You would expect this to be the case but I don't think anyone has ever
confirmed it to be true. This topic has been discussed on many occasions on
this list. As far as I know, no one has been able to determine if AC is the
only factor in determining how much damage you receive per hit or if armor
type plays a role (i.e. deflects part of the blow). Guess the best way to
test it is to find a monk with the same AC as you and start collecting data.

Galtin of E'ci

> This may have already been touched upon, but I'll say this: I was in full
> steel plate by 26th level (well the visual pieces anyways). The AC
> difference is not much, but that is only half the reason for the upgrade,
> bro. Not only will you have a slightly higher AC than you will with
> Banded,
> but PLATE ARMOR inherently absorbs damage better than lower forms of
> armor.
>
> Compare a monk in whatever armor he is wearing (doesn't matter if it's
> raw-hide or full shiverback "armor" or whatever the planes armor is
> nowadays) against any plate-wearing melee class when getting hit by a
> monster. WHEN HIT by the mob, a monk will almost always take more damage
> per
> blow than a plate-wearing person, because of the class of armor.
>
>