Clipping

Clipping is a matter of asking more amplification than the device can deliver.


This applies not only to analog amplifiers but to DSP (Digital Signal Processing) as well.

If we take 16 bits as an example, the max is 32767 and the min  is -32768
Any calculation yielding a bigger number e.g. 40000 won’t fit in.
Hence it is truncated, causing digital clipping.

 


DSP like boosting the bass can result in clipping.
The trick if you want more bass is not to increase the bass but lower the rest.
It yields the same effect but avoids clipping.