2$ DIY clipping detector

[winkychevelle 10+ year member]

So do I have to have a speaker hooked up to the amp with this process or can I just run the piezo tweet to the amp terminals and set the gain without the sub hooked up

 

[wew lad 5,000+ posts]

So do I have to have a speaker hooked up to the amp with this process or can I just run the piezo tweet to the amp terminals and set the gain without the sub hooked up

you can do it without a load but it wont sag the output as much so it might clip later than with your sub connected (not that itll really matter with a sub amp you'll need to soft clip for power anyways)

 

[Jcsaudio]

So all the debates over setting mono amplifier gains with an o-scope or volt meter, or amplifier temperature, and no one has ever brought this stupid simple idea up and you some here knew about it too. Why?

 

[iLL Ridge 10+ year member]

Dope

 

[moparnut]

Tried this over lunch. Worked like a charm.

 

[KilluminatiDre 10+ year member]

Tried this over lunch. Worked like a charm.

Did you use the capacitor or piezo?

 

[Jeffdachef 5,000+ posts]

So all the debates over setting mono amplifier gains with an o-scope or volt meter, or amplifier temperature, and no one has ever brought this stupid simple idea up and you some here knew about it too. Why?

Because temps are more important than finding out a clipping point at a certain frequency at a certain db level... You are playing music, not test tones. Its better to know your system limits rather than finding one setting and sticking with it for everything you play which is pretty dumb for anyone that actually understands audio levels in song recordings.

Clipping raises temperature and gear dies from heat. Amp temperature and coil temps is the most important aspect. You could not be clipping but other issues cause heat will still kill your equipment as well.

 

[wew lad 5,000+ posts]

So all the debates over setting mono amplifier gains with an o-scope or volt meter, or amplifier temperature, and no one has ever brought this stupid simple idea up and you some here knew about it too. Why?

this trick has been around for a while, it just hasn't really gotten much interest... people argue left and right about setting gains on a subwoofer amplifier and its really quite simple once you know how. its just a matter of watching input voltage, smelling coil, and listening for nasty distortion. you start out conservative, and slowly add more until you find the point that its too much

ill admit this method helps you find the area the gain should be set in, so you dont set it too low or too high, but beyond that it's really a method id find more useful on amps you're using for mids/highs because clipping on those tiny voice coils can kill them fast on higher power amps like the ppi900.4 (or anything above say 75-100w rms) but at that point, as jeff said, it's a matter of assessing your equipment capabilities because speakers can be well past their thermal and mechanical capabilities depending on the driver

 

[Jeffdachef 5,000+ posts]

#1 killer for my gear is when a group of hot import models hop in for a demo acting all slutty and really enjoying the bass.

Common sense is the most important factor in car audio safety. Any factors that inhibits that is the most dangerous.

 

[Jcsaudio]

Because temps are more important than finding out a clipping point at a certain frequency at a certain db level... You are playing music, not test tones. Its better to know your system limits rather than finding one setting and sticking with it for everything you play which is pretty dumb for anyone that actually understands audio levels in song recordings.
Clipping raises temperature and gear dies from heat. Amp temperature and coil temps is the most important aspect. You could not be clipping but other issues cause heat will still kill your equipment as well.

Sorry Jeff but this one baffles me so I guess I do not understand Audio levels in song recordings. I get that some recordings are louder than others but there isn’t much I can do about that without getting crazy about it I guess. I would assume different amplifiers have different thermal capacity’s and even between different classes of amplifiers such as class AB vs Class D. Just the quality and design of an amplifier is a big factor there. Some amps get hot while under clipping and some can clip for a long time before they get hot. Where do you draw that line in terms of temperature for voice coils or amplifiers? It can’t be universal among brands right? How do you check voice coil temperature and what is considered hot? Just don’t get this nor have I ever heard of this one anywhere else. This **** is way over my head!

I’m more intrigued as to why more people do not use this Small speaker method for clipping detection and why at least in my tenure here it hasn’t been recommended before knowing that it’s been known and around for 2 years according to someone above.

 

[wew lad 5,000+ posts]

#1 killer for my gear is when a group of hot import models hop in for a demo acting all slutty and really enjoying the bass.
Common sense is the most important factor in car audio safety. Any factors that inhibits that is the most dangerous.

LOL I'm honestly surprised you can even get those Team AA's hot. The bass 15k is a beast but still it takes some time for me to get a single Team AA hot with one Bass 12k

 

[Jeffdachef 5,000+ posts]

LOL I'm honestly surprised you can even get those Team AA's hot. The bass 15k is a beast but still it takes some time for me to get a single Team AA hot with one Bass 12k

Hdc3s died. Team AAs laugh at those thots.

 

[KilluminatiDre 10+ year member]

I gotta figure out where to get a piezo at.

 

[wew lad 5,000+ posts]

Hdc3s died. Team AAs laugh at those thots.

I figured as much, I aspire to be where you're at though. Way too easy to reach mechanical limits at this power level. You can probably set your filters pretty wide and get away with it!

 

[Beentown]

For me this method makes sense. I adjust my amp gains at 35 of 40 volume. Bring the gains up to clipping then back off just slightly. Then no matter the recording level (pending ridiculous anomalies) I have enough left over to get as loud as I want. I.e. all of my Beastie Boys tracks are recorded very quiet. I can go to 40. I can always keep the volume lower on +db tracks.

My oscilloscope is a desktop model and not real portable. I like this a lot.