LED Clipping Colors

mugician · Post by **mugician** » 24 Jan 2009, 08:26

What do the different colors sound like?

JHS · Post by **JHS** » 24 Jan 2009, 17:10

Buy some and check them. Depending on the manufacturer and LED-diameter even red LEDs can sound quite different.
JHS

Entrant_21 · Post by **Entrant_21** » 25 Jan 2009, 22:48

Its not the colour which makes them sound different remember, its the forward voltage.

mugician · Post by **mugician** » 25 Jan 2009, 22:50

Entrant_21 wrote:Its not the colour which makes them sound different remember, its the forward voltage.

Ah, I didn't know that. (New to electronics)

Thanks!

Post by **modman** » 27 Jan 2009, 13:28

mugician wrote:
Entrant_21 wrote:Its not the colour which makes them sound different remember, its the forward voltage.
Ah, I didn't know that. (New to electronics)

Thanks!

https://www.diystompboxes.com/wiki/inde ... FAQ#DIODES

rackham · Post by **rackham** » 27 Jan 2009, 13:56

Green ones taste the best in my experience!

earthtonesaudio · Post by **earthtonesaudio** » 27 Jan 2009, 15:34

Red sounds warmer, green sounds more lush, blue sounds cooler, white is the most sonically transparent...

Just kidding.

Entrant_21 is spot-on about the forward voltage. LEDs have a "conduction knee" where at some low voltage, their resistance is high, then once you reach the forward voltage of the device, the resistance suddenly drops. It's not instantaneous, but more like a rounded-off bend, hence the term "knee." The sharpness of the bend partially determines the sound, as well as the voltage at which this occurs.

Different colors are typically made using different types of materials, which often have different forward voltages, conduction curves, etc. Actually, even the same color can be made of different materials and thus give a different response.

One thing that doesn't matter at all in terms of sound is the physical size of the LED. The inner parts are what matter.