Damping factor is an amplifier measurement. It is 8 divided by the output impedance of the amp. Almost all solid state amps have an output impedance so low that the resulting damping factor is WAY in excess of anything meaningful as to the sound; it is largely an irrelevant specification. The exception is tube amps which tend to have a much higher output impedance, and therefore, a lower damping factor. There are some amps with output impedance of 2 ohms or so, for a damping factor of 4. These amps tend to work best with speakers with high and flat impedance curves; with lower impedance speakers, the frequency response will be affected. Tube amp manufacturers cannot easily reduce output impedance to increase damping factor, anything done for this purpose, such as increasing the turn ratio of the output transformer, will compromise the sound. That is why speaker matching to some tube amps can be trickier.
Do Harbeth speakers really need a 4000 damping factor?
Just got Harbeth C7ES-3 XD and using them with a "lowly" Yamaha A-S801 Integrated Amp - which with previous speaker (Canadian made Enigma) sounded OK. The Harbeth - are glorious with vocals and even piano sounds good but Orchestration seems somewhat muffled to me. I read that "Harbeth likes to demo with Hegel" (and Sugden?) but also that "Any good Amp will do".... The question is what is a good Amp? Would a Yamaha with 240 Damping factor suffice or really something like the Hegel with 4000? I am mentioning the damping factor specifically since it was such an obvious difference. On paper it looks like this might have a significant effect (assuming to the positive) on the sound. Any first hand experience opinions are appreciated.
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- 23 posts total
- 23 posts total