Damping factor is VERY important for good driver control, especially bass drivers at low frequencies near their resonant points. Amps with low damping factor suffer from poorer bass response and control and generally what can be described as “flabby†bass rather than “punchy or well defined†bass. The bass drivers have much higher mass so it is more difficult to get them moving in synch with the electrical signal and more difficult to stop them and turn them around the other direction. They just have higher mass!
Damping factor is a dimensionless measurement that defines the output impedance of the power amplifier as a ratio of the speaker impedance it is driving. If the amplifier has a damping factor of 1000 into 8 ohms, that mean that the amplifier’s output impedance is 8/1000 or 0.008 ohms (8 milliohms!!) Likewise an amp with a damping factor of 10 will have an output impedance of 0.8 ohms (800 milliohms). The amp with the lowest output impedance is the stiffest and exhibits the highest damping factor.
You get high damping factor in an amp, generally speaking, when the amp has very large open loop gain and a large amount of global negative feedback. These are the hallmarks of the Phase Linear amplifier design.
I don’t know if this helps you understand damping factor.
Perhaps this analogy helps better.
Suppose you have a 1 pound ball attached to the end of a spring and your job is to accurately control the position of that ball.
In case 1, the spring is a slinky toy spring. This is the low damping factor situation. It will be nearly impossible for you to accurately control the ball position.
In case 2, the spring is the big, heavy duty spring on your automobile suspension. This is the high damping factor situation. It will be very easy to accurately control the ball position.
Some folks like the more mellow sound that low damping factor amps have, such as tube amps.
Some enjoy the detail that is offered by an high damping factor amp that is really in control of the speaker load that is attached to it.
It is very much a personal preference.
Damping factor is a dimensionless measurement that defines the output impedance of the power amplifier as a ratio of the speaker impedance it is driving. If the amplifier has a damping factor of 1000 into 8 ohms, that mean that the amplifier’s output impedance is 8/1000 or 0.008 ohms (8 milliohms!!) Likewise an amp with a damping factor of 10 will have an output impedance of 0.8 ohms (800 milliohms). The amp with the lowest output impedance is the stiffest and exhibits the highest damping factor.
You get high damping factor in an amp, generally speaking, when the amp has very large open loop gain and a large amount of global negative feedback. These are the hallmarks of the Phase Linear amplifier design.
I don’t know if this helps you understand damping factor.
Perhaps this analogy helps better.
Suppose you have a 1 pound ball attached to the end of a spring and your job is to accurately control the position of that ball.
In case 1, the spring is a slinky toy spring. This is the low damping factor situation. It will be nearly impossible for you to accurately control the ball position.
In case 2, the spring is the big, heavy duty spring on your automobile suspension. This is the high damping factor situation. It will be very easy to accurately control the ball position.
Some folks like the more mellow sound that low damping factor amps have, such as tube amps.
Some enjoy the detail that is offered by an high damping factor amp that is really in control of the speaker load that is attached to it.
It is very much a personal preference.
