Limiter

This article is about signal processing. For engine speed limiters, see Centrifugal governor. For limiting related to the Law of the Minimum, see Limiting factor.

In electronics, a limiter is a circuit that allows signals below a specified input power or level to pass unaffected while attenuating (lowering) the peaks of stronger signals that exceed this threshold. Limiting is a type of dynamic range compression. Clipping is an extreme version of limiting.

Limiting is any process by which the amplitude of a signal is prevented from exceeding a predetermined value.

Limiters are common as a safety device in broadcast applications to prevent overmodulation and in audio mastering to avoid digital clipping, lossy coding errors, or the gramaphone needle from jumping out of the groove. Limiters are also used as protective features in some components of sound reinforcement systems (e.g., powered mixing boards and power amplifiers) and in some bass amplifiers, to prevent unwanted distortion or loudspeaker damage.

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