I have been following this thread with interest and doing my own novice research on this topic and it seems that there is no right answer here in terms of whether or not damping factor is a relevant spec. Here are some of the tidbits I have picked up:
1. The mechanical damping of the speaker plays the largest role in terms of how the cone movement is damped
2. The effect of any damping factor above 10 is impossible for humans to hear
3. A static damping factor number does tell the entire story since both amp and speaker impedance changes with frequency.
4. A high damping factor is misleading as it could mean the use of a lot of negative feedback which could have adversely affect the sound
These are just some bits of info I have picked up from reading about dampiing factor so please refrain from blasting me with flames. I am by no means an expert in this area.
I think there is no real good rule of thumb. Everyone has to just listen to the amp/speaker combo and decide for themselves.
1. The mechanical damping of the speaker plays the largest role in terms of how the cone movement is damped
2. The effect of any damping factor above 10 is impossible for humans to hear
3. A static damping factor number does tell the entire story since both amp and speaker impedance changes with frequency.
4. A high damping factor is misleading as it could mean the use of a lot of negative feedback which could have adversely affect the sound
These are just some bits of info I have picked up from reading about dampiing factor so please refrain from blasting me with flames. I am by no means an expert in this area.
I think there is no real good rule of thumb. Everyone has to just listen to the amp/speaker combo and decide for themselves.