posted
From what I've been told over the years distortion and signal clipping can kill a speaker, not including grossly overpowering it. Is this true? I was talking in another forum and a couple guys were saying that distortion and clipping even at high volumes will never blow a speaker. What are some thoughts on this?
posted
I agree that distortion will kill a speaker. The distortion will have to be a clipped signal at high levels. I have never seen any speaker blow due to a clipped signal at low volume, but have seen many speakers blow due to a clipped signal at high volume levels. Speakers are not meant to perform under those situations, they require clean power to opperate. Some speakers may have the build quality to hold up under these circumstances, but unless they are bulletproof they too will eventually fail.
Posts: 539 | From: don't worry, be happy | Registered: Jan 2008
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posted
thermal and mechanical are your 2 reasons why speakers blow. distortion at low volumes will not kill your speaker, since it will not create enough heat (thermal), so your safe playing your nirvana cd distortion and clipping will help you meet your thermal limits faster, but anything in moderation will be alright.
Posts: 8813 | From: over yonder | Registered: May 2001
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Clipping causes harmonics. Those sustaining of high signal levels, and mostly harmonics can cause heat build-up 3-4times faster. So, a subwoofer that can truly handle 1000Wrms, could be thermally damaged by a severely clipped 300W. Some subwoofers also need a minimum power to be able to cool properly. So a 2000W sub like that could be fine on 300. risky on 400-800W. Then be fine above that.
-------------------- World Record-Loudest SPL in my driveway Team Powermaster/XS-Power Zensky....World Domination at It's Finest www.zensky.com Posts: 2838 | From: Columbus, OH - formerly FL | Registered: Oct 2003
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posted
remember, it's not just clipping from the amp. You can clip the signal straight from the headunit...or a track on a cd or whatever that is over-recorded.
-------------------- World Record-Loudest SPL in my driveway Team Powermaster/XS-Power Zensky....World Domination at It's Finest www.zensky.com Posts: 2838 | From: Columbus, OH - formerly FL | Registered: Oct 2003
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quote:Originally posted by D-Bass: remember, it's not just clipping from the amp. You can clip the signal straight from the headunit...or a track on a cd or whatever that is over-recorded.
Never thought of clipping from a cd, I know all about clipping from the headunit and amp.
posted
the only thing that blows a speaker is to much power. You either exceed its thermal limits or you exceed its mechanical limits.
Find a beefy 15" sub. Hook a 20 x2 amp to it. Crank the gain, turn the bass boost up, and let it go. it'll play all day. the signal will be distorted and it will be clipped, but it won't damage the speaker.
You exeed the thermal power limits or the mechanical power limits of a speaker, and it blows.
That's it. Copper wire is not smart enough to know if a signal is clipped or distorted. it just knows power.
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