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Amplifier "clipping"? What does this mean?

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Old 05-16-2004, 09:27 PM
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Default Amplifier "clipping"? What does this mean?

When I turn the volume up to loud, the cd player skips on the bass notes. How can I solve this problem? Thanks guys!!
Old 05-16-2004, 09:45 PM
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Are you sure its only on bass notes? Do you have subwoofers? When an amp clips, the signal actually stops moving for a very short period of time (less than 1 secnod) because the circutry isnt designed to handle the signal. There is more to it than this but thats the best explaination i can give you
Old 05-16-2004, 09:52 PM
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To realize what it is, you need to understand how sound works. The signal is just a sine wave that goes over and below the flat line. Lets say you have a range of -1 to 1 for your RMS power. Your amplifer can go higher then that for short periods of time. If you push the amp it goes higher, but there'* a limit to the signal strength. When you go past that, the peaks and valleys of the sine wave are cut off, and the signal mimics a square wave. This is dangerous for speakers, and will blow them after enough.

Your CD player is skipping because it is shaking. It may need a backstrap installed, i know mine does.
Old 05-16-2004, 11:13 PM
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Thanks guys. It only skips after I turn it up past a certain volume (very loud). I'm going to install new head unit (Pioneer DEH 2300) and remove the Aiwa. I'll check back in with the progress on the situation. The Amp is rated 800w max; the Fosgate 12"* are 200w max. Would I possibly just need to replace the woofers? I have a backstrap installed on the radio but I'll go over everything tomorrow when I install the new head unit.
Old 05-17-2004, 01:22 PM
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Default Problem solved!!!

The head unit (Aiwa) was to blame!! I got a Pioneer DEH 2300 a while back and installed it and the problem has been eliminated!! Plus the Pioneer sounds better as well. Thanks for the help all!! Now to get more powerful 12''*...
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