Can Clipping damage an amp?

[Youhearthat? 10+ year member]

I know what it can do to speakers if it sends a high powered clipped signal... but what happens to the amp?

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[PhatTonyDeMarco 5,000+ posts]

The amp dies.... Which is why it isnt good to do...

 

[JimJ 5,000+ posts]

Depends on how much clipping you're talking about...transistors generally don't like being driven into a square wave condition. Hopefully it would go into protection before simply dying.

 

[TypeRBass 10+ year member]

don't make it clip in the first place and you won't have to worry about it //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif cuz nobody likes squares

 

[BCONNELLY 10+ year member]

clipping won't necessarily kill your amp (that's why it goes into protection),

but it's still not good for the amp, usually means an installation problem IMO

clipping can be a sign that there is another problem:idea:

maybe your power wire is too small, or it's grounded wire is too small (or a bad connection)

I know clipping is caused by other reasons, but in my experience --it's usually the install

maybe the gains aren't set right.

I don't think I could get my amps to clip if I wanted to. (back in the days when I thought an 8 gauge wire was big -- couldn't keep em' from clipping!!!)//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/banghead.gif.8606515f668c74f6de0281deb475b6fd.gif//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wallbash.gif.1310150c49dd52e0fbe1813a0681e5c3.gif

just my 2 cents.

"B"

 

[mobilworksaudio 10+ year member]

the only thing that is bad about clipping the output of an amp is that the amp is at full throttle at that point and this is like turning the valve on a garden hose all the way up with the hopes that you'll get more water pressure...

I personally don't know of too many components that are designed to run full throttle for long periods of time and an amp is not any different. Lots of current= lots of heat and if the output transistors can't keep up then they will burn themselves up.

if you had an oscope, i would be willing to bet that most people here have there gain structures set up so that there amps are currently clipping at least 50 percent of the time...