'Clipping' describes the shortening...lowering...chopping off of the complex musical wave. This happens because some stage of the amplifier, usually the output stage, simply has no more Voltage available from the powersupply to follow the original shape being delivered to it by the prior stage. When they clip, SS amps often generate ugly-sounding high-frequency garbage that's far in excess of what's in the normal, musical waveform, and this high-frequency garbage is what kills tweeters. Tubed amps clip more 'gracelully', that is, they generate lots less garbage and sound not nearly as bad, but they, too, definitely clip the music when overdriven.
Rarely will anything bad happen to an amp upon clipping, altho the DC-rail-Voltage fuses may blow. If driven hard for medium or long periods, an amp will get very hot, and some may shut themselves off until they cool.
It's good that your ears give up before your equipment, but listeneing at such high levels really does damge, PERMANENTLY, your hearing, even if done for short periods of time. If you're tempted to listen at such high levels, I suggest you install inline fast-blow fuses that will blow before the speakers do. Only you can determine, by trying different values, the right value for your speakers. I suggest RadioShack for the fuseholders and fuses; I guess I'd start at, say, 3 amps and see what happens. BTW, adding a fuse will decrease sound quality very slightly, but it won't sound NEARLY as bad as a blown speaker driver!
The best advice anyone could give you is NOT to listen at such high levels, but it reads as if you do it often, so be smart and fuse your speakers.
.
Rarely will anything bad happen to an amp upon clipping, altho the DC-rail-Voltage fuses may blow. If driven hard for medium or long periods, an amp will get very hot, and some may shut themselves off until they cool.
It's good that your ears give up before your equipment, but listeneing at such high levels really does damge, PERMANENTLY, your hearing, even if done for short periods of time. If you're tempted to listen at such high levels, I suggest you install inline fast-blow fuses that will blow before the speakers do. Only you can determine, by trying different values, the right value for your speakers. I suggest RadioShack for the fuseholders and fuses; I guess I'd start at, say, 3 amps and see what happens. BTW, adding a fuse will decrease sound quality very slightly, but it won't sound NEARLY as bad as a blown speaker driver!
The best advice anyone could give you is NOT to listen at such high levels, but it reads as if you do it often, so be smart and fuse your speakers.
.