Note: I apologize to the nine AKer's who had already responded to my initial poll on this topic before I deleted it (all had voted YES). I had intended to make the poll anonymous, but failed to do so. This version corrects that mistake and simplifies the responses.
The question of whether or not clipping damages speakers always leads to a lot of debate and disagreement. Given current thinking by those learned in the variables and the associated science, I'm guessing that beliefs on this topic may be changing. So, I thought I would set up a simple poll to see if this is the case. Yes, I know that this kind of non-random poll is not reliable...but it will still be interesting.
The question is: Does clipping cause speaker damage?
Definition of Clipping: The situation in which an amplifier is pushed to create a signal with more amplitude than the power supply can produce. The portion of the signal which is beyond the capability of the amplifier is "cut off" (clipped). Subsequent failures of the amplifier, such as oscillation - while they may be triggered by excessive clipping - are outside the scope of this poll.
An additional note of clarification; the intent of the question is to determine beliefs regarding whether or not clipping is a primary cause of speaker damage. There may, of course, be other ways in which speaker damage occurs. And, the question is NOT "does clipping always damage speakers". In other words, one does not have to believe that clipping causes damage in all cases to believe that it creates a significant risk of damage occurring, or that it is a common/frequent cause of damage.
Choose the answer that best describes your beliefs on the subject. The four possible responses are:
The poll will be open until the end of January, 2015. I know it may be difficult, but I sure would appreciate it if respondents can abstain from debating the question here...there are plenty of other threads where that can be done!
The question of whether or not clipping damages speakers always leads to a lot of debate and disagreement. Given current thinking by those learned in the variables and the associated science, I'm guessing that beliefs on this topic may be changing. So, I thought I would set up a simple poll to see if this is the case. Yes, I know that this kind of non-random poll is not reliable...but it will still be interesting.
The question is: Does clipping cause speaker damage?
Definition of Clipping: The situation in which an amplifier is pushed to create a signal with more amplitude than the power supply can produce. The portion of the signal which is beyond the capability of the amplifier is "cut off" (clipped). Subsequent failures of the amplifier, such as oscillation - while they may be triggered by excessive clipping - are outside the scope of this poll.
An additional note of clarification; the intent of the question is to determine beliefs regarding whether or not clipping is a primary cause of speaker damage. There may, of course, be other ways in which speaker damage occurs. And, the question is NOT "does clipping always damage speakers". In other words, one does not have to believe that clipping causes damage in all cases to believe that it creates a significant risk of damage occurring, or that it is a common/frequent cause of damage.
Choose the answer that best describes your beliefs on the subject. The four possible responses are:
- Yes.
- No, but I would have said yes if asked 1 or 2 years ago
- No.
- Undecided.
The poll will be open until the end of January, 2015. I know it may be difficult, but I sure would appreciate it if respondents can abstain from debating the question here...there are plenty of other threads where that can be done!
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