AUDIOPHILE SUNDAY TIP # 14: WHY CLIPPING CAN FRY SPEAKERS

[Fiftyfifty]

Why Clipping Can Fry Your Speakers​

There's a persistent myth in hi-fi: that too much amplifier power is what blows speakers. In reality, the opposite is far more dangerous. Underpowered amps driven into clipping are the real speaker killers. When an amplifier runs out of headroom, it can no longer deliver a clean sine wave. Instead, the peaks of the signal flatten into a square-like shape. This "clipped" signal contains a large amount of high-frequency energy - harmonics that weren't in the original music.

Tweeters are designed for delicate, low-energy high frequencies. When clipping occurs, they suddenly get blasted with a continuous stream of unnatural HF content. They can overheat, distort, or burn out altogether. A larger amplifier doesn’t mean more risk. It means more headroom: the ability to pass musical transients cleanly without distortion.

And don’t mistake volume knob position for power delivery. A system that sounds loud at 9 o'clock may simply have high gain. What matters is whether the amp can supply current and voltage cleanly during peaks without distorting.

See the video below for a demo:

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Tip idea courtesy: @prem


www.unboxaudio.in
@unbox_audio
Whatsapp: 9764227764

 

[alpha1]

So then what about the distorted guitars/keyboards/string instrumnets recorded and played back via amplifiers & speakers.
Even though the amp is not distorting, the original recorded sound is clipped/distorted and therefore when amplified may prove too much for the tweeters to handle.
?

 

[Fiftyfifty]

So then what about the distorted guitars/keyboards/string instrumnets recorded and played back via amplifiers & speakers.
Even though the amp is not distorting, the original recorded sound is clipped/distorted and therefore when amplified may prove too much for the tweeters to handle.
?

Hi @alpha1

Intentionally recorded distortion, like distorted guitars in rock music, is limited to the normal bandwidth during the recording/mixing stage, so tweeters can definitely handle such distortion without risk of damage.
On the other hand, clipping from an underpowered amp creates extra high-frequency harmonics that are not part of the original music and go beyond the normal bandwidth. This is what can overheat and damage tweeters.

Cheers

 

[morerajendra5678]

Hi @alpha1

Intentionally recorded distortion, like distorted guitars in rock music, is limited to the normal bandwidth during the recording/mixing stage, so tweeters can definitely handle such distortion without risk of damage.
On the other hand, clipping from an underpowered amp creates extra high-frequency harmonics that are not part of the original music and go beyond the normal bandwidth. This is what can overheat and damage tweeters.

Cheers

But when under powered amps are responsible for frying of tweeters, why would tube enthusiastic risk running their speakers using 45 Tube amp or 2A3C tube amplifier when these amplifiers put out 1.5 watts and 3 watts respectively.
I believe there is something more to just the output power of amplifiers.

 

[Fiftyfifty]

But when under powered amps are responsible for frying of tweeters, why would tube enthusiastic risk running their speakers using 45 Tube amp or 2A3C tube amplifier when these amplifiers put out 1.5 watts and 3 watts respectively.
I believe there is something more to just the output power of amplifiers.

Hi
The amplifiers you mention are almost always paired with high sensitivity speakers 98db+ like horn designs. In that context, a few watts provide plenty of usable headroom without driving the amp into hard clipping. For example, the Klipsch Cornwall and La Scalas that we sell are easily driven by the LTA Micro ZOTL that outputs just 1 watt per channel
It's about matching and headroom, not just the raw watt number.
Cheers

 

[morerajendra5678]

Hi
The amplifiers you mention are almost always paired with high sensitivity speakers 98db+ like horn designs. In that context, a few watts provide plenty of usable headroom without driving the amp into hard clipping. For example, the Klipsch Cornwall and La Scalas that we sell are easily driven by the LTA Micro ZOTL that outputs just 1 watt per channel
It's about matching and headroom, not just the raw watt number.
Cheers

True that people prefer high sensitivity speakers with 45 tube based amps or 2A3C tube based amp. But still there are others who have mated these amplifiers to other speakers which are not horn. Thus these speakers don't have the typical 93+ dB sensitivity.
Doesn't speaker protection circuit kicks in to prevent damage of speakers?

 

[Fiftyfifty]

True that people prefer high sensitivity speakers with 45 tube based amps or 2A3C tube based amp. But still there are others who have mated these amplifiers to other speakers which are not horn. Thus these speakers don't have the typical 93+ dB sensitivity.
Doesn't speaker protection circuit kicks in to prevent damage of speakers?

That's a valid observation, but a high sensitivity speaker need not always be a horn. Plenty of cone designs hit 93 dB+ and work well with low-power tubes. Also, SETs clip softly and are less risky for tweeters than solid-state amps, though they won't sound good if pushed.
As for speaker protection circuits (fuses, polyswitches, relays), these are designed to guard against DC offsets or catastrophic overloads. They usually won’t react to the stress of clipping.

 

[morerajendra5678]

Also, SETs clip softly and are less risky for tweeters than solid-state amps, though they won't sound good if pushed.

I guess this is the catch. I have exposure to SET amps, horn speakers since last 15 years to 20 years(basically since my childhood). I have seen my father and his friends swap tube amplifier among themselves but never bothered to have any discussion to get a deeper understanding of how amplifiers and speakers interact.

 

[Fiftyfifty]

I guess this is the catch. I have exposure to SET amps, horn speakers since last 15 years to 20 years(basically since my childhood). I have seen my father and his friends swap tube amplifier among themselves but never bothered to have any discussion to get a deeper understanding of how amplifiers and speakers interact.

Man! You are a lucky man

 

[Kannan]

Why Clipping Can Fry Your Speakers​

There's a persistent myth in hi-fi: that too much amplifier power is what blows speakers. In reality, the opposite is far more dangerous. Underpowered amps driven into clipping are the real speaker killers. When an amplifier runs out of headroom, it can no longer deliver a clean sine wave. Instead, the peaks of the signal flatten into a square-like shape. This "clipped" signal contains a large amount of high-frequency energy - harmonics that weren't in the original music.

Tweeters are designed for delicate, low-energy high frequencies. When clipping occurs, they suddenly get blasted with a continuous stream of unnatural HF content. They can overheat, distort, or burn out altogether. A larger amplifier doesn’t mean more risk. It means more headroom: the ability to pass musical transients cleanly without distortion.

And don’t mistake volume knob position for power delivery. A system that sounds loud at 9 o'clock may simply have high gain. What matters is whether the amp can supply current and voltage cleanly during peaks without distorting.

See the video below for a demo:

View this content on Instagram

View this content on Instagram

Tip idea courtesy: @prem

View attachment 92805
www.unboxaudio.in
@unbox_audio
Whatsapp: 9764227764

both high powered and underpowered amps with respect to a speaker specification can cause damage. It can as much harm woofer as it can a tweeter depending in the distortion frequency. More so, a poorly matched preamp and a power amp can also lead to damaging drivers. Often it is perceived that an amp is only good and powerful enough if it can drive a speaker at a lower volume percentage. A volume pot is there to utilize it to its max and should be capable of devilering least noise even at its full gain, it will also ensure good amount of details across the bandwidth even at lower volumes.

 

[morerajendra5678]

both high powered and underpowered amps with respect to a speaker specification can cause damage. It can as much harm woofer as it can a tweeter depending in the distortion frequency. More so, a poorly matched preamp and a power amp can also lead to damaging drivers. Often it is perceived that an amp is only good and powerful enough if it can drive a speaker at a lower volume percentage. A volume pot is there to utilize it to its max and should be capable of devilering least noise even at its full gain, it will also ensure good amount of details across the bandwidth even at lower volumes.

From what I have heard, woofers have high power handling ability than the tweeters and hence tweeters are the once that get damaged easily.