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i have never heard issues with "pops" outside of speaker issues in regards to clipping. there is definately a tonal and temporal distortion issue as new harmonics are added and notes cannot decay in a timely fashion.

There doesn't seem to be an explanation in this article of what clipping actually sounds like. Preferably, there should be an audio example... Esn (talk) 04:22, 5 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Please, somebody provide an audio sample to describe better the distortion, if possible. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 87.16.114.239 (talk) 11:10, 12 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]

How about ? ~Kvng (talk) 16:44, 22 April 2020 (UTC)[reply]

The article says that -

"A transformer (most commonly used between stages in tube equipment) will clip when its ferromagnetic core becomes electromagnetically saturated."

After reading many articles on transformers, that does not sound quite right. Take an iron core. It's max flux density occurs with no load.

I questioned what causes multi-channel AVRs to clip at relatively low power. Clearly the voltage rails are dropping. But why? The most obvious theory is poor regulation from the power transformer. But what causes poor regulation? My best guess is that the internal resistance of incapable transformers is such that high loads cause more voltage drop in the transformer. In other words, as the resistance of the load becomes closer to the IR of the transformer, more voltage drops across the transformer

It may be beyond the scope of this article to discuss these factors, but I would guess factors related to transformer performance are the main reason for clipping in modern AVR. Nominal rail voltage is likely sufficient. Transformer performance under load is likely the limiting factor, which is one reason why high powered receivers are expensive - they require large transformers.

75.71.201.190 (talk) 22:14, 1 November 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Multichannel amplifiers may clip due to current limiting in the common power supply. Current limiting reduces effective supply voltage. The nature and cause of the limiting depends on the nature of the power supply. ~Kvng (talk) 16:44, 22 April 2020 (UTC)[reply]

In the "Causes" section, the effect of filter capacitor choice was described in relation to signal clipping. This is a case of a power supply having a voltage drop in high power outputs. The AC frequency modulation though makes this pretty much a case restricted to unregulated power supplies and high fidelity stereo. A cheap 2000W class d will not have this problem because it will use a SMPS although a cheap 100W stereo might. I made relevant additions to this section, trying not to get too deep into the issue.Nxavar (talk) 14:52, 20 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

The filter capacitor reduce an AC line voltage component in the clipped signal. The root problem here is the power supply can't deliver the required current. The filter capacitor can only help with that for a few AC line cycles. ~Kvng (talk) 02:38, 25 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

@Kvng: If the power supply cannot deliver the required current then there will be a voltage drop. My understanding was that this point was about clipping created due to high ripple voltage. A power supply can have a high ripple at high power output but still be within its power rating. This can happen due to the low capacitance of the filter capacitor. In a smps the switching fequency is more dominant in the ripple voltage. In a regulated power supply the ripple voltage is rejected. So the AC line frequency can affect the clipping behaviour only in unregulated linear power supplies. Nxavar (talk) 19:06, 4 April 2021 (UTC)[reply]

In the Sound section: "Many electric guitar players intentionally overdrive their amplifiers (or insert a "fuzz box") to cause clipping in order to get a desired sound (see guitar distortion)."

In the Effects section: "Electric guitarists frequently and intentionally overdrive their guitar amplifiers to cause clipping and other distortion in order to get a desired sound."

Neither statement has a cited reference so it seems fair to remove either (or both). Nom de vileplume (talk) 16:48, 19 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]