Can an amp overdamp a speaker?

In the purely hypothetical sense, no. Damping factor is like distortion . . . in absolute terms, there are specs that are better and there are specs that are worse . . . in the case of damping factor, higher is better, and in the case of distortion, lower is better.

But they are both woefully inadequate in terms of measuring an amplifier's sound quality, and completely worthless as published specifications. There are both great-sounding and terrible-sounding amps with high damping factors and with low damping factors.

Looking at the specs on the Totem I think you'll have no problem. The little boogers are 4 ohm and fairly low efficiency. The 4 ohm resistance actually lowers the effective damping of the whole amp/cable/speaker system. In general, damping is less important with a smaller number of smaller drivers, but it'll still be a positve.

The Belles' 500 watts into 4-ohm is not an issue. Just set the volume by ear and you won't blow anything up or fry your tweeters.

I'm sure you've thought of this, but you'll need excellent sources and cables or that setup will reveal any shortcomings.

Let us know how you like it after you've got it set up.

Dave

Thanks for the replies.
Of course making decisions based solely on damping or specs is foolish. But the more information I have, the more I can whittle down my huge list. Funny though, the list is getting bigger, not smaller. Now I'm looking at Bel Canto's line of e.one amps. Particularly the 300 series.

Coming at this issue with my speaker designer hat on, in my opinion it is possible for a speaker to be either overdamped or underdamped by an amplifier. Most speakers today are designed with high damping factor solid state amps in mind, but then those speakers may be underdamped (too much bass) when driven by a low damping factor specialty tube amp. On the other hand, a speaker designed to work well with a low damping factor specialty tube amp may be overdamped (not enough bass) when driven by a solid state amp.

Blame for a mismatch (resulting in too much or too little bass) is often incorrectly attributed to the amp or to the speakers, when really it's a component compatibility issue.

To zero in on your second question, a higher damping factor is not always a good thing - it depends on the speakers. My speakers can be tuned for either type of amplifier, but in my opinion they perform best with a low damping factor amplifier.

Duke
dealer/manufacturer

Duke, I am confused. Can you please explain how one can tell by looking at a speaker response curve if it has a solid state or tube amp in mind? I always thought that those curves were amplifier-independent and any off-bass responses were the result of an amplifier's inability to keep up current at low impedances or room effects.

My understanding of speaker design tells me that the amplifier's output impedance affects the electrical Qe, which in turn, affects the speaker's Qt. If the damping factor is infinite (zero output source impedance) then the electrical Qe is just the voice coil and crossover resistances. Would this not be the ideal, the smallest possible value of Qe?

My view is that damping factor is way misunderstood. I think some envision the amplifier physically starting and stopping the speaker cones. It's the magnet that does that. The motion of the cone is the same no matter what the damping factor. What a high DF does is minimize the effect of any back emf, reducing distortion. Its measure also indicates the amplifier's ability to put out higher current at lower speaker impedances.

I would not even consider damping factor in choosing an amplifier, period. If an amp/speaker combo is not meant to be, you will hear it.