Clipping
Definition
Clipping is the distortion that occurs when a signal exceeds the maximum level a circuit can reproduce, so that the tops of the waveform are flattened. Symmetrical clipping produces mainly odd-order harmonics, which sound harsh. In a digital system, no sample can exceed 0 dBFS, so any signal that would go beyond it is clipped abruptly. A heavily clipped amplifier output approaches a square wave, which raises the average power and the high-frequency content delivered to the loudspeaker and can overheat the high-frequency drivers.
In the field
Loudspeaker damage is often attributed to clipped amplifiers, because clipping sends more average power and high-frequency energy to the drivers than the nominal level suggests. Common practice is to use the limiters of the system processor or amplifier, set from the manufacturer's data, so that the amplifier does not reach clipping and the drivers stay within their power ratings.
Related lessons
Sources
- Clipping (audio) (Wikipedia) : aplatissement des crêtes, harmoniques impairs en écrêtage symétrique, risque pour les tweeters · en.wikipedia.org
- DBFS (Wikipedia) : 0 dBFS, valeur numérique maximale · en.wikipedia.org
- Ballou, Handbook for Sound Engineers : écrêtage des amplificateurs et protection des haut-parleurs