Cool Dampers: "OK, I admit that I am an audiophile tweaker. Many times I have acquired items that at least had a technical basis, but really were not that significant in terms of audible improvements. So when I saw the ad for the EAT vacuum tube dampers, I was somewhat drawn to the idea. I had paid extra dollars to obtain very low noise, very low microphonic driver tubes, have tried various tube dampers over the years (remember the ones from Florence, Italy, with the springs, the ebony and the brass cone?) and currently use Halo tube dampers, that at least were not spring-loaded. When you ran the sale on the EAT, I succumbed to that elusive siren of audio nirvana and bought four."
"I really didn't think that much would happen other than a new visible and interesting tweak. How wrong I was."
"I could barely believe my ears when I easily replaced the Halos with the EATs. Everything you have stated about the audible improvements are validated and then some. I had no idea how much "noise" and distortion was present prior to the EAT dampers. While my system was very involving, with good soundstaging, base and timbre control, and dynamics, the EATs easily could be compared to a megabuck upgrade in power cords and interconnects. I just wanted to take the time to thank you for promoting a real significant audio advancement. I can't imagine anyone with tube gear that would not benefit from such a modest investment for such a major improvement." - Jack S.
Dimensions:1 5/16" (D) x 15/16" (T)
How it works?
1. Dampers are from the factory preinstalled. This means 6 pieces of the V profiles are positioned in the middle of the hexagon.
2. By moving the V profiles along the face away from the corner it is possible to move it closer to the center of the hexagon and thus the valve wall. By this simple expedient, tubes from 19 mm to 22 mm in diameter can be accommodated, which covers most eventualities.
3. Diameters of the most valves are usually smaller on the top of the erratic glass envelope than on the bottom. By sliding the valve over damper in an up side down position (see picture on the right) you can easily install it. In a case, damper slides down the glass or is to narrow just change position of the V profiles (see pictures A, and C).
Where do you use EAT Cool Dampers?
Inner side of the damper has 3 × 6 channels for a wide range of diameters from 19.5 to 22 mm. This means it fits to the following valves:
• 12AT7: ECC81, 6201, E81CC, ECC801, B309, 6060, 6679, 7728, CV455, CV2016, CV8154
• 12AU7: ECC82, E82CC, 6067, B339, 5814, 6189, 6680, 7730, CV491, CV8155
• 12AX7: ECC83, E83CC, ECC803, 7025, 5751, 7058, 7729, 6681, CV492, CV8156
• 6DJ8: ECC88, E88CC, 6922, EL84, EF86 and many others.