OblivionLord

You say clipping/distortion can't hurt speakers, only overpowering them can.... clipping and distortion are your audible warnings you have the volume too high

 

clipping/distortion usually = overpower for the speaker or underpowered amp

 

o now that's funny. An overpower and an underpower situation that both cause damage

This really depends on what the distortion truly is. Is the distortion synthetically based by software from an audio editor or is it clipping at the HeadUnit? Is the distortion clipping from an underpowered amp or is it really from overpower to the speaker? etc etc etc.... In order to objectively find this out, you'll need tools such as an oscilloscope and a multimeter.

Without these tools then you are merely guessing as to what the cause of the distortion maybe from.

Signal distortion is nothing if the speaker can thermally handle it.

Don't try to spin it so you look semi-correct. You are confusing actual cause/effect with symptoms. The only two things that kill speakers is too much power over time and too much instantaneous power. Distortion does not kill speakers. Clipping does not kill speakers and too little power does not kill speakers. I've shown how I can provide a speaker with all of those nasty things and how it will survive indefinately through all of them. It's not semantics. It's ignorance.

 

It would be like me telling you that my friend died from a headache. As it turns out he had a brain aneurysm, but he said he had a bad headache and then within a couple of hours was dead. I'm going to say that he died from a headache because it is just semantics and that's what I want to say. Do you ever get a headache? Are you dead?

I wish I was a member here when you guys started this whole debate. It sucks that I'm only getting the ass-end of it now. Hopfully this thread will stay active since I'm only 2 months since the last posting hehehehe.

Now to light the fire (if i can)

I think the main thing alot of people should do is look at how they define the state of distortion.

The 15wpc shelf system can not damage the 700w speaker which sounds distorted. This is because the shelf system can not overdrive the speaker beyond 700w of heat/power or even come close to it. However, overvolting the 400w amp to reach its max at 800w constantly can damage the speaker since we are exceeding the 700w rms mfg rating.

In both cases, you can 'hear' a form of distortion. 1 type is from overmodulated sound from the shelf system to the speaker which is not damaging. The other is mechanical malfunction of the speaker itself which is damaging.

Therefore, if anyone says to me that distortion damages a speaker then I have to question exactly what they are referring to when they say distortion.