quadral GmbH & Co. KG
6) Soft clipping and peak-limiter
Overloading or overmodulation are usually prevented by restricting the volume input level via limiters. Conventional limiters function similarly to an elastic band attached to a ball and prevent it from slamming against, for example, a wall, thereby averting hard impact or even damage. However, this rubber band has an effect on every movement of the ball, not only on the larger ones. A limiter acts in the same way, which means that a subwoofer fitted with a limiter will sound slightly woolly or even distorted, even if they effectively counteract extremely high input levels.
In direct comparison, this "softening" of the basses is most certainly audible. For this reason, quadral always prefers to use soft clipping protection circuitry. Soft clipping acts more like an elastic wall that reduces - or cushions - the ball's impact in order to prevent any material damage.
This has now been supplemented by a peak limiter, developed by quadral and extremely sophisticated in its concept. This does not intervene until the electronic and bass chassis have actually reached the limit of their capacities conventional systems already intervene before that point. Consequently, the basses generated by quadral subwoofers can be relied on to remain crisp and clean, despite the fact that any overloading - accompanied by hard distortion - is optimally prevented.
In direct comparison, this "softening" of the basses is most certainly audible. For this reason, quadral always prefers to use soft clipping protection circuitry. Soft clipping acts more like an elastic wall that reduces - or cushions - the ball's impact in order to prevent any material damage.
This has now been supplemented by a peak limiter, developed by quadral and extremely sophisticated in its concept. This does not intervene until the electronic and bass chassis have actually reached the limit of their capacities conventional systems already intervene before that point. Consequently, the basses generated by quadral subwoofers can be relied on to remain crisp and clean, despite the fact that any overloading - accompanied by hard distortion - is optimally prevented.
