amp clipping

[bristabrock 0]

ok i really hate to ask this, but how are you able to tell when your amp starts to "clip"? And what exactly does it mean?

[CrazyKenKid 64]

clipping is bad, it makes distortion which can blow speakers. When an amp is clipping it is being overdriven and it starts to cut off the tops of the soundwaves(so you get a square looking wave form). To fix this either listen to music within the limits of your amp. The only way to know that you are doing this is to listen for distortion, which of course is one of the reasons speakers blow. and for me distortion is hard to hear..maybe i jsut have bad hearing! Hope this helps

also if you want to see the distortion you would have to buy a hand held o-scape!

Edited July 6, 2009 by CrazyKenKid

[bristabrock 0]

well i know a way i could use a oscilliscope, and i believe i can hear distortion fairly good, because i always find myself getting aggravated when i hear that all too famous un-natural sound, and thanks it did answer my question

[captaincheesey 0]

Ok, yes clipping is bad because acoustically it causes distortion, but it's not the distortion that will blow your speakers. What is blowing your speakers is how clipping works. It has to do with the area under the curve of the sound wave. A square wave has significantly more area under the curve than a sine wave so the clipping is actually pushing your amp to put out a square wave and effectively put out more power. Which is why if you clip an amp that is way underpowered for your speakers it will sound like ass but will not destroy them as quickly as an amp that is perfectly matched up for your subs but is clippped. An O-scope will help your see any clipping happening as well as just having someone with a good ear to hear distortion.