... how important is Damping factor in determining what amp to buy


Hi there...

Just how important is damping factor in determining what amp to buy?

In literature and specs - I find this is an often left-out bit of info...


justvintagestuff

Showing 1 response by ejr1953

Three plus years ago I was "on a mission" to find a new pair of floor-standing speakers.

One of my stops was at a dealer to audition the then Magico S5's.  As the "main" listening room was occupied, the salesman hooked the speakers to a Hegel power amp with a very high damping factor.  When the "main" listening room became available, he wheeled the S5's over there and connected it to a pair of large tube monoblocks, with a very low damping factor, and driven by tubes, the Magico's sounded much more "musical" and had more bass.  I suspect that, the pairing of a low damping factor and the Magico bass driver just worked better together.