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[talnlnky]

Originally Posted by sqcomp

...Am I missing something here?

Are you saying that an o-scope won't detect a clipped signal until it's...already clipped or distorting? Are you saying that by the time the scope shows a clipped signal, you've already got a few points of distortion?

Yep, that's exactly what i'm saying. scopes will have a magnification tool that you can use so you can zoom-in to see a more detailed view of the wave. however, there is an amount of error due to not being able to measure small enough, or to display the info in fine enough detail.

I wasn't talking about what the correct way to set gains/signal processors was... tho, I read your comments.... and understand what you say... but generally would still go with bigger amps, and a more purist approach to avoiding clipped signals. the Overlap approach, seems pretty much like a good approach at compromising between sound quality, and the price of buying more powerful amplifiers.

Think of it this way, you can split a circular pie in exactly three even pieces, but you can't perfectly find out what percent each piece of pie takes up. In math when you divide 1 whole by three, there is only one exact answer and that is 1/3. Often times people will say that it would be .3 or .33 or 33% or even .333 with the bar over the top of it that represents the number will continue on into infinity.

.33 is not the same as 1/3,
33% is not the same as 1/3,
.333 with the bar/line over the top still is not even 1/3

Yes they are very very similar... but there is a margin of error.

The scope is the same way, the signal will ALWAYS start to clip before you can actually detect it using the scope. Now, if you do even a mediocre job it will still be better than what you can do by using the human ear as a test tool. So, it's kind of a semantic point, but that is why people always find the clipping point, and then dial back one or two clicks on the deck, amp, or signal processor.