Clipping can occur if the amplifier doesn't have enough power to reproduce the signal requested of it at the level requested, it chops off part of the signal and delivers that to the outputs. This results in distortion which can be anywhere from inaudible to a very fuzzy sound depending on how much of the signal is chopped off or clipped. In some cases it may be difficult to distinguish clipping from a poor recording.

A computer once beat me at chess, but it was no match for me at kick boxing.