An audio system’s ability to stop playing a signal after it has ended. For instance, a sharp drum thump should not drag on for too long a time. If it does, the system is exhibiting poor damping meaning that it is not properly ending the sound production associated with the drum thump. Such a system is generally muddy and not well refined making individual musical nuances difficult to make out. he damping factor relates to how well an amplifier is able to control the movement of a speaker driver, stopping its motion after the signal has stopped. If the driver motion is not halted, the driver will continue to move creating back-EMF (voltages sent back into the amplifier from the speaker’s voice coil moving in the magnetic field) and unpleasant, distorted sounds. Look for an amplifier with a high damping factor when you go to purchase audio equipment. The damping factor should be at least 300.