Signal distortion happens when a system cannot handle a signal pattern without altering the details of its shape in some way. One of the most common (and severe) types of distortion is clipping. This is when a circuit - usually an amplifier - cannot cope with the largest levels present in the signal and 'clips them off' just like we had take a pair of scissors to the wave form.



Distortion alters one analog pattern into another, changing the message. In music recording, the distortion changes the nature of the sound making it less like the original music. The distortion damages the signal and loses some of the required infomation.


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