boa12 Posted April 28, 2002 Share Posted April 28, 2002 thanks on that john. my b&k has a rated damping factor of 450 vs. the touted 1000 over at ati so i feel better now. i think john owns the act-3 abm & that's relly what i'd go toward too seb if not too many $. even for $2k new or fairly new i think an act-3 & acurus 200five is pretty much the best value going right now. & john what are receivers damping factors usually,\? would imagine under 400 by far. seems that & the 4 ohm power ratings are few & far between w/ receivers, for good reason. ------------------ My Home Systems Page Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seb Posted April 28, 2002 Author Share Posted April 28, 2002 John, I was thinking of you when writing that topic, as I knew your opinion on the subject matter. Now my question is this: what do you consider a "cheap" preamp? Would a 2802 or 3802 offer good enough preamplification, or do you think only dedicated pre/pros can offer good pre/pro performances? ------------------ http://members.fortunecity.com/sebdavid - go laugh at my crappy website/equipment http://www.dvdprofiler.com/mc.asp?alias=Sebdavid - go laugh at my puny little DVD collection Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chickey Posted April 29, 2002 Share Posted April 29, 2002 Guys, Interesting discussion regarding amplifier damping factors. Question for you all - since damping factor is a ratio of load impedance (i.e., the speaker system) divided by the amplifier's output impedance, what load impedance are we talking about here? When manufacturers start throwing out numbers like 100 vs. 1000, what load impedance are they using to generate their stats? Also, a higher damping factor is not always a good thing. High damping factors generally equate to very low output impedances (remember, we're talking ratios here). To get very low output impedance, the amplifier design probably has a lot of negative feedback. Unless designed very carefully, an amp with negative feedback will probably exhibit more phase shift than an amplifier that has less negative feedback - and that means it will distort the sound. The more phase shift, the more distortion. So damping factor shouldn't be taken out of context -- it's one barometer among many to use when evaluating an amp's performace. Of course, as John suggests, the best measure is one's own ears! Colin ------------------ My System Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boa12 Posted April 29, 2002 Share Posted April 29, 2002 thanks colin. good real world info. to these ears both my b&k 7270 & the acurus 200five sound real good. only had the acurus hooked to preouts of a receiver - marantz sr8000. still made this sound better on the low bass - tighter & more defined. when i added the b&k ref 30 pre/pro to the acurus, bass even better & also the mids/highs. when i replaced the acurus 200five w/ b&k 7270 amp everything sounded best yet, due mostly imho to a synergy between both b&k. that's my experience. yea as always the specs are just a general guideline. & that's even w/ standardized, reliable specs. some reviews will give more detail than the manuf specs, but again there you're still not relying on your own ears & set-up. ------------------ My Home Systems Page Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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