Linear range

The linear range is that range of input or output values for which an <a href="/facts/Electronics/E4JhgISq">electronic</a> <a href="/facts/Amplifier/pnRgxncC">amplifier</a> produces an output <a href="/facts/Signal_(information_theory)/41YqUJ8c">signal</a> that is a direct, <a href="/facts/Linear/fChtg3KC">linear</a> function of the input signal. That is, the output can be represented by the equation:

Output = Input × Gain
When operating in the linear range, no <a href="/facts/Clipping_(audio)/H86VUxpz">clipping</a> occurs. If an amplifier were perfectly linear, no <a href="/facts/Distortion/z8RJcwNy">distortion</a> (<a href="/facts/Total_harmonic_distortion/3gHn0E18">harmonic distortion</a> or <a href="/facts/Intermodulation_distortion/R9ex1SMn">intermodulation distortion</a>) would occur (although random <a href="/facts/Noise/aUstHDqU">noise</a> may still be introduced).
<a href="/facts/Vacuum_tube/VHd1BNLq">Vacuum tube</a> 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 <a href="/facts/Waveform/yAskMREw">waveform</a>. <a href="/facts/Transistor/Bmr8zwL0">Transistor</a> 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 <a href="/facts/Inflection_point/Ev2dv4WS">inflection points</a> thus produced in the output waveform tend to have many more high-order <a href="/facts/Harmonic/9U9REzeR">harmonics</a>. This is alleged to be the basis of the "transistor sound" that some <a href="/facts/Audiophile/0SnLaByF">audiophiles</a> 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).

Linear range open-in-new

Linear range