What does a speaker sound like after it's been clipped?

kazaam
kazaam Posts: 92
edited September 2011 in Speakers
Just curious, I played my speakers (M70s/CS2) really loud (which is -40db for me (or 60 on my Onkyo AVR)) today and it was so loud for me that I got worried, though they sounded fine during/after and thats obviously not that loud.

Would the speakers just not work after theyve been clipped?
Post edited by kazaam on
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Comments

  • jbooker82
    jbooker82 Posts: 1,627
    edited September 2011
    They would sound bad like they are still clipping or distortion at low volumes. They can aslo sound scratchy, cracking and poping.

    Need to crank that baby up to 82 or 0 / Referance.
    AVR: Onkyo Tx-NR808
    Amplifier: Carver A-753x 250 watts x 3
    Fronts: Polk RTI A7 (modded by Trey VR3)
    Center: CSI A4 (modded by Trey VR3)
    Rear: FXI A4
    Sub: Polk DSW Pro 660wi
    TV: LG Infinia 50PX950 3D
    Speaker Cable: AudioQuest Type 8
    IC: AudioQuest Black Mamba II
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  • Glowrdr
    Glowrdr Posts: 1,103
    edited September 2011
    No worries there - I've watched TV louder than that before. Once a speaker is blown - you will know, no questions asked. (Clipping is basically the destortion that causes the speaker to blow in the first place - there will usually be warning signs)
    65" Sony X900 (XBR-65X900E)
    Pioneer Elite SC-37
    Polk Monitor 70's (2)
    Polk Monitor 40's (4)
    Polk Monitor CS2
    Polk DSW Pro 660wi
    Oppo BDP-93
    Squeezebox Duet
    Belkin PureAV PF60
    Dish Network "The Hoppa"
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  • DON73
    DON73 Posts: 516
    edited September 2011
    Clipping happens in the amplifier not the speakers. Clipping in an amplifier will be heard as a distorted sound in the speaker. If the speakers sound ok after being fed a distorted signal from the amp they're probably fine. However an amplifier driven to clip can destroy speakers. Keep the volume at a sensible level and you should never have any problems.
    TO ERR IS HUMAN. TO FORGIVE IS CANINE.
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  • brettw22
    brettw22 Posts: 7,623
    edited September 2011
    s@#t
    comment comment comment comment. bitchy.
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  • Joe08867
    Joe08867 Posts: 3,919
    edited September 2011
    brettw22 wrote: »
    s@#t

    Exactly!!!
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  • nwohlford
    nwohlford Posts: 700
    edited September 2011
    Since you are clipping the wave in the amplifier, you will have two main effects: a decrease in dynamic range (since the amplitude of the highest amplitude sounds are being clipped) and increased higher harmonics due to the squaring off of the top of the wave.

    To me it always sounds like the the most intense sounds have been muffled and there is an added harshness to the music. Under extreme clipping all sounds sound about the same intensity, since every wave is being clipped.
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  • kolbywhite28
    kolbywhite28 Posts: 49
    edited September 2011
    clipping amplifier causes sound wave distortion..driving amplifier into clipping may cause it to output power in excess of its published ratings..
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  • Mon40CSMM10
    Mon40CSMM10 Posts: 161
    edited September 2011
    In a car audio setting, I've turned a stock (Clarion manufactured for Nissan) headunit up to max, and then increased the bass dial to maximum (out of a total range of -6 to +6) until I could start to smell voice coils burning--as an experiment to see if I could blow the stock factory installed (Panasonic) 30W RMS 2-way speakers. I already had the aftermarket speakers I was going to install in place of the stock speakers. Surprisingly, the factory speakers didn't blow.

    So as I drove down the freeway, I maxed out the headunit and then started incrementing the bass control to maximum. What I heard: as the headunit amp started to clip the bass went from the usual boom-boom-boom to a bloop-bloop-bloop type of sound and the cymbals sounds started to sound like sizzling, instead of bloop-hiss-bloop-hiss for a techno beat (with already clipping bass), it was bloop-zzz-bloop-zzz as the cymbals became obviously distorted. Then, as the bass kept getting increased, the bloop-bloop-bloop changed to thud-thud-thud and then totally muddy--just the higher overtones of the bass drum were heard as a boxy sounding hit, through the audible mess of sound with no definition and totally oblitterated low end completely obscuring any high end--so then the cymbals were totally gone for as long as any bass was going. If the beat cut out, the midrange parts of the music were still surprisingly clear, but any cymbals were still sizzling as max volume unless I deliberately lowered the treble setting.

    So by my experiment, when the low end starts dropping out of the bass drum and the boom starts to become a bloop, that's a clipping warning for the amp handling bass frequencies. Furthermore, when the cymbals start to become sizzling (a zzz type of sound that is not intentionally that way in the recording when listed to at lower volumes), that's also a clipping warning for the amp handling highs/treble frequencies.

    Ultimately, what a speaker sounds like after being clipped depends on how it sounds when listening at a lower than clipping volume. If there aren't any obvious crackling/white noise sounding/frequency missing sounds eminating from the speaker, chances are they did just fine (but try not to clip the amp again).
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