Clipping incidents !!!

[Sonic_Nirvana]

Hi ,

I,m checking with Voxengo Span the clipping incidents that I can find in a lot of masters ( like American idiot ) and the quantity is really big ,

Is there any problem letting these clipping incidents for some cd players , radio ..... ?

Or I have to trust my ears and don,t worry about that ?


Thanks in advance

[Lagerfeldt]

Originally Posted by Sonic_Nirvana

Is there any problem letting these clipping incidents for some cd players , radio ..... ?

Yes, clipping could lead to distortion in the D/A when exceeding the headroom during the analog reconstruction during playback. In radio it often leads to other kinds of distortion and can even be counter-productive in terms of volume.

Or I have to trust my ears and don,t worry about that ?

Yes and no. In the end you should listen to the sound and not worry about technical stuff. On the other hand, the problem with D/A clipping is that you'll never know exactly how it sounds other places - only in your own system. So in theory clipping is best avoided.

[Sonic_Nirvana]

Thanks Lagerfelt for your answer ,

my question is about the clips that happen after the limiter ,
My basic chain is EQ > DAC via Hedd192 > OCL-2 > ADC > Limiter.
Sometimes I use to clip the ADC ( basically the snare , some toms ... ) .

Have I to avoid the clips post-limiter ( even if I don,t hear any kind of distorsion )?

Thanks

[bob katz]

Originally Posted by Sonic_Nirvana

Thanks Lagerfelt for your answer ,

my question is about the clips that happen after the limiter ,
My basic chain is EQ > DAC via Hedd192 > OCL-2 > ADC > Limiter.
Sometimes I use to clip the ADC ( basically the snare , some toms ... ) .

Have I to avoid the clips post-limiter ( even if I don,t hear any kind of distorsion )?

Thanks

The bottom line is you never can tell for sure when a clip is going to bite you. But an excellent test is to listen to the S channel of a low bit rate MP3 you can encode from your source. That's what might happen on Satellite radio, for example, and low bit rate can be VERY low on satellite, like less than 60 kbps!

An oversampled meter is a VERY good indication that you could get bitten. Clipping, and extreme high frequency over-levels can cause MP3 encoders and also filtering (which can be found in Broadcast processors and sample rate converters) overload and produce unplesant artifacts.

High RMS levels can cause MP3 encoders to give up the ghost and also distort, as well as use up very high bit rates (in vbr systems like Satellite broadcast) so if you have very high RMS AND CLIPPING you're in double trouble.

[Lagerfeldt]

Originally Posted by Sonic_Nirvana

Have I to avoid the clips post-limiter ( even if I don,t hear any kind of distorsion )?

You don't have to do anything, but it's certainly not a bad idea to avoid intersample peaks or clipping in general. Like I said and also Bob repeated, you can't tell for sure how the clipping problem will sound elsewhere.

I routinely use digital limiting or clipping on purpose if that's what the track or client asks for but in a perfect world where fidelity was king I'd avoid it.

[Sonic_Nirvana]

Thanks Lagerfeldt and Bob for your help !!!!!!

[Table Of Tone]

Originally Posted by bob katz

The bottom line is you never can tell for sure when a clip is going to bite you. But an excellent test is to listen to the S channel of a low bit rate MP3 you can encode from your source. That's what might happen on Satellite radio, for example, and low bit rate can be VERY low on satellite, like less than 60 kbps!

An oversampled meter is a VERY good indication that you could get bitten. Clipping, and extreme high frequency over-levels can cause MP3 encoders and also filtering (which can be found in Broadcast processors and sample rate converters) overload and produce unplesant artifacts.

High RMS levels can cause MP3 encoders to give up the ghost and also distort, as well as use up very high bit rates (in vbr systems like Satellite broadcast) so if you have very high RMS AND CLIPPING you're in double trouble.

This is pretty useful and interesting!

Lately, I find I'm being extra hard on myself these days.
I will listen to a master on several different systems (including a low bit rate MP3) and normally end up recalling it myself, before even submitting it!

Do you ever get those times where you're never happy with your own work?