Just grab your amplifier’s keyboard, hit the tilde key, and then type in ’noclip’, hit enter...and bob’s yer uncle...
Still confused about clipping after reading all the articles.
From what I read, I understand what’s happening when the amp is clipping and the subsequent square wave form that could cause heat issues for voice coils. What I don’t understand is why would an amp allow itself to consume more power than it could handle in the first place.
1. More specifically, in the integrated amp scenario (amp with a volume control), let’s say you’re using a max power 80w integrated amp to drive a 87db@1w@1m speaker, if you turn up the volume on that amp, would it just max out at roughly the speaker playing 105db and it would not go louder - how could clipping happen then? Meaning the integrated amp should not throw a signal at itself stronger than it could handle?
2. For stand alone amp, I get that the input signal is not really under control of the amp and is more or less fed by the preamp so clipping could happen when the pre-amp is throwing big signals, but why wouldn’t the amp try to reject the signal the moment it senses clipping to protect the speaker?
3. Another related confusion is, how is it possible that sometimes I see powered active speakers blown because it’s trying to play too loud? Would it be true that the amp in those active speaker should always be designed to operate within the limit of its power handling? Could active speakers (say your Macbook speaker or iPhone speaker) enter clipping? I’ve never seen blown MacBook speakers even though people play at max volume all the time.
4. Could the source material itself be encoded to cause clipping? Let’s say a malicious sound mixer create a song with super quite music to force listener to turn the volume all the way up, but then there is a sudden loud noise encoded, would this push the amp into clipping?
5. Lastly, let’s say a speaker can handle 150w of power, and the speaker amp can output a maximum of 150w of power, even if the amp clips, does it mean it won’t damage the speaker? Could amp that’s rated at 150w per channel deliver much more than 150w in transient?
I might completely misunderstand some concepts here. But want to get some clarity.
1. More specifically, in the integrated amp scenario (amp with a volume control), let’s say you’re using a max power 80w integrated amp to drive a 87db@1w@1m speaker, if you turn up the volume on that amp, would it just max out at roughly the speaker playing 105db and it would not go louder - how could clipping happen then? Meaning the integrated amp should not throw a signal at itself stronger than it could handle?
2. For stand alone amp, I get that the input signal is not really under control of the amp and is more or less fed by the preamp so clipping could happen when the pre-amp is throwing big signals, but why wouldn’t the amp try to reject the signal the moment it senses clipping to protect the speaker?
3. Another related confusion is, how is it possible that sometimes I see powered active speakers blown because it’s trying to play too loud? Would it be true that the amp in those active speaker should always be designed to operate within the limit of its power handling? Could active speakers (say your Macbook speaker or iPhone speaker) enter clipping? I’ve never seen blown MacBook speakers even though people play at max volume all the time.
4. Could the source material itself be encoded to cause clipping? Let’s say a malicious sound mixer create a song with super quite music to force listener to turn the volume all the way up, but then there is a sudden loud noise encoded, would this push the amp into clipping?
5. Lastly, let’s say a speaker can handle 150w of power, and the speaker amp can output a maximum of 150w of power, even if the amp clips, does it mean it won’t damage the speaker? Could amp that’s rated at 150w per channel deliver much more than 150w in transient?
I might completely misunderstand some concepts here. But want to get some clarity.
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- 26 posts total
@twoleftears - There’s a decent treatise, under, ’Tone’, regarding tubes vs SS distortion, on this site: https://blog.thetubestore.com/tube-vs-solid-state-why-do-tubes-sound-better/#:~:text=The%20nature%20.... I've often attributed the more pleasant way tubes clip, as one reason some would think they're more powerful sounding, per rated Watt. Not convinced that's the end of the story, however. |
Ok people make this more complicated than it needs to be. To make it more simple clipping is your amplifier trying to put out too much power. When you do this the distortion levels reach a point that can damage your speakers. You can damage 200 watt speakers with a 50 watt amp if you push the amp too far. Typically most amps will clip when they get to about 1% distortion. Amps with more headroom can exceed their rated power a little easier without clipping. |
There was an amp that provided soft clipping circuitry, NAD comes to mind. Clipping can destroy a tweeter in short order. If the amp/speaker is matched properly then it should not be an issue. Typically, its better to have an abundance of power than not enough. However, even a lower powered amp matched to a high sensitivity speaker will seldom if at all experience clipping. |
@millercarbon, Thanks. That's the best explanation of this enormously complicated business I have yet read. Only the other day my browser fed me this 'rant' from none other than John DeVore regarding misrepresented speaker sensitivity. I had to watch (listen to) it a few times before it made sense. OK, so I was at work doing something routine at the time... ------- John DeVore goes on about the Hi- End Audio lie that inspired him to start his own company. https://youtu.be/PEcFkSQMc8g |
- 26 posts total