Most common car audio myths...
2000 Watt CAFz'r
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 2,406
Originally posted by Chris B:
But still it's not underpowering that blows the speakers.. it's the user who is running the system into clipping that causes it..
But still it's not underpowering that blows the speakers.. it's the user who is running the system into clipping that causes it..
I bet there is 1 in 20 people that can even hear a clipped signal........it's real simply, no power, cranking volume, equals smelly speaker !
If you need a huge drawn out scientific explanation, then that can be arranged......
50 Watt CAFz'r
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 372
Originally posted by Tim Baillie:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by Chris B:
But still it's not underpowering that blows the speakers.. it's the user who is running the system into clipping that causes it..
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by Chris B:
But still it's not underpowering that blows the speakers.. it's the user who is running the system into clipping that causes it..
I bet there is 1 in 20 people that can even hear a clipped signal........it's real simply, no power, cranking volume, equals smelly speaker !
If you need a huge drawn out scientific explanation, then that can be arranged...... </font>[/QUOTE]I would like to see a "huge drawn out scientific explanation" because it's not the underpowering or the clipping causing the damage. It is the extra power caused by the clipped signal that does. I am talking about sub woofers though. For tweeters it may be different.
50 Watt CAFz'r
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 241
I disagree. If I run a 25 x 2 amp to a pair of 13w7, I would consider that underpowering them, right? What if I'm not clipping them? So I can be underpowering them but not clipping them (and overpowering and clipping if it was a 2500 x 2 amp). Semantics really.
So running a 13w7 off my head unit is seriously underpowering them, and and I could seriously clip the signal going to them, but they ain't going to blow.
It seems to me that you can clip a speaker and not blow it, and you can blow a speaker with clean power and not blow it, so clipping (which I consider to be different than underpowering) doesn't blow speakers all the time.
To me it seems like a combination of the speaker getting too much juice and not enough air circulating to keep it cool. Clipping can be the cause of that, but so can alot of clean power.
Juan
Dude.......underpower = clipping
I bet there is 1 in 20 people that can even hear a clipped signal........it's real simply, no power, cranking volume, equals smelly speaker !
If you need a huge drawn out scientific explanation, then that can be arranged...... </font>[/QUOTE]
So running a 13w7 off my head unit is seriously underpowering them, and and I could seriously clip the signal going to them, but they ain't going to blow.
It seems to me that you can clip a speaker and not blow it, and you can blow a speaker with clean power and not blow it, so clipping (which I consider to be different than underpowering) doesn't blow speakers all the time.
To me it seems like a combination of the speaker getting too much juice and not enough air circulating to keep it cool. Clipping can be the cause of that, but so can alot of clean power.
Juan
Originally posted by Tim Baillie:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by Chris B:
But still it's not underpowering that blows the speakers.. it's the user who is running the system into clipping that causes it..
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by Chris B:
But still it's not underpowering that blows the speakers.. it's the user who is running the system into clipping that causes it..
I bet there is 1 in 20 people that can even hear a clipped signal........it's real simply, no power, cranking volume, equals smelly speaker !
If you need a huge drawn out scientific explanation, then that can be arranged...... </font>[/QUOTE]
The big difference is between underpowering speakers..... and overdriving amplifiers. underpowering a speaker is simply driving it at less than it can handle. overdriving an amplifier is driving either the input, or the output stage into distortion.
Guest
Posts: n/a
Like i said before, clipping is very dangerous to tweeters, somewhat dangerous to mids, and not very dangerous to subs, this is due to heat and how the speakers react to it. The voice coil wire in a tweeter is very small compared to most subwoofers. The windings will burn up in a tweeter way before a sub. It's power over time or clipping over time that kills speakers. Generally the size of the speaker determines the time you have till it blows.
Guest
Posts: n/a
Dave, a little confused by the whole DC current at clipping, could you please explain? From my understanding when an amp clips it will output a square sine wave (or semi square, flat on top), BUT it will still alternate + and -, therefore it is still technically AC? If the amp were to output an actual DC signal, would't a speaker hooked up to the terminals move forward, and stay there?
By DC, do you mean when the amp is on the + alteration, it will produce a maximum voltage the entire wave (square wave), then switch to a negative maximum value, and so on?
Isn't calling a clipped signal DC, a car audio myth in itself...LOL Just giving you a hard time... [img]graemlins/thumb.gif[/img]
Thanks!
[ January 30, 2004, 11:25 PM: Message edited by: Kilowatt ]
By DC, do you mean when the amp is on the + alteration, it will produce a maximum voltage the entire wave (square wave), then switch to a negative maximum value, and so on?
Isn't calling a clipped signal DC, a car audio myth in itself...LOL Just giving you a hard time... [img]graemlins/thumb.gif[/img]
Thanks!
[ January 30, 2004, 11:25 PM: Message edited by: Kilowatt ]
2000 Watt CAFz'r
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 2,406
Originally posted by Chris B:
But still it's not underpowering that blows the speakers.. it's the user who is running the system into clipping that causes it..
But still it's not underpowering that blows the speakers.. it's the user who is running the system into clipping that causes it..
Hows that ? [img]tongue.gif[/img]
500 Watt CAFz'r
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 866
It is very simple... Like ^ said, Pin head with his "50 cent" stuff pounding away, and his 10 ga wire (when he should have 4) and his high end install making his amp run at "top performance".This causes his amplifier go into a clip signal.
Guys- A cliped signal will happen when either the amplitude of the signal going to the input stage of the amplifier is too large.
Or - When input voltage is too low(the transistors cant operate to produce the output and therefore Clip.)
If the amplitude Squares off then what is it playing?
Distortion:flattening of the waveform(your output signal)
Simple put: Distortion(Clipping)=heat(flat signal so speaker can't move efficiently)+time(your speakers will take the beating for awhile)=poof(no money for the ladies cause of new woofer)
You wanna see a nice tiger strip voice coil?
Guys- A cliped signal will happen when either the amplitude of the signal going to the input stage of the amplifier is too large.
Or - When input voltage is too low(the transistors cant operate to produce the output and therefore Clip.)
If the amplitude Squares off then what is it playing?
Distortion:flattening of the waveform(your output signal)
Simple put: Distortion(Clipping)=heat(flat signal so speaker can't move efficiently)+time(your speakers will take the beating for awhile)=poof(no money for the ladies cause of new woofer)
You wanna see a nice tiger strip voice coil?
