Editing Linear range

{{Unreferenced|date=December 2009}}
The '''linear range''' is that range of input or output values for which an [[Electronics|electronic]] [[amplifier]] produces an output [[signal (information theory)|signal]] that is a direct, [[linear]] function of the input signal. That is, the output can be represented by the equation:{{citation needed|date=April 2025}}

:''Output'' = ''Input'' × ''Gain''

When operating in the linear range, no [[Clipping (audio)|clipping]] occurs. If an amplifier were perfectly linear, no [[distortion]] ([[Total harmonic distortion|harmonic distortion]] or [[intermodulation distortion]]) would occur (although random [[noise]] may still be introduced).

[[Vacuum tube]] amplifiers tend to exhibit soft clipping; as they approach the maximum possible output value, the gain tends to drop, rounding the tops of the signal [[waveform]]. [[Transistor]] amplifiers, by comparison, tend to produce hard clipping; the gain remains approximately the same until the maximum possible output voltage is reached; at that point, hard clipping occurs and the waveform never exceeds that value. The sharp [[inflection point]]s thus produced in the output waveform tend to have many more high-order [[harmonic]]s. This is alleged to be the basis of the "transistor sound" that some [[audiophile]]s find offensive (although this would not have occurred if they would not have been driving their amplifiers beyond the linear range in the first place).

==See also==
*[[Transfer function]]
*[[Audio system measurements]]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Linear Range}}
[[Category:Electrical parameters]]