13
adequate ventilation, will help to ensure that heat can be dissipated as it
should.
Amplifier volume and use of tone controls
Any amplifier can damage any speaker regardless of the power rating of
the amplifier or power handling capacity of the loudspeaker. When an
amplifier is played too loudly, sudden peaks (transients) in a musical
passage can cause the amplifier to attempt to deliver more power than it
can safely deliver. The result is amplifier ‘clipping’, which is a dangerous
form of distortion. Some amplifiers may also produce low frequency
pulses that can damage both woofers and crossover networks. There is
only one ‘fail-safe’ method - due care! Learn the maximum safe volume
position of your amplifier (visually around 12 o’clock on the dial for
REDGUM amplifiers – other brands will vary) and learn to live within this
limit.
You should also bear in mind that tone controls are not quality controls,
and cannot adequately compensate for the poor sound of a system or a
recording. If your amplifier has ‘Bass’ and ‘Treble’ controls, try to avoid
setting these at high levels as this can place considerable strain on your
amplifier.
Whenever changing input sources, cueing a record or cleaning a stylus,
make sure you turn down the volume.