Audacity Forum

When I use this effect and select Allow Clipping, what does this do? When I look at the waveform in general it does not seem to be a straight clip i.e. not a square waveform. So is this actually a compressor/limiter? And if so, how does it compare to just selecting the Compressor or the Limiter (with soft/hard limit or clip options) effects? If not, is there actually clipping being done, i.e. just chopping off volume spikes?

Thanks.
Mike
Aud 2.1.3

Audacity is actually warning you about potential clipping. Audacity uses floating point so it has virtually no upper (or lower) limit. But, "regular" WAV files, CDs, digital-to-analog converters, and analog-to-digital converters are all hard-limited to 0dB.

If you export to WAV, the WAV will be clipped. If you play it a full-digital volume you'll clip your DAC, etc.

When I look at the waveform of an exported .wav file which was created via significant clipping in Amplify (say about 4dB more than a non-clipping amplification) I don't see any square waves. How can I verify that the signal was clipped and not compressed?

Also, looking for feedback on my question re Compressor and Limiter options in Audacity.

Thanks.

Mike