clipping

herndog · Post by **herndog** » Fri Jun 22, 2007 10:15 am

what exactly does clipping sound like on your subs? i am trying to set my gain and just want to make sure i do it right

Robert Wollenberg · Post by **Robert Wollenberg** » Fri Jun 22, 2007 12:48 pm

turn the gain all the way down on the amp, play a 40 hz or so bass tone from a test CD, turn the deck up until you hear the sound change (obviously the volume will change, but you'll hear the sound of the speaker change), then back off a couple clicks or so and that will be the maximum unclipped volume of your deck. Once you've found that, playing the same test tone, start turning up the gain on your amp, when you hear the same sort of colorization of the driver, back off the gain until it's gone, and you're there.

Remember, the gain of an amplifier is meant to match the input stage of the amp to the output of the deck. If you have a decent deck with high output, you shouldn't have to turn the gain up much at all. Don't fool yourself into turning the gain up higher thinking you're gaining something from it ... you're not.

cargodz · Post by **cargodz** » Fri Jun 22, 2007 1:25 pm

If you wanna make sure it's fool proof then use the how to in the FAQ section http://www.caraudiocentral.net/forums/showthread.php?p=91950#post91950

brent · Post by **brent** » Fri Jun 22, 2007 1:29 pm

You can't hear the clipping, many people you can, many people say you cannot. There is a tutorial in the FAQ section regarding setting gains, check it out.

http://www.caraudiocentral.net/forums/s ... php?t=7686
This one explains setting them with a DMM

Remember what Robert said though, the gain is meant to match your preamp output from the HU. Your amp manual should tell what the input sensitivity range on your amp is.

brent · Post by **brent** » Fri Jun 22, 2007 1:30 pm

Mike, you beat me to it.

cargodz · Post by **cargodz** » Fri Jun 22, 2007 1:36 pm

brent wrote:Mike, you beat me to it.

of coarse... I wrote it

Post by **GlassWolf** » Sat Jun 23, 2007 7:29 am

remember clipping is when you have a square wave going to the speakers, or a distorted sinewave.
thus, clipping sounds like what it is. distortion.

cargodz · Post by **cargodz** » Sat Jun 23, 2007 7:55 am

GlassWolf wrote:remember clipping is when you have a square wave going to the speakers, or a distorted sinewave.
thus, clipping sounds like what it is. distortion.

^Very true, but in the case of subwoofers (especially below 60hz) it is very difficult for an inexperienced person to pick that up... Much easier when dealing with components and coaxials especially with a well known track.
The clipping signal even though small, will still have an impact on your system over a period of time... That's why it is better to be as precise as possible without going to extremes... This is where the dmm comes in, and anyone that's into audio and electronics knows it's a valuable tool to have

jjohan35 · Post by **jjohan35** » Tue Aug 07, 2007 2:25 pm

I read the tutorial and I understand for the most part. I take it that you only use the positive probe on the DMM? Secondly how does the math change if I'm bridging channels for a sub output?

cargodz · Post by **cargodz** » Wed Aug 08, 2007 12:15 am

The math doesn't change for bridging, you just calculate for the amount of power required.
And you use the pos and neg sides and set the dmm to AC Volts.