"take into consideration that DF is already limited to about 100 by XO inductor (approx. 0.08ohm) in series with the woofer."
Dunno how this works with the large OHM 5 Walsh/wave bending wide range driver so cannot say. If you do please explain. I would be most interested to learn!
I would agree that most likley little if any practical difference likely between damping of 850 and 1000 and perhaps even quite a bit lower, maybe down to 50 in many cases from what I read.
I sought relatively high damping factor for the OHM 5s as an insurance policy more than anything else given what I know about them. The BCs met my DF criteria (50-100 or above) but I chose them mainly for the size/weight/sound/cost value proposition for use with a tube pre-amp specifically. I viewed the very high damping as a good opportunity to test out damping specs well beyond what otherwise might be considered acceptable on paper. After all, the proof in the end is always in the actual listening! What's on paper can only serve to help steer you in the right direction.
The sound I hear is very much in line with what I would expect in a properly damped scenario. THe bass is near perfect almost I would venture to say. Powerful, balanced, extended and most articulate, to an extent way beyond prior amps I have used. I'd describe the sound as relatively lean yet powerful and articulate..which is a good thing to me. Like a well conditioned heavyweight MMA fighter! Those used to or who prefer a fatter and perhaps more typical bass sound might be taken aback, especially at first.
But I can clearly hear differences among recordings and tweaks in ICs, sources, etc to the greatest extent I have ever been able to. I would hate to lose the BCs and have to attempt to reproduce this again. They are just a perfect fit for my application with the big OHM 5s but of course as always, others mileage will vary.
In fact, I could easily go in another direction for any of my other smaller speakers, including my smaller OHM Walshes. THe BCs work well for all these, but they are less of a challenge in general to push to the max.
