clipping?

[timaishu 10+ year member]

So i went to a car audio shop today to see if they had a sub I was thinking of buying on the shelf that I could listen to.

I mentioned to the guy there that I have a 5-channel infinity reference 5350a amp. The amp puts out 300 RMS at 2 Ohms. The guy there said I should get this http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_7065_Infinity+Reference+1052W.html

Well I then mentioned that I was actually thinking about getting this http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_6926_Infinity+Kappa+104.7w.html

He said it would be a bad idea cause I would be underpowering the sub and that it would cause clipping and damage it.

Is this a valid concern? Wouldn't I be overpowering the other sub (250RMS) and damage that one too?

Click to read more...

 

[jco1385 5,000+ posts]

underpower has NOTHING to do with clipping.

go back, and kick him in the mouth for lying to you

 

[DB_DRAG_SPL 10+ year member]

Clipping killed Jesus

 

[jco1385 5,000+ posts]

he was a jew, and jews dont matter //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/fyi.gif.9f1f679348da7204ce960cfc74bca8e0.gif

 

[SRim23 5,000+ posts]

underpower has NOTHING to do with clipping.
go back, and kick him in the mouth for lying to you

maybe who told him that just didnt explain himself fully. maybe he was assuming since he was going to underpower it that he would set his gain too high in which case it would cause clipping.

so to clarify for the OP. No, underpowering something isnt going to cause clipping directly but if it isnt loud enough, since ur underpowering, you might be enticed to set your gain too high which would cause clipping.

 

[Twistid 5,000+ posts]

Don't mess around with clipping, first you start off lightly, just the peaks ya know? Before you know it, your doin full square waves at full tilt wearin a backwards hat with the windows down at stoplights. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/fyi.gif.9f1f679348da7204ce960cfc74bca8e0.gif

 

[jco1385 5,000+ posts]

Don't mess around with clipping, first you start off lightly, just the peaks ya know? Before you know it, your doin full square waves at full tilt wearin a backwards hat with the windows down at stoplights. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/fyi.gif.9f1f679348da7204ce960cfc74bca8e0.gif

and bust out every window in the neighborhood

 

[timaishu 10+ year member]

maybe who told him that just didnt explain himself fully. maybe he was assuming since he was going to underpower it that he would set his gain too high in which case it would cause clipping.
so to clarify for the OP. No, underpowering something isnt going to cause clipping directly but if it isnt loud enough, since ur underpowering, you might be enticed to set your gain too high which would cause clipping.

Okay, that makes sense. Is clipping like distortion? As in, if it starts to happen, I can just turn the volume or down a notch and Im good?

 

[shimmyz 10+ year member]

Okay, that makes sense. Is clipping like distortion? As in, if it starts to happen, I can just turn the volume or down a notch and Im good?

Pretty much. Alot of people try to make up for a small amp by cranking the gain up. By doing this the amp is working beyond its limits (clipping). A clipped signal is no good for a sub

 

[jbizzle 5,000+ posts]

You can never blow a sub from under powering it.

 

[DBfan187 5,000+ posts]

You can send a fully clipped signal to a speaker and nothing will happen to it as long as the speaker can handle the extra power that comes from clipping.

 

[timaishu 10+ year member]

Okay, one more thing. If you were me, would you go for the kappa or the reference?

The only reason Im aiming towards the kappa is that it will take all 300 watts from my amp, while the reference will only take 50watts less than what my amp is capable of. Will it even make a difference?

//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/confused.gif.e820e0216602db4765798ac39d28caa9.gif//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/confused.gif.e820e0216602db4765798ac39d28caa9.gif

 

[MyFartsStink 10+ year member]

Okay, one more thing. If you were me, would you go for the kappa or the reference?
The only reason Im aiming towards the kappa is that it will take all 300 watts from my amp, while the reference will only take 50watts less than what my amp is capable of. Will it even make a difference?

//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/confused.gif.e820e0216602db4765798ac39d28caa9.gif//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/confused.gif.e820e0216602db4765798ac39d28caa9.gif

If I were you, I would not listen to the guy at the shop since he is clearly retarded, and clipping may have killed his brain cells so he doesnt even know what he is talking about. Stick around this site and you might learn something. Read some threads and find out what you really want.

 

[shimmyz 10+ year member]

If you don't plan on upgrading anytime soon get the Reference. It's less money, more efficient (louder), and It will handle your amp just fine. IMO a overpowered sub sounds much better than a underpowered one

 

[Corey69 10+ year member]

You can send a fully clipped signal to a speaker and nothing will happen to it as long as the speaker can handle the extra power that comes from clipping.

If only everyone knew this.