Clipping is when the regular sine wave becomes a tangent wave (IIRC). Basically, instead of sending your sub AC (Alternating Current... to view this, turn on any song, and use the 'scope' visualization. That's what the signal wave looks like. When a signal clips, it flattens out at one point in the wave.) current, it sends it DC (Direct current) which lowers sound quality and over time damages the coil due to thermal repercussions. Clipping has nothing to do with your sub, it has to do with your amp / processor (Head unit, or otherwise noted.)RMS = Root Mean Square, which is basically the mean of the power that your sub is seeing. It's a nice way to round to see how much power a woofer is seeing. 2K watts is it's thermal and mechanical limits, and should never be seen.