damping factor and summit x

[hifinutt]

I have quite high damping factor in my belles amps I use [3000 ]
thinking of trying a 200 watt class A amp with damping factor of 80

can someone explain the significance of damping factor , in particular to summit x ?

 

[FoxMulder]

I have quite high damping factor in my belles amps I use [3000 ]
thinking of trying a 200 watt class A amp with damping factor of 80

can someone explain the significance of damping factor , in particular to summit x ?

A high damping factor indicates that an amplifier will have greater control over the movement of the speaker cone, particularly in the bass region near the resonant frequency of the driver's mechanical resonance. Since the Summit X has it's own built-in amp for the woofers, IMHO, the decrease (or increase) in damping factor will be sonically nil. Damping factor does affect other frequencies, but mostly audible in the bass.

 

[sleepysurf]

Agree that damping factor is a moot point with regard to the internally powered Summits. More important is whether or not the amp can double it's power output with each halving of speaker (stat panel) impedance. I previously used a Belles Reference 350A with my Summits, and it had no trouble driving the panels. Which Belles amp are you currently using?

 

[hifinutt]

some rather beautiful belles mb200 monoblocks which I have had for around 3 years

 

[Speedskater]

The Dick Pierce papers on 'damping factor'.

Informal:
'Damping Factor: Effects On System Response' | Audioholics
http://www.audioholics.com/education/amplifier-technology/damping-factor-effects-on-system-response

Formal:
'Damping Factor: Effects on System Response'
http://www.cartchunk.org/audiotopics/DampingFactor.pdf

Quick Summary:
Once it gets above about 10 it doesn't matter.

 

[sleepysurf]

some rather beautiful belles mb200 monoblocks which I have had for around 3 years

I would think they're great with Summits. Why not a pair of MB500's?

 

[hifinutt]

yes they are but the mb500 are a bit a bit for my room so mb200 fit well
good to see you use the bel canto dac , that's a really good dac for ease of use

 

[sleepysurf]

...good to see you use the bel canto dac , that's a really good dac for ease of use

The Bel Canto 3.5 DAC is indeed impressive, even more so when fed direct to amp. Unfortunately, I need two analog inputs (for Oppo SACD playback, and Home Theater bypass from A/V receiver), so I'm still feeding it through a Preamp.

 

[hifinutt]

now that's interesting , I have tried dacs many times straight into power amps and they sound simply horrible , the addition of the pre amp is ESSENTIAL in my opinion . the addition of a ref 5se was mindblowing , so much more natural and musical than just a dac