[ebag4]

Does high passing the input of a tube amp (@ around 180hz in my case) reduce the chance of clipping?  The reason I ask is because I am now running speakers that are roughly 3 db less efficient than I was running previously, this results  in running my 2a3 amp wide open for some tracks.  I would think this could lead to poor sound but it doesn't seem to.

Thanks,
Ed

[Davey]

Does high passing the input of a tube amp (@ around 180hz in my case) reduce the chance of clipping?

You bet it does.  You're filtering away much of the bass frequencies and no longer asking the amplifier to swing the voltages to achieve those bass frequencies.  This applies to solid-state amps as well.....not just tube amps.

Cheers,

Dave.

[ebag4]

You bet it does.  You're filtering away much of the bass frequencies and no longer asking the amplifier to swing the voltages to achieve those bass frequencies.  This applies to solid-state amps as well.....not just tube amps.

Cheers,

Dave.

Thanks for the response Dave, that explains why I am not hearing any nasties driving the amp the way I am.  I would like to have a bit more power but for 95% of what I listen to the 3.5 watts is fine, and this bottlehead sounds great.

Thanks again,
Ed

[*Scotty*]

You should be able to take some of the burden off of the amplifier by high passing it at 180Hz.

You reduce the power demands made on the amp incurred when you reproduce frequencies below 180Hz., the graph shows the frequency spectrum occupied by the instruments in an orchestra, excluding most TELARC recordings. You may save even more power on pop recordings. You also reduce the amount intermodulation distortion produced by the amp when reproduces the full frequency spectrum. The reduction in IM distortion may be as audible as the reduction in clipping distortion.
Two bonuses from the high pass filter approach.
Scotty