[Distroyed]

So what are the chances that plugging a 300-ohm headphone directly into the out of an emu 0404/1212m would take damage from our anamolous electrical currents?

 

[shimage]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bluestreak [...] BTW, I read the artcle on clipping, but it didnt go into much detail as to what it actually SOUNDS like. I simply have no point of reference for hearing clipping. What would it sound like? Is it subtle, or would you know right away something's off?

You can find clipping all around you... Just find a relatively new album, by almost anyone (e.g. try Nora Jones, or Vanessa Carlton, or the last offering from Rush), and I can almost guarantee that at some point it'll clip. Or put an amp in (to attenuate the volume) and crank the volume up on your computer (though this doesn't always work). On Windows, I noticed that if you try to wavegain files that are less than 16bit (like, say, system sounds), they end up getting really really loud and generally clip as a result. otoh, if squarewaves are as bad as people here make them out to be, perhaps you don't want to try these things at home... (anyone know where to find well-mastered music?)

The distortion that results is noticeably different from typical artifacting in mp3s. Of course, to tell the difference it helps to be a little familiar with common mp3 artifacts. I can try to describe it, but I'm not very good at those things. It sounds to me like a harshness or a roughness in a tone that ought to be more clean. I hope this is helpful, though it probably isn't...

 

[Feanor]

Damn, I've been using the hd 600 unamped from my integrated realtech SC for more than 6 months... I did have some bad clipping problems with win98, old drivers, but with win2000 its good.

hope nothing fried in the cans...

 

[Bluestreak]

I think I can detect mp3 artifacts because they have that defining pop and crackle signatures, and I've been able to notice the difference between a song encoded in 192kb and a song encoded in the more typical 128kb.

Speaking of mp3s, I think I might have detected a clipping sound in one of my mp3 songs. I just detected what sure sounded like a clipping sound, went back to the spot in the song and heard it again. Like someone cut the song in half and did a bad job putting it together, so it has the result where it sounds like the song skips for a microsecond, but enough to disrupt the smoothness of the tune.

What are some of the ways to discern whether this is an issue with the cans? Would clipping caused by headphone damage always occur at a specific moment in a song, or is it random? Since it's not random in my case, I'll presume it's the mp3 that's at fault here.

 

[Mr.Radar]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bluestreak ...defining pop and crackle signatures...

That's exactly what clipping sounds like. MP3 artifacts should sound like missing or metallic highs and lack of detail, especially at 128 kbps and less.