clipping, volume control question

[mike c]

I read somewhere that half the volume of a receiver is at 0db, is this true with the yamaha rxv640? you see, i still have this receiver installed and was wondering how high up the volume i can go, i normally listen at -45db (and find that the highs are overwhelmed by the lows unless i crank it up) but the loudest ive gone is -38db before i chicken out and lower it again.

so my question is, how do i know if i can still go louder? [considering clipping has no warning until the tweeter gets busted]

info:
left and right speakers: beta 50

i have them set to small

dont know the low freq. crossover, because i dont think the 640 allows manual tweaking

 

[tbewick]

To know if your amp is clipping or not, you can't go on what the volume control says. It is normal for the volume control on an integrated amplifier to have a maximum level that would ordinarily result in clipping. Presumably this is to allow for source material that is very quiet.

On my receiver, the volumes you've specified wouldn't be loud.

 

[MDS]

http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/showthread.php?t=14667&highlight=0db

 

[j_garcia]

so my question is, how do i know if i can still go louder? [considering clipping has no warning until the tweeter gets busted]

When it starts to sound "bad", you've reached that point. It should be quite apparent when you reach this point, because the sound will become distorted.

It's impossible to compare your volume # on your receiver to someone else's, because that will be silghtly different for every setup.

When your speakers are set to small, Yamahas that did not have an adjustable x-over were usually fixed at 90Hz.

 

[mike c]

When it starts to sound "bad", you've reached that point. It should be quite apparent when you reach this point, because the sound will become distorted.

"bad" - wont that be the same as the clipping point?

 

[mike c]

Presumably this is to allow for source material that is very quiet.

forgot to mention that the article specified that the 0db at half volume is for CD input

 

[mike c]

http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/showthread.php?t=14667&highlight=0db

somehow i forgot that i read that already. but the thread doesnt corelate the volume levels to clipping levels (and if i can go higher)

 

[j_garcia]

It depends on your specific setup, and nobody else can tell you that. There is no way to correlate volume to clipping level for every condition because of the number of variables.

Example of "bad" - ever been in a car and turned the stock radio up too high and you can hear that it sounds "fuzzy" (for lack of a better term) and possibly crackly? THAT is clipping, and that is when you risk damaging the speakers.

 

[mike c]

Example of "bad" - ever been in a car and turned the stock radio up too high and you can hear that it sounds "fuzzy" (for lack of a better term) and possibly crackly? THAT is clipping, and that is when you risk damaging the speakers.

now that i've heard! the local crazy guy does that to his car. thanks j garcia