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What does clipping sound like?

I have been wondering if the break up distortion I hear with my 60 watt tube amps is because I have insufficient power for my 91db 6 ohm minimal speakers. I do question if that rating of my speakers is correct.
When the music swells, I get break up sound. It is not on low notes or high volume. I do wonder how my speakers would perform with a lot more power. I have always thought that any speaker likes more power.
mglik
fuzztone's avatar
fuzztone
5,600 posts
 
Sounds like a bad tube(s) to me. First sub them out.
realworldaudio
174 posts
 
Damaged / worn out speaker surrounds fit the bill....If you have push-pull tube amp, then a misalignment in the phase splitting can be the culprit of this phenomenon - either one tube / tube section got worn out, or a plate load resistor went off value due to too much heat stress.91dB speakers & 60W amp should not be an issue... have you tried both 4R and 8R output taps on the amp? Try it on the 4R tap if you've been running it on the 8R so far...

millercarbon's avatar
millercarbon
12,531 posts
 
Absolutely no idea what is going on here. Except for one thing: "when the music swells". When the music swells is called a crescendo.
speakermaster
738 posts
 
If you hear breakup or distortion it is a lack of power for your speakers and your room you would be surprised how much power mot speakers take to achieve an above normal listening level that is why there are high sensitivity high impedance large loudspeakers that achieve those above natural levels with 1 to 5 watts in most rooms.
aewarren
644 posts
 
"What does clipping sound like?"

It sounds like you’re going to have to spend some money.
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