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Amplifier Clipping


baszha

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Amplifier "clipping" is when the amplifier cannot accurately reproduce peaks in audio sound signals, thus kind of flattens them off rather than reproducing and amplifying accurately the amplitude peaks in an audio signal.

The best and most expensive way to prevent amplifier clipping is to buy an amplifier vastly over powered for what you'd be listening to. That way your amplifier is always ready to accurately reproduce any transient peaks that may occur. Cheapest, easiest way is to just TURN IT DOWN! 😉

John Kuthe...

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Another way of saying it would be to say that it's when you've exceeded the rated power output of the amplifier - and the amplifier "clips", or chops off the top and bottom of the waveform because it cannot reproduce it. Basically, you're out of power, and you're running into distortion. If you normally run at a watt, you need five watts to cover the peaks. If you run at 50, you need 250 watts. Ironically, most loudspeakers are damaged from not having enough power as opposed to having too much power. A low powered amplifier, overdriven, will destroy a driver in seconds.

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9 hours ago, Deang said:

I thought they had adjusted the number because of the “loudness wars”

 

Speaking of the loudness wars, I saw a reply on the PSW forum that seems to indicate the loudness wars may be ending. Streaming services such as YouTube have set a standard that 16 dB above the average level must be allowed for peaks. Music that has been compressed to a DR of 4 dB will be adjusted so that the peaks are 12 dB below full scale, making it quieter, not louder. I have noticed that a CD mastered for loudness does sound quieter on YouTube than playing the actual CD on my laptop.

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