At present, Discrete Multi-Tone (DMT) transceivers receive much attention for the implementation of Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Lines (ADSL). This paper analyzes the effect of clipping a DMT-signal, i.e. limiting the signal's maximum amplitude. An exact expression is given for the signal-to-noise ratio ( S N . ) degradation due to clipping alone. By combining this expression with the well-known expression for the quantization noise in the AID-DIA converters, it is shown how clipping can reduce the number of bits of AID-DIA converters as well as the dynamical range of the line drivers while keeping the overall SNR the same as without clipping.

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