Unfortunately, our beloved Al (almarg) is no longer with us. If you search the archives, you might find some of his insights that may help. Al is sorely missed, that's for sure. He was one of our very finest.
Damping Factor and Overall Negative Feedback.
These specifications are assigned to some amplifiers but what is the difference between them? I had thought they were the same thing. I read the specs on a Karan Acoustics KSA 450 amp today with a high damping factor (?dumping factor?) and no overall negative feedback.
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@waltersalas so very well said ! Miss him and this is a good reminder to savor his memory and contributions which were many. to the recent responder, i’m not a big fan of negative feedback as Al eloquently stated because of the temporal distortions. There are designers who favor and those who disfavor the use of it. Volumes written, endless debate, cults created, etc….. I will say this as a long time Music reference RM-9 amplifier owner and listener, it is an easy amp to evaluate the sonic temporal impact of 3 different levels of negative FB with, just be sure to level match. Draw your own conclusions. |
Two different things, although sometimes talked about in the same sentence. Often we can improve the damping factor and reduce distortion by increasing negative feedback, but it's not the only way to achieve this. For instance, adding more output stages can also improve the damping factor without requiring more negative feedback. |
You may want to check this out. It’s a somewhat raw previously unpublished chapter of a book from Roger A. Modjeski, the designer of the amplifier referenced by @tomic601 a couple posts above: While the whole chapter is a good read the discussion on feedback and damping starts with the 3rd paragraph. |
- 17 posts total