Just curious about amp SQ

[Jeffdachef 5,000+ posts]

I think the difference in "SQ" is one amp does rated or higher RMS and the lower end amp doesn't even get close. Real power makes a HUGE difference. That's why when you switch a high end amp with another high end amp they don't sound so different.
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not quite. In the case of my ppi, the power was way more than my 6 channel JL but the JL's sound was not refined. There's more to an amp than just power numbers. Damping factor, efficiency, internal components and circuitry all have a big effect on actual sound. Its not as simple as the world of subwoofers where more power is better. Actually taylorfade did an amp comparison test between a JBL crown and an american bass vfl 750.1 He only clamped around 5k out of the JBL and got close to 7k with the vfl However the jbl Metered couple tenths of dbs higher than the VFL. He attributed the victory to damping factor and efficiency

 

[evilmonstertruk Premium Member]

not quite. In the case of my ppi, the power was way more than my 6 channel JL but the JL's sound was not refined. There's more to an amp than just power numbers. Damping factor, efficiency, internal components and circuitry all have a big effect on actual sound. Its not as simple as the world of subwoofers where more power is better. Actually taylorfade did an amp comparison test between a JBL crown and an american bass vfl 750.1 He only clamped around 5k out of the JBL and got close to 7k with the vfl However the jbl Metered couple tenths of dbs higher than the VFL. He attributed the victory to damping factor and efficiency

That's true too. But I think that power is what people notice first and what makes people go, wow that sounds so different.

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[dsw1204]

That's true too. But I think that power is what people notice first and what makes people go, wow that sounds so different.
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I think that what MOST people first notice in an amp is power, but I look at is dynamics...How much does it sound like live music. And, I was wondering how much damping factor and slew rate has an influence on said dynamics. I've been trying to dig up info on damping factor and slew rate, but it's been difficult to understand because the info has been very technical (especially with regards to slew rate, not so much damping factor).

 

[The_Quiet_One 10+ year member]

Slew rate has to do with how quickly an amp can adjust voltage, voltage doesn't change instantaneously. IMHO it's going to have to be a pretty terrible amp to be discernible and then really only easily noticed at the highest frequencies where the slew rate imposes limits on the amps ability to handle the transient response. We are talking about typical voltage swingtimes on the order of a few microseconds (10^-6) with most decent amplifiers. It's worth noting that the effect of an amp's slew rate scales with the amount of power you're talking about. Less powerful amps could feasibly get away with a lower slew rate to maintain a similar transient response of a larger amp with a higher slew rate.

A higher damping factor is exactly what it sounds like. It is one of the sources for a loudspeaker's damping which controls it's movement. As far as damping factor you have to look at the entire system, amp and speaker(s). You can easily double your damping factor by doubling the impedance of the speakers you hook up. It's more useful in my opinion to try and look at output impedance of the amp.

Bottom Line - Higher numbers can't hurt, but at what point will the gains become negligible to your ears.

 

[whitemax 10+ year member]

How important of a factor in an amplifier's performance is slew rate and damping factor? Are these specs just as vital to performance as S/N ratio and distortion numbers? I tried to find these specs on my Arc KS900.6, but can't seem to find them anywhere.

From my understanding, slew rate & damping factor is not really that big of deal with modern amplifiers.

 

[hispls 5,000+ posts]

No, you are right. Those Zv4s sound like @ss to me too. Its mainly low linear bass. They sound completely different from sundown SA series. The Z series are made for a different purpose, mainly moving air, flexing vehicles and hairtricks. I've never heard a sundown Z setup that actually hurt me, last competition in march i went to, there were plenty of 4th orders and ported walls with sundown Zv4s and nightshades mainly 4 15s or more in terms of cone area, there was one with 8 18s doing 160s, here's the vid of his 2014 before he added 4 more NS-1s

Bear in mind the JBL also makes it's power at 4 ohm. IMO you do lose audible quality by dropping to low impedance.

 

[Jeffdachef 5,000+ posts]

That's all box design. Z and NS subs can be made to sound good and play actual music.

I guess no one around me locally running them daily even remotely cares about being able to play anything other than hip hop/rap/decaf. Or their daily box tuning all *****. Zv4s flat out fall on their face with metal or rock. They might be able to play it fine in a tuned box but other subs will do the job better having the potential of sounding much nicer than the zv4s.