HOW CAN I CREATE 10% THD ??

[wahab]

Originally Posted by DF96

Some industries have tried to distinguish between operators, fitters, technicians and engineers but this has never trickled down to the general public, who call them all 'engineers'.

In France ; where i did my studies , the title is protected so one cant
brand himself engineer if he doesnt have the grades but unfortunately
the name used as function is not protected so one can be promoted
engineer in a corporate even if it has no legal value....

[benb]

Originally Posted by aarvin2

No actually I am a mixing engineer and I have found that the best tracks, can resist the 100% volume perfectly, while the shitty mixes sounded super harsh and piercing.

Offhand I suspect the shitty mixes are hypercompressed and have lots of "peak" content that becomes even more clipped if the DAC clips at or near its peak output, whereas a "good" sounding signal rarely hits the peak and so overall doesn't get nearly as distorted, and so sounds just as clean at any volume.

If you've got a recording input you can use, record the DAC output at 50 percent, and also record it at 100 percent with its output going to an attenuator so that it gets recorded a the same level as the 50 percent output. These two recordings can be compared for distortion and such, especially if they're recordings of a full-scale sine wave. An FFT/frequency analysis showing the levels of the harmonics should tell the story.

I would just like to know how I could create this 100% effect in the analog world. I tried for a long time using different plugins to reproduce this effect but no plugin gave me those results.


I am using a DAC which is connected via USB to my PC. What is the volume control in the task bar actually controlling ?

I assume that USB carries only digital signal , so when the volume control on the taskbar is set at 100% , which electronic part of the DAC is being driven hot ??

This could be a problem with the specific model DAC. What's the manufacturer and model?

It's possible for the DAC chip itself to be fine, but the op-amp buffer chip to be clipping. It could be one or more of several things going on.

Originally Posted by DF96

The English word "engineer" has an unfortunately broad meaning in common usage. In mechanical terms it can mean anything from someone who knows which end of a spanner to hold, to someone who can design build and test an entire engine from scratch with full mathematical underpinning. Similarly in electronics it can mean someone who knows which valve/PCB to swap in a TV when the picture goes funny, to someone who could design the chips in the TV or the antenna it uses.

Some industries have tried to distinguish between operators, fitters, technicians and engineers but this has never trickled down to the general public, who call them all 'engineers'.

All the states in the USA have a title of Professional Engineer which one gets by passing a rigorous test covering all engineering disciplines. It's mainly used by architects, bridge designers, power plant engineers - people whose work, if unsafe, would put the public in danger. Here's an article:

Regulation and licensure in engineering - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I recall the state of Texas cracking down on advertised titles such as "sound engineer" when used by someone without a PE, when obviously they weren't offering architectural or similar engineering services that a Professional Engineer would.

Originally Posted by aarvin2

A last question please Sir, if I create distortion like you have advised , will it affect the life of my speakers and over hear them or burn them ??

I have heard that clipping does affect speakers in a bad way and cause them to blow up, and I am confused as some studio processors like a CLIPPER or Clipping the Analog to Digital converters or the clipping found in distorted rock guitars, don't seem to burn up any speakers

Thanks in advance for helping me out on this!! MERCI BEAUCOUP!!

Clipping (or whatever exactly is going on to make distortion) does make more harmonic content and puts more power into the tweeters, but it shouldn't be a problem unless it's severe enough that it's obvious to someone without decent ears, and you're playing the speakers really loud. As always, the risk of speaker damage is close to zero until you get to some high volume level, and if these are decent speakers at all, you're also risking hearing damage at that volume.

[Struth]

Hi Guys

Clipping in the small-signal domain at a point in the signal chain prior to where overall loudness is controlled will not damage your speakers.

The sound of individual instruments in modern music is often clipped as part of their tone - a fuzzed guitar, for example. This is mixed with other nondistorted tones and does not effect the health of your speakers.

Clipping the amplifier that is driving your speakers will blow tweeters easily, and the rest over time.

Have fun
Kevin O'Connor

[aarvin2]

Originally Posted by Struth

Hi Guys

Clipping in the small-signal domain at a point in the signal chain prior to where overall loudness is controlled will not damage your speakers.

The sound of individual instruments in modern music is often clipped as part of their tone - a fuzzed guitar, for example. This is mixed with other nondistorted tones and does not effect the health of your speakers.

Clipping the amplifier that is driving your speakers will blow tweeters easily, and the rest over time.

Have fun
Kevin O'Connor

Thank you for the clarification, but the method you advised to produce 10% of distortion , will it destroy the speakers ?

Again thank you so much for your advices!

[Struth]

Hi Guys

Aarvin2, please read the first paragraph of my previous post again, as the answer is there.

The clipped signal is being made in the preamp. Following where it is made, there should be a level control so you can set how loud the signal is that goes to the power amp.

As long as you do not amplify the clipped signal from the preamp to the point where your speaker complain, then there will be no issue with damage to speakers.

Have fun
Kevin O'Connor

[bear]

aarvin2,

you have a basic misconception here.

the "level" you set in your PC is not terribly meaningful, no more so than the level you set on a volume control.

what matters is the *actual* level.

That will depend on the level of the original signal or source.

Digital can *not* go past "0vu" which is simply the maximum digital level. If you clip in the digital domain, it is much the same as clipping in the analog domain. It's clipping.

Mixes that are made low enough so that they sound "good" to you at 100% merely are mixed low enough so that peaks do not clip when you put the PC sliders all the way up.

The dynamic range of the mix is important.

Also, when you decrease the level in the digital domain you may be reducing the number of bits available (depending on how it is done), so that the resolution of the signal may be reduced.

_-_-