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Can a power surge cause amp to clip?

I usually leave my amps powered on over night, and few nights ago, I heard clipping in the middle of the night (no input otherwise). Would it be possible for a power surge to cause clipping? I've been searching through the internet and no one has asked this question before.
The input to the amp is from the DAC, which is connected to the computer through USB.

Thanks,
saltedwater

Showing 2 responses by saltedwater

saltedwater OP
2 posts
 
thanks for the responses. there was no input to the amp when the clipping sound was made by the speakers. My guess is perhaps the grid had a surge, or the lighting was close enough to me that the magnetic field directly induced some current in the analogue cables going from the DAC to the amp. The amplitude was so large such that it clipped.
The troubling thing is that I heard it more than once. Again a day later, during the day. My area was going through a heat wave and the strain on the grid could be leading to problems with power surges.
Just wondering if a surge alone (without lighting) can cause clipping.
saltedwater OP
2 posts
 
thanks again for all the inputs. will def open up the amp and have a visual inspection. the 5A 250V fuse is still functional at the moment.

Some folks have said it wasn’t clipping that I heard. The amp I have is McIntosh MC7100, and it has a built in anti-clipping circuit called Power Guard. When the speakers were making the "clipping sounds", it sounded like as if you manually accidentally touched the RCA inputs to the amp, and it gives off a static like cracking sound. This would then trigger the Power Guard (it has LED indicator lights).

Any advice appreciated
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