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All music is clipped?!?


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So, since I joined the fourms, I have learned lots about car audio do's and dont's. One thing that is said time and time again, is dont clip your equipment.... So I started to read and learn about music clipping...

Now, I just have the free Audacity to check it out, however, ALL my music is clipped, and I dont understand why?? Doesnt seem to matter weither I buy a CD from the store, digitial download, free mixed tapes... Even "digitaly mastered" music that was not altered at all... all of it contains the "red lines of death".... Honestly, the only music I have that doesnt contain the red lines of death is the stuff Decaf mixed up....

Is this something that I should worry about? I love to full tilt my system every chance I get....

I have around 90gigs +-5 of music I have collected over many years, I realllllly dont want to go through each song and try to figure out how to remove every clip...

I really feel kinda... ripped off paying for music all these years that is clipped to shit...

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Don't worry about red lines as much as "Flat Spots".

Play a song in WMP on the slowest setting & look for any squared signals, they'll be pretty noticeable & once you get good at Audacity you'll be able to zoom in & look for true low pass clipping alot quicker/easier. And slight clipping is fine, you just gotta know your limit & set your gains right.

& when importing songs from CD's try to use apple lossless THEN convert to mp3 (at least that always makes me feel better).

Hope this helped.

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Basically Stock

In process of upgrading

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Ok. I also use the WMP setting to look for those flat spots you mentioned, its very hard, even on the slowest setting to find those flat peaks.

All my gains n X over n such were set via the USB w/ the DD-1 and the CC-1 from a fellow forums member, just kinda frustraiting knowing music I payed for *can* possiably ruin my equipment.

Maybe Im just over thinking all of this...

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Ok. I also use the WMP setting to look for those flat spots you mentioned, its very hard, even on the slowest setting to find those flat peaks.

All my gains n X over n such were set via the USB w/ the DD-1 and the CC-1 from a fellow forums member, just kinda frustraiting knowing music I payed for *can* possiably ruin my equipment.

Maybe Im just over thinking all of this...

Almost all non modified music will not be a problem. Just be careful with "slowed" or "bass boosted" modified music. However there are some songs out there with heavy clipping that haven't been modified.

Head unit: Pioneer P880prsFront stage: Alpine Type X 17PRO componentsComponent amp: PPI BK 800.4Subs: Two SSA XCON 12's in 4.5 cubes tuned to 34hzSub amp: PPI BK1300.1Sound Deadening: Second Skin Damplifier Pro, Spectrum, and Sludge

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It's been discussed before, Audacity doesn't check clipping for lower frequencies exclusively. It shows all ranges of frequencies mashed together, for lack of a better explination. And your subs aren't going to be playing anywhere near all of those frequencies, so it's not a good way to check.

Practice on .5 speed in wmp or whatever the slowest setting is. It'll get easier checking songs after a while, and if it helps, modify it to clip and run it through WMP to get an idea of what to look for.

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It's been discussed before, Audacity doesn't check clipping for lower frequencies exclusively. It shows all ranges of frequencies mashed together, for lack of a better explination. And your subs aren't going to be playing anywhere near all of those frequencies, so it's not a good way to check.

Practice on .5 speed in wmp or whatever the slowest setting is. It'll get easier checking songs after a while, and if it helps, modify it to clip and run it through WMP to get an idea of what to look for.

Once you know what you're looking for, you can totally spot it in Audacity.

System:

Basically Stock

In process of upgrading

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It's been discussed before, Audacity doesn't check clipping for lower frequencies exclusively. It shows all ranges of frequencies mashed together, for lack of a better explination. And your subs aren't going to be playing anywhere near all of those frequencies, so it's not a good way to check.

Practice on .5 speed in wmp or whatever the slowest setting is. It'll get easier checking songs after a while, and if it helps, modify it to clip and run it through WMP to get an idea of what to look for.

Once you know what you're looking for, you can totally spot it in Audacity.

Hmm...I guess i should've clarified. I was talking strictly sending a clipped signal to your subs. I was always told you can't accurately check specifically for low frequency clipping because audacity shows clipping from any hz.

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I been using this to "fix" my music tonight, not sure if it will make the sound worse/quieter/not hit as hard, find out in the am tom. Hopefully this guide is right... Really not taking me as long as I thought, after 40 tracks, im wizing right through them... lol

Edited by volvowith18psi
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IDK about that whole lossless then MP3, converting files will just keep compressing the file correct so you will just keep losing quality in the highs. I just use 320kbps CBR with Itunes in the rare event I actually buy a CD lol

2015 Mazda 6

JVF Customz 4.0 Proto 15>Wolfram W4500 @ .5ohm

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NSB-AMG35 (front) / 40ah Lithium Headway (Rear) built by Erni Audio & Electrical

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