For the last time, PLEASE: clipping does NOT blow speakers/subwoofers

[DBfan187 5,000+ posts]

No, clipping is NOT DC!!!!!!!!!!! It's AC.

 

[James Bang 5,000+ posts]

AC Slater

 

[RAM_Designs 5,000+ posts]

Yes, but thats like saying its not big deal to run your cars engine without water, as long as it doesnt get overheated. Because its the heat that causes the failure, not the lack of water.

That's acutally a bad example, here's why.

Clipping by itself does not cause driver failer, only when the clipped power is exceeding the thermal handling of the speaker.

On the other hand, complete lack of water in your engine will cause failure, regardless of how large or small your engine is.

Now, you can remove some of the water and have the engine work fine; this is similar to clipping a low power amp to a high power sub. But if you take too much water away, or put too much clipped power to the sub, you'll see the engine and sub fail. It's all about reaching limits, and knowing how to avoid it.

 

[jdawg 5,000+ posts]

That's acutally a bad example, here's why.
Clipping by itself does not cause driver failer, only when the clipped power is exceeding the thermal handling of the speaker.

On the other hand, complete lack of water in your engine will cause failure, regardless of how large or small your engine is.

Now, you can remove some of the water and have the engine work fine; this is similar to clipping a low power amp to a high power sub. But if you take too much water away, or put too much clipped power to the sub, you'll see the engine and sub fail. It's all about reaching limits, and knowing how to avoid it.

thats a pretty bad example

 

[DBDesignsElite]

No, clipping is NOT DC!!!!!!!!!!! It's AC.

FAIL. Sorry about that. I ment to say AC.

 

[DBfan187 5,000+ posts]

You still failed. During clipping, the woofer doesn't stop at all, it keeps on moving. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif

 

[DBDesignsElite]

You still failed. During clipping, the woofer doesn't stop at all, it keeps on moving. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif

I will argue this point. It does for a very very very short period of time. Both in the top stroke and the bottom stroke. I can graph it if you need me to.//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[DBfan187 5,000+ posts]

You will lose. The signal will still oscillate both ways, it never stops.

 

[DBDesignsElite]

SO you are saying that when the signal "Wave" squares off "Now CLipped" what happens to the driver then. Durring its up and down motion?

Of coarse the signal still oscillates. But both the peak and dip in the waveform is squared off. What i am saying here is that when clipping,, does the driver still exibit and maintain the Non-clipped Signal??

So everyones saying that clipping a subwoofer wont damage it unless the power exceeds that of the rated power on the sub??

 

[btdickey99 5,000+ posts]

SO you are saying that when the signal "Wave" squares off "Now CLipped" what happens to the driver then. Durring its up and down motion?
Of coarse the signal still oscillates. But both the peak and dip in the waveform is squared off. What i am saying here is that when clipping,, does the driver still exibit and maintain the Non-clipped Signal??

So everyones saying that clipping a subwoofer wont damage it unless the power exceeds that of the rated power on the sub??

that is what I have gathered from it all

 

[PV Audio 5,000+ posts]

so if i have a shitty jensen amp pushin a FI BTL the 100 watts will blow it cause of thermal overload?

Oh my God, this shouldn't be that difficult.

 

[theCybe 5,000+ posts]

lemons, wtf this thread? don't confuse the noobs.

 

[DBfan187 5,000+ posts]

The driver still moves, it never stops. That flattening of the wave is just high frequency information.

 

[DBfan187 5,000+ posts]

also

Only way a voicecoil burns up ... "prematurely" or otherwise ... is excessive electrical input power, converted to heat in the coil's resistance.
Now, since amplifiers are like voltage sources, power is ~V^2/R. So you've only got two options for explaining coil burn-up:

1. A surprisingly large RMS voltage may be delivered to the coil during amp clipping, as described (very well, in good detail) above. Well, "surprisingly large" ... to someone that hasn't gone through the calculations

2. The input impedance of the coil drops during clipping, allowing more current to flow and therefore more heat. I think there's a possibility of this, IF the sub reaches an excursion limit (motional impedance dropping to simply voicecoil resistance, allowing more current to flow through the coil, therefore more heat). But I sure don't see it from amplifier clipping.

Bottom line : Coils burn from excessive power, nothing to do with waveform shape. If you want to explain burned coils, you gotta explain where the extra power came from ... pure & simple

http://www.audiogroupforum.com/csforum/showpost.php?p=45125&postcount=16

 

[PV Audio 5,000+ posts]

Squeak, now do you see why I just wanted it to die? People are just making this shit more complicated than it is. To recap: excessive power that causes a speaker to continually exceed either Xmech or Pe will cause a speaker to fail. Because clipping can cause this excessive power is irrelevant, because numerous other things could be the cause.