How much power is to much power?

I think that DF is slightly more than nothing, but not near so much as most audiophiles attribute to it.

Dave

My understanding is Df matters but there is a wide tolerance in values that will work in any particular application.

You have to listen and judge. At least with dynamic drivers, if the bass sounds mushy or soft, a higher damping factor may help but the actual value does not matter that much.

I thought Magfan's test validated my view. LOL

A shorted woofer is like an amp with extra high DF. It does not make sound because there is no force continuously driving it. That is control!

Try to put a 4ohm resistor with high wattage rating in serious with your speaker. The amp still has the same output power. But the bass will be very distorted.

QED! :-)

Yep:Vett93, that was the point.
Now, extend the model to include speaker 'Q'.....

Hello Stevechan:

"DF is simply load impedance divided by source impedance.

Nothing more"

Agree, withjust one very small clarification: this ratio is measured at one given frequency (industry standard). I believe its 1 kHz but I could be mistaken. My point is that if DF = 1,000 at one frequency then it can be 0.001 at another.

Thank you
Rafael