How much power is to much power?

What does "effective damping" mean then? :-)

I think what you are referring to is not damping. Rather, it is the sheer power.

I have 4 amps in the house, from 8Wpc 300B SET to 200/400Wpc into 8/4ohm load all SS power amp. The damping factor ranges from 5 to 700. I would not say a higher damping factor will yield the best bass for all kinds of music.

I've found that for Jazz and string music, a mid level DF will yield the best bass to my ears. A high DF means a dryer bass, again to my ears.

You probably like a little bloom in your bass, which is not uncommon. I listen to lots of music with tons of bass and I play in orchestras and bands with "real bass" so I don't like any added bloom.

DF is a technical term that doesn't adequately explain the ability of an amp to control the woofers. If your SET amp had a damping factor of 1000 it still couldn't control many woofers.

Dave

I think ‘power’ is overrated in most situations. It is not necessary to have “1000 watt monoblocks” to achieve good [or great] sound. The Lavardin IT, rated at a modest 50 watts per channel in integrated form has sounded more organized and composed than some 500-watt (very expensive) monoblocks in side-by-side comparisons. It is true that some speaker designs require more power, and there are some esoteric brands that build speakers with these requirements. In your case this is not the case (sorry). But power is not the whole picture. Personally I would never buy a speaker with such requirements.

Baroque_lover probably doesn't need much power because, given his nom de plume, he only listens to baroque music. The demands are totally different from Mahler or even a Beethoven piano sonata.

He's right, he and I wouldn't buy the same systems because we have different priorities. IF you listen to very dynamic music, then power can be very important, particularly if you speakers can use the power.

Dave

Yes, some bloom in the bass is nice. I've found live music has "bloom" too. The question is not if you need added bloom. Rather, if your amp had some bloom, would that sound more like live music to your ears?

The Lavardin amp can indeed sound like 500W monoblocks if the speakers are *very* sensitive and have a flat impedance curve.

My NP100 Platinum feels a bit lack of power when I play Beethoven Symphony No. 9, especially towards the ending. This is a time that I wish I had more power......