So why are clipping indicators not standard on amplifiers in 2026?

[Chr1]

My rule of thumb is calculate the amplifier power you need and then double it.
I have had amps shut down from overheating, but I have never driven one into clipping
Just sayin'

We shouldn't really have to do this though.

Also, having way more power than you need usually results in a lot of energy wasted due to overly high power supply losses.

 

[tineared]

We shouldn't really have to do this though.

Also, having way more power than you need usually results in a lot of energy wasted due to overly high power supply losses.

I'd argue that it's the buyer's responsibility to buy an amp that is capable of doing what they need it to do.
But you are free to vote with your wallet and only buy amps that do have clipping indicators.
I like to listen very loud on occasion, so I don't play Goldilocks with my amp selection. As always, YMMV

 

[Sokel]

I keep wondering about it. It seems so simple to implement and so useful to have. However, it's almost impossible to find in any amplifier. Absurd.

Most newer class D modules expose pins for that (icepowers I use have a ton of them, I know that first hand) .

The decision by the companies not to just connect a damn resistor and a led to them (or even use a multicolor, common anode one if they want to keep appearances clean) is either straight ignorance (hard to believe though, anyone slapping a module to a case can do it) or they aren't confident enough that the reality would confirm their absurd power claims.

 

[Chr1]

I'd argue that it's the buyer's responsibility to buy an amp that is capable of doing what they need it to do.
But you are free to vote with your wallet and only buy amps that do have clipping indicators.
I like to listen very loud on occasion, so I don't play Goldilocks with my amp selection. As always, YMMV

Fair enough. Have various amps myself, ranging from a Topping Mini 300, up to an LD Systems Class H which puts out 2 x 1500W @2 Ohms.
However I just don't think that we should have to be guessing whether the amp is coping or not, when a couple of LEDs are all that is necessary.

 

[john61ct]

So, for calibrating gain to ensure no clipping, for speaker protection with e.g. drunk teens using the system for parties

Is there a line level device to perform this function after the pre-amp?

Or do you need to measure something at speaker outputs?

 

[wwenze]

My rule of thumb is calculate the amplifier power you need and then double it.
I have had amps shut down from overheating, but I have never driven one into clipping
Just sayin'

Ahh the good ol' "My 100W amp only needs 25W of cooling" design philosophy

Throw it something with a crest factor of 0.5 and it dies. Never hit clipping once.

 

[Keith_W]

There are plenty of features on pro audio amps that I wish would make it to consumer amps. Clipping indicators is one of them. The other features I love are: (1) adjustable gain or adjustable input sensitivity; (2) auto-sense - the amp turns on when it senses signal; (3) adjustable routing and polarity. Send input A to outputs A and B, or mono inputs A and B and send them through one output or both, etc. (4) built-in DSP on some models. Mine is defeated since I apply DSP upstream, but it could be very useful for some people, (5) Speakon connectors.

I love my pro audio amp. About the only thing I don't love about it are its styling and the cooling fans. It would be OK if it looked functional, but my Yamaha PX5 has this weak attempt to look cool and it just comes off as ugly.

 

[Chrispy]

I love my pro audio amp. About the only thing I don't love about it are its styling and the cooling fans. It would be OK if it looked functional, but my Yamaha PX5 has this weak attempt to look cool and it just comes off as ugly.

My general thought so far, just use pro amps.

 

[babadono]

but I have never driven one into clipping

how you know?

 

[babadono]

Its all about marketing see, you need to call the indicator something bad-ass like "Hyper drive" or "Redline" instead of weak ass clipping

or Input Output Correlator IOC ala Crown

 

[Elkerton]

Ah, I loved my old Threshold 400A with peak vs average LED rails to light up the room in the dark.

 

[RickS]

Added cost for indicators is one factor. I suspect another is that amp clipping points would need to be better defined. An oversimplification would be a one number metric and that is not unlikely to get adopted. As I have noted elsewhere, after implementing "clipping indicators" for some folks in Hypex amps, Hypex support later revealed that the clipping indication was really a more of a general error indicator. Once I knew this, actually seemed like a better approach, but seemed implementation dependent.

Based on the above, seems a general warning indicator (that incorporates clipping) may have more appeal.

 

[Andysu]

may ask why ain't there VU meters via every avr made now with laptop display like the stomaudio/trinnov , as there's no way telling what the input and output levels are and how close to clipping and how close clipping is bad it = distortion

 

[audio_tony]

Well, a proper power actually measures delivered real power to the load, by multiplying instantaneous voltage and current, then averaging the result.

And how many peak indicators do that. Not many in my experience.

I have an amp with clipping indicators - but the indicators show clipping when it isn't, when driving 4 ohm speakers.

 

[Devnull]

My general thought so far, just use pro amps.

Exactly. My QSC amps bring voltage, current, temp and clip out to the data port connector. You get what you pay for, if you want pro sound features buy pro sound amps. The general public doesn't care about, much less want clip indicators. 99% of them probably don't even know what amplifier clipping is.

 

[Devnull]

So, for calibrating gain to ensure no clipping, for speaker protection with e.g. drunk teens using the system for parties

Is there a line level device to perform this function after the pre-amp?

Or do you need to measure something at speaker outputs?

Not hard to do. AD/DA DSP between preamp and amplifier. Then you set up the gain structure so it can't exceed the amps input rating for full gain. Or you don't worry about the gain structure use soft clip limiter. Look at something like BSS 9088i or BLU-120. The software is a free download IIRC it's called soundweb london or soundweb architecture.

 

[gwing]

they go bac

I guess a fully active speaker solution has this build in, more like a limiter, avoiding the end user to reach that limit.
I have around 4kW into 8 ohms for 3 way mains and 4 subwoofers... Power is cheap and with gain set to a level where drivers won't burn up and I won't become deaf... Clipping should be the least of my problems.

But a basic NAD amp from the 90's had this feature, so that difficult speaker loads wouldn't rip the back bone right out of the amplifier and drive it into distortion.
We have oceans of proof and measurements to avoid bad amplifiers and poor speaker cross overs.... Just skip the bad ones, and be happy with all the great gear available today. There's loads of equipment where clipping should not be a problem for most normal usage.

they go back further than that, my old basic NAD amp I had in the 70s as a student had a row of nice and very useful clipping indicators. I'd like them on my amps now if only for decoration (and nostalgia) as there is no way my ears would stand driving modern much higher powered amps into clipping.

 

[Mart68]

I don't think it's so much that manufacturer's don't want to fit them, more like too many customers don't want them.

1) Anything on an amp other than a volume control and source selector is seen as an unnecessary frippery that diverts part of the budget from making the amp sound as good as it could. Minimalism = sound quality. There's also the idea that they add 'noise'.

2) clipping lights, level meters, loudness switches are associated with cheap Far Eastern equipment from the 1970s. Anything that has them can't be any good.

 

[Digital_Thor]

They should much rather have proper clipping protection on modern recording equipment, since that is a really nasty distortion in my ears.
Loads and loads of videos on youtube, is a clear sign of something not done right - in way to many cases. Being the loudest to be seen, might have something to do with it too.

 

[john61ct]

Not hard to do. AD/DA DSP between preamp and amplifier.

Can you suggest (link to?) low cost examples of such units for use per stereo pair? Low cost as in family meal out territory

Maybe not just for this function, would be a good spot to do "per-speaker as anechoic as possible" compensation EQ

and maybe bandpassing enclosures, rather than spending more on 4-channel crossovers?

I am using a mix of one-driver "active system" boxen vs passive multi-way speaker enclosures with internal crossovers

...

> Then you set up the gain structure so it can't exceed the amps input rating for full gain.

For speaker protection, assuming the amp even at clean levels below clipping has capacity to blow out drivers, would the lower setpoint required need to be set just by listening for distortion, then backing off say 3dB?

> Or you don't worry about the gain structure use soft clip limiter.

Does that work like signal compression? My understanding is this approach is not as good from a SQ POV for high SPL listening?

I got a Alesis 3632 cheap on eBay to try for peak limiting, but not sure how well that will work, might affect SQ?


keyword Modularised audio DSP