When is Clipping a penalty?
Just wanted some opinions on the topic and/or some reading from either an article on this website or another one that further explains clipping.
I DJ with a buddy sometimes at a bar on the weekends. We have 2 ideas of when the music or power output is actually clipping. We use 2 Crown XLS 802 power amps and a Numark M3 mixer. Neither one of us clip on the amps (usually turned about halfway up), but the mixer is a different story. When I'm playing I try to keep it out of the red, maybe touching the first red occasionally, but when he plays he cranks it and usually has the mixer hitting the 3rd red a lot (9 yellows, 3 reds).
It is definitely louder when he plays, but I really can't say that I hear the sound is cutting any highs out. He says it's only clipping if the amps are showing it by the designated clipping light. I always thought it was clipping and therefore cutting frequencies when the amps and/or mixer showed it (through the visual lights). So who is right? Thanks.