( A third form of clipping, called limited clipping should also be mentioned. As a result the sound produced is much louder and harsher noise than experienced during analogue clipping. This form of clipping is a lot more abrupt and disruptive. On the other hand, hard (digital) clipping takes place when a digital system's dynamic range is exceeded. Sometimes analogue clipping may be so subdued that it can almost be inaudible. The transitional sound is very brief and fairly smooth. The two most important forms of clipping are referred to as analogue (or soft) clipping and digital (or hard) clipping.Īs the name suggests, soft (analogue) clipping takes place when an analogue system's capacity is exceeded.
This is a fairly simplistic explanation for a more complex situation, but in principle exactly how clipping occurs when an amplifier or speaker is overloaded. It is during this part where you will normally hear the harsh distorted sound. The parts of the sound wave outside the red lines will be clipped. In the diagram above, the signal strength (blue line) exceeds the capacity of the amplifier's dynamic range (green area) and cross the minimum and maximum threshold (indicated in red). The best way to describe how clipping occurs, is by looking at the sound signal as sine wave. Both have a certain capacity with which they can handle the signal strength, and once this capacity is surpassed by a stronger signal strength, clipping can occur. Why Does Clipping Occur?įirst, it is important to note that clipping does not happen due to an overload of just an amplifier's capacity, but in many cases a speaker or studio monitor as well. I think it is necessary to really find out why exactly this happens though, so that we can all better understand it and know how to avoid it.
Understanding what clipping is, already helps. The resulting harsh and distorted sound is called clipping.
This brings me to the question which many users new to home recording often ask: What exactly is clipping?Ĭlipping is a type of distortion in the sound waveform that occurs when an amplifier is driven too far beyond its maximum output capacity by a much higher voltage or signal. A commentator gets overexcited during a game on television when a goal is scored and starts screaming, or you turn up the volume of your car audio system to its maximum - both resulting in a screechy harsh distorted sound exploding from the speakers.
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