I have one of the most efficient speakers out there. The K's are phenomenal..but I can and do wound drivers when I get ridiculous. Usually when I'm showing it off to someone....
I've never looked at an amplifier output with a spectrum analyzer. Here is a link that kinda shows it. Harmonics analyzed.
The short summary is that a sine wave driven into hard clipping produces higher frequencies that get sent to tweeters via the corssover. The power going to the tweeters is much lower than the original signal. Even that lower level could still damage tweeters as they are not rated for high power.
From a personal perspective, I've literally melted several diaphragms on the ESS 1A's that sit idle in the living room. Ozzy was the last perpetrator. The ESS's are 2 way and as I recall cross over at 800 HZ. The JBL 4412's are much more forgiving.
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