On Fri, 4 Nov 2005 12:01:38 +0000 (UTC), Jon
wrote:

Sorry to be thick, but what is "damping factor"?

I had a feeling that might be the next question! It's probably one of
the hardest to explain concepts going, but is basically a measure of
the amp's ability to react to changes in the load it's driving.

As a speaker moves in and out, it's impedance changes. As the
impedance of the speaker changes, the current required to move it
increases and decreases. Damping factor is a measure of the amp's
ability to deal with the changing current demands that the impedance
change causes, without changing the output voltage.

If you run an amplifier so that it never has to fully utilise it's
full internal voltage capacity, it's damping factor is inherently
increased, giving a better controlled, and hence more accurate
sounding output.

Jon
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