{"id":484394,"date":"2022-08-13T16:00:06","date_gmt":"2022-08-13T13:00:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/what-is-audio-distortion-and-what-causes-it\/"},"modified":"2022-08-13T16:00:06","modified_gmt":"2022-08-13T13:00:06","slug":"what-is-audio-distortion-and-what-causes-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/what-is-audio-distortion-and-what-causes-it\/","title":{"rendered":"#What Is Audio Distortion, and What Causes It?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_84 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a2e737172c1a\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a2e737172c1a\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/what-is-audio-distortion-and-what-causes-it\/#%E2%80%9CWhat_Is_Audio_Distortion_and_What_Causes_It%E2%80%9D\" >&#8220;What Is Audio Distortion, and What Causes It?&#8221;<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-2' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/what-is-audio-distortion-and-what-causes-it\/#What_Is_Audio_Distortion\" >What Is Audio Distortion?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/what-is-audio-distortion-and-what-causes-it\/#Total_Harmonic_Distortion_THD\" >Total Harmonic Distortion (THD)<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/what-is-audio-distortion-and-what-causes-it\/#Clipping\" >Clipping<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/what-is-audio-distortion-and-what-causes-it\/#Speaker_Distortion\" >Speaker Distortion<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h1><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"%E2%80%9CWhat_Is_Audio_Distortion_and_What_Causes_It%E2%80%9D\"><\/span>&#8220;What Is Audio Distortion, and What Causes It?&#8221;<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1>\n<div>\n<figure style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"type:primaryImage size-full wp-image-822581\" data-pagespeed-no-defer=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/speaker-repair-blue-light.jpg?width=1198&amp;trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"A pair of speakers being repaired on a workbench under blue light.\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span class=\"type:primaryImage imagecredit\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shutterstock.com\/image-photo\/work-speaker-repairer-1293784684\">piyaphun phunyammalee\/Shutterstock.com<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Spend any time shopping for audio products, whether it\u2019s a Bluetooth speaker or an audiophile headphone amp, and you\u2019ll hear about distortion. But what is audio distortion, and where does it come from in the first place?<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_Is_Audio_Distortion\"><\/span>What Is Audio Distortion?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>It doesn\u2019t help that the definition of distortion is awfully vague, even if you\u2019re limiting it to just audio distortion. If an audio waveform comes out of a given signal changed or deformed compared to the input signal, that\u2019s technically distortion.<\/p>\n<p>There are two types of audio distortion: linear and non-linear. Linear distortion is a change in the amplitude of a signal, while non-linear distortion is a change in the frequency content of a signal. While both are forms of audio distortion, when most people talk about audible distortion, they\u2019re talking about non-linear distortion.<\/p>\n<p>Linear distortion doesn\u2019t add anything to a signal. Instead, it directly changes it. This can be in very noticeable ways like changing the pitch or volume of a sound, or in more subtle ways like altering the phase of a signal.<\/p>\n<p>Non-linear distortion adds additional frequencies to the signal. These can sound like a grainy texture on top of the sound, almost like you\u2019re listening to an old vinyl record. It can add a buzzing, hissing, or crackling sound to recordings.<\/p>\n<p>That said, non-linear distortion isn\u2019t always unpleasant. Most pop music production uses various forms of non-linear distortion throughout the mixing process, even in what sound like clean, pristine recordings.<\/p>\n<p>In this article, we\u2019re focusing on the unpleasant side of audio distortion with the three most common forms you\u2019re likely to encounter. These are total harmonic distortion, clipping, and speaker distortion.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Total_Harmonic_Distortion_THD\"><\/span>Total Harmonic Distortion (THD)<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Harmonic distortion is sounds that have been added to the original frequencies present in a signal. Total harmonic distortion is a measurement of how much of an audio signal consists of those newly added harmonic frequencies compared to the original.<\/p>\n<p>Harmonic frequencies aren\u2019t always unwanted. If music was all fundamental frequencies, it would be pretty boring. The harmonics in sound are what give instruments their unique timbres. The low E string on a guitar is roughly 83 Hz, but harmonics at different frequencies are what give it the sound of a guitar string.<\/p>\n<p>This isn\u2019t all harmonics are useful for. As an example, audio engineers will often enhance the harmonic frequencies around bass instruments to ensure you can hear them on smaller speakers that physically can\u2019t reproduce the fundamental frequency.<\/p>\n<p>When components in your stereo system add harmonics to a signal, they\u2019re not usually pleasant. This is why manufacturers aim to keep the total harmonic distortion of their components as low as possible. The THD of a class D amplifier, for example, is regularly far below one percent.<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s a reason for this one percent figure: that\u2019s the level where people will start to notice it. While only some people can hear distortion well below one percent, most will notice when it goes above that figure.<\/p>\n<p>Harmonic distortion is present in any product that includes an amplification stage, from your phone to your home theater system. Fortunately, you won\u2019t often hear it, and you don\u2019t need to worry about it.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Clipping\"><\/span>Clipping<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Clipping is what h<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>ens when a signal pushes beyond a specific threshold. This threshold is often the power rating of an amplifier, but clipping can happen to an audio signal at many different stages for varying reasons.<\/p>\n<p>No matter how or why the signal is exceeding the threshold, this effectively chops off the peaks of the signal. Where in a signal chain the clipping is happening will determine how abruptly this happens, meaning clipping can range from barely noticeable distortion to a loud, ragged sound that has you diving for the power button on your stereo.<\/p>\n<figure style=\"width: 640px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-809601\" data-pagespeed-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/high-end-stereo-turntable-system-650x366.jpg?trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"High-end stereo system with a turntable, preamplifier, power amplifier, phonoamplifier, and CD player.\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"\/pagespeed_static\/1.JiBnMqyl6S.gif\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span class=\"imagecredit\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shutterstock.com\/image-photo\/hiend-stereo-system-turntable-preamplifier-power-365733806\">Cls Graphics\/Shutterstock.com<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Digital clipping is typically the most unpleasant variety. This can happen in software, a component\u2019s analog to digital (ADC) or digital to analog (DAC) converters, or in a standalone product like an external DAC. No matter what, it\u2019s not something you want to hear.<\/p>\n<p>Of course, how unpleasant clipping sounds is often a result of how you use it, and in the analog world it can sound great. Guitar distortion and overdrive are both forms of clipping, letting a guitar sing in a way that it couldn\u2019t otherwise.<\/p>\n<p>That said, when clipping happens in your stereo system, due to a component mismatch or simply turning the volume up too loud, it\u2019s never a good thing.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Speaker_Distortion\"><\/span>Speaker Distortion<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Speaker distortion is exactly what it sounds like, and it sounds like your speaker is trying to rip itself apart.<\/p>\n<p>The good <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">news<\/a> is, most of the time, what you\u2019re hearing as a speaker distorting may actually just be clipping. This is probably your amplifier struggling to drive the speaker and distorting as it is exceeding its maximum power rating to try to bring sound to the speaker. Turn down the volume and this will stop.<\/p>\n<p>Other times, what you\u2019re hearing is non-linear movement in the speaker driver, which is meant to move linearly. This can be a result of using too powerful an amplifier or an ohm mismatch between speaker and amplifier.<\/p>\n<p>In a speaker, as the electrical signal hits the driver\u2019s voice coil, the driver should move in turn with the waveform. If the audio signal is too powerful, the motion can start to bottom out at the extremes, meaning it can\u2019t push more air. This is where you start to hear actual speaker distortion.<\/p>\n<p>If this continues, this can physically damage the speaker, so if you think you hear speakers distorting, be sure to turn the volume down as quickly as possible. Even if it turns out to be clipping, this usually means something isn\u2019t right in your stereo or home theater system.<\/p>\n<p>To make sure you\u2019ve got everything hooked up correctly, take a look at our guide to home theater wiring connections.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script>\n setTimeout(function(){\n  !function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s)\n  {if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?\n  n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};\n  if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';\n  n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;\n  t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];\n  s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s) } (window, document,'script',\n  'https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js');\n   fbq('init', '335401813750447');\n   fbq('track', 'PageView');\n  },3000);\n<\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. 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But what is audio distortion, and where does it come from in the first place? What Is Audio Distortion? It doesn\u2019t help that&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":484395,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/speaker-repair-blue-light.jpg?height=200p&trim=2,2,2,2","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-484394","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/484394","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=484394"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/484394\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/484395"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=484394"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=484394"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=484394"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}