Anything as " fast" as SPECTRAL gear?

So far we've learned that Spectral is fast, MIT cables are slow and rolled off, and prices are too high. Anything else?

Thanks Atmasphere. Your amps speed is certainly remarkable.

"02-05-15: Psag
So far we've learned that Spectral is fast, MIT cables are slow and rolled off, and prices are too high. Anything else?"

People say I can get really annoying, really fast.

@Mapman ... I seem to recall Ralph (Atmasphere) posted comments some years back about the impact and import of high damping factors (DF) on woofer control. DF, of course is simply speaker impedance at a particular frequency (usually in the bass range), divided by the amp's output impedance at the same frequency.

As I also recall, Ralph may have said that a DF over 20 doesn't make that much of a difference in woofer control. In fact ... the dark side of a high DF is that it is oftentimes achieved by using high negative feedback (NF) which is used to achieve in part low output impedance, which augments high DF. Ralph has written much about the sonic downsides of using NF.

If Ralph picks up this post, I'm sure he'll fill in the gaps.

Bruce

P.S. -- FWIW, the slew rate of my ARC Ref 150 is 13 volts/microsecond. The vaunted ARC GS-150 is the same. The mighty ARC Ref 750 is 20 volts/microsecond.

My point ... I have no idea what it all means.

But top rated and reviewed ARC amps like the Ref 150, the GS 150 and the mighty Ref 750 have slew rates nowhere near Ralph's amps which he says are 600 volts/microsecond.

Maybe Ralph can put this spec into perspective for us.

Bifwynne, yes you got that all right. I think. Damping is overkill at some point. Exactly at what point that is is somewhat debatable and would vary case by case I suspect. There is a correlation between damping and speaker control but not a hard formula. Like most things in this hobby theory and results may not always jive. In general though I believe it beneficial for an amp to have proper control over speaker transducer operation just like it is important that component impedances match beyond a certain range for best results.

The negative feedback argument is a mixed bag as well I think. Some things work well together and others don't. No one aspect of design determines results. Fast slew rates are surely a good thing though.