Clipping???

[scotties2006]

I'm fairly new to all of this but have already received an amazing amount of help from many forum members. However, I now have another question.

I'm still waiting for my new speakers and receiver to arrive. Most will be here tomorrow and the remainder on Monday.

My question is in regards to "clipping". I just read that you should buy a receiver that is rated at a higher watts per channel than your speakers are rated for. This is to avoid clipping...which causes loss of the upper/lower sound waves and leads to distortion and ultimately speaker damage. So clipping occurs when things are underpowered.

The speakers I have ordered are rated at 100-125 Watts. The receiver is rated at 90W per channel (7.1). It would appear that I have an underpowered receiver on the way.

I don't want to damage my speakers. So, is "clipping" a real issue and do I need to send my receiver back and upgrade to something capable of more wattage My speakers are Klipsch which are supposed to be efficient but I just don't know about all of this.


Any input would be appreciated.

TIA

 

[FloridaDude007]

That is interesting...

 

[mulester7]

I'm fairly new to all of this but have already received an amazing amount of help from many forum members. However, I now have another question.

I'm still waiting for my new speakers and receiver to arrive. Most will be here tomorrow and the remainder on Monday.

My question is in regards to "clipping". I just read that you should buy a receiver that is rated at a higher watts per channel than your speakers are rated for. This is to avoid clipping...which causes loss of the upper/lower sound waves and leads to distortion and ultimately speaker damage. So clipping occurs when things are underpowered.

The speakers I have ordered are rated at 100-125 Watts. The receiver is rated at 90W per channel (7.1). It would appear that I have an underpowered receiver on the way.

I don't want to damage my speakers. So, is "clipping" a real issue and do I need to send my receiver back and upgrade to something capable of more wattage My speakers are Klipsch which are supposed to be efficient but I just don't know about all of this.


Any input would be appreciated.

TIA

.....Scotties, with Klipsch speakers of any era, 90 watts will make them sing beautifully....I envy you how much you're going to enjoy what I assume is your first bonafide sound-system....what brand and model of receiver do you have coming?....will it be pushing more than two speakers at this time?....if not, you're set even better....don't worry, but listen at semi-sane levels....loud is fine, but with no distortion....wire-up those Klipsch speakers, set the tone controls in the middle, fire up your source, and torch that receiver off, young man....congratulations and enjoy....

 

[annunaki]

Please see this thread:

http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/showthread.php?t=53959

It covers the same topic.

You should not have much issue unless you have a very large room, like to listen loudly, and sit very far from your speakers.

 

[scotties2006]

Thanks....that makes me feel better. I do have a fairly large room (18X30). Which poses another question...all the talk about small vs large sized rooms. Are there measurements which fall into small vs large, what is considered large?

The speakers I have coming are Klipsch Ref 52's (2 fronts, center, 2 surrounds and the Klipsch RT10d sub). I would like to add an extra 2 speakers in the near future. The receiver is an Onkyo 7.1 (90w X 7 channels) TXSR606.

Thanks again.

 

[annunaki]

I would consider that a medium-large to large room. Higher than 8 ft. ceilings will add to the total volume of course.

 

[murl]

Nothing to worry about just don't play close to max volume, loud is fine. I am running 75W to speakers that will handle 500W pretty easily.

 

[lsiberian]

Amps do clip more often than we realize, but at half the wattage rating there is no cause for concern. If you are really scared of clipping or just never want to ever again. You will need something like a Behringer ep2500 or one of the Yamaha stereo amps. Which isn't necessary in most setups.

IOTW forget about it!

 

[newaudiofile]

I dont plan on hijaking this tread. but I have some questions concerning this,and since there is no need to create a different thread, that is tryin to reduce thread count

OK anyway.
I'm thinking of getting a Marantz 5003
the power output for 8 ohm is 90W x 7 (20Hz - 20kHz)
My speakers are Wharfedale Pacific EVo 10, 6 ohm 120W for the mains.

I have a 5.1 system and the Marantz is originally 7.1 which can matrix into 5.1

My current amp is a Yamaha RX-V461 with 100W per channel, and I have to get it about -25 db on the volume to get a nice sound.

How sure can I be that the difference of 10W will not run the Marantz into clipping?

Another question then is where will the extra power for the 2 rear side speakers go?

 

[ErinH]

Having more power is always a good thing. More Power on tap = Headroom

http://www.audiomasterclass.com/arc.cfm?a=headroom-what-is-it-why-do-you-need-it

 

[lsiberian]

I dont plan on hijaking this tread. but I have some questions concerning this,and since there is no need to create a different thread, that is tryin to reduce thread count

OK anyway.
I'm thinking of getting a Marantz 5003
the power output for 8 ohm is 90W x 7 (20Hz - 20kHz)
My speakers are Wharfedale Pacific EVo 10, 6 ohm 120W for the mains.

I have a 5.1 system and the Marantz is originally 7.1 which can matrix into 5.1

My current amp is a Yamaha RX-V461 with 100W per channel, and I have to get it about -25 db on the volume to get a nice sound.

How sure can I be that the difference of 10W will not run the Marantz into clipping?

Another question then is where will the extra power for the 2 rear side speakers go?

10 watts is not a big enough difference to even matter. You literally have to double the wattage before you hear a difference. Clipping isn't a huge issue as long as you listen at reasonable volumes. If you don't you will need louder speakers and pro level amps.

 

[zhimbo]

My current amp is a Yamaha RX-V461 with 100W per channel, and I have to get it about -25 db on the volume to get a nice sound.

How sure can I be that the difference of 10W will not run the Marantz into clipping?

The Yamaha power rating is 100W(1kHz), not (20-20KHz), so the power ratings of the two receivers are measured differently. The Marantz probably has as much or more headroom as the Yamaha. And 10W, as others have said, is pretty trivial anyway.

 

[newaudiofile]

Thanks guys for the reply, but the other question. Just for fun.

Where does the power go for the other not present two speakers go?


Trying to understand the power distribution of the amp.

 

[ErinH]

I’m not an EE; just a hobbyist so I'm sure someone might disagree, but...
The power doesn't go anywhere. There are dedicated channels of an amplifier and if no load is presented to those channels, they do nothing. I’m sure there may be designs that pull resources from unused channels, but I can’t think of any examples.
Look at it like this: does your utility bill increase if you don’t turn your blowdryer on?


Now, I have heard people suggest that by not having an amp pushing multiple channels that it can then send a cleaner signal to the channels that are being pushed (ie: lower THD). Say, if it’s a 4 channel amplifier and you have all 4 channels powering speakers. Then you pull two of the speakers and now the amp only powers 2 channels. Supposedly the signal to those 2 remaining channels is now cleaner. I personally don’t know if I believe this. I should try to test this sometime once I get my workshop up and running. I’ll probably forget by then, though.