Kevin,
Do you notice or have you been told that the Velodyne SMS-1 is easy to clip by overloading the input? This is what Tony Gee is saying in his writeup here. I'm just curious to see if it is true.
Best,
Anand.
Any device can clip if driven wrong. The reason it is a bigger issue with the SMS-1, is that there is an absolutely huge range of output voltages from the industries receivers. Also, with subs, people often don't notice they are clipping the input of the SMS-1 because it isn't as audible as it is from a full-range speaker. They can happily go on using it while clipping the input stage until they decide to do a distortion measurement.
The solution is pretty simple. Turn down the input voltage driving the SMS-1 to the minimum you can get by with and use the gain of the SMS-1 rather than gain upstream. That way you won't clip the input stage which is the issue. You could blame Velodyne for not making it idiot proof but there is really only so much you can do to idiot proof a device. The issue is mainly one of standards. The consumer audio industry doesn't have good standards for the range of output voltages for HT receivers. That creates problems anytime your trying to design equipment that interfaces with equipment from other companies.
It is what it is though. The secret to success is to use as little output voltage as possible from your HT processor.
Kevin Haskins
Exodus Audio
