Volume on New iPods OH OH!

[artmaltman]

Several months ago I read that Apple had made a software change to the iPod to limit volume. This was in response to complaints and possible lawsuits regarding alleged hearing damage.

It seemed to me that this could be catastrophic for those of us who use less sensitive headphones. I find, for example, that to use the Sony headphones that I like for the gym, I have to turn the volume up all the way. By comparison, the original Apple earbuds and my Shure E3 provide equivalent volume at around two thirds of setting on my nano.

So I went to the Apple store and I tried the third party headphones on a nano, the Bose they had sitting there. In the past, this model Bose had plenty of volume on a nano, but now it was completely unusuable. It sounded very weak.

Hmmmm.

Do you know whether Apple offers an over-ride option on the newly limited volume of the nano?

BTW, I'm not a particularl fan of Bose so please don't treat this as a recommendation. I was just looking for a benchmark to compare recent nano with older model.

Art:o

[jhollington]

To the best of my knowledge, they have not actually limited the volume as a hard-setting, they have simply provided the ability for the user to set a volume limit.

If you go into Settings on the iPod, you'll see a menu for "Volume Limit" which will allow you to set it to whatever maximum you want. You can also optionally specify a "lock" code to prevent it from being changed.

The bottom line, however, is that they haven't reduced the maximum volume -- they've simply put in an option to allow you to limit it yourself if you so desire.

[artmaltman]

This is GREAT news, thanks j. Probably the unit I tried in the store had the volume limited as you suggest.
Art

[thedodgyguy]

When Sony was informed of the limit, they just said "OK so well limit the output of our puny players further to comply and lock it down". Apple's response to volume concerns, the dynamic volume adjustment of the iPod is a perfect example of Apple's thinking different even now that they're mainstream ;)


I find I actually use the limiter very frequently, adjusting it accordingly for different phones that I use. It's very useful for sensitive IEM's, yet within a few seconds I can re-calibrate it to drive full-sized phones properly. I can pay Apple no greater compliment than to say that they turned a potential hindrance into an advantageous feature! :D

[DeadMan3000]

Hearing loss I can deal with. Tinnitus I cannot.

Protect your ears people.

www.ata.org for more info on this 'horrible' condition.

[NJO]

Apple's response to volume concerns, the dynamic volume adjustment of the iPod is a perfect example of Apple's thinking different even now that they're mainstream ;)

Was that before or after they sold 2G, 3G, 4G and Mini iPods throughout Europe with crippled maximum gain so that they stayed within EC rules, or did they only start doing lateral thinking after all the complaints from those of us in Europe sick to deaf of having to crank the volume right up just to make our better headphones audible... oh and don't forget they only introduced dynamic volume adjustment after some jerk, who couldn't read his iPod manual, decided to take them to court for making him deaf so even the 5G iPod sold in Europe had crippled volume - I know because until they released the dynamic volume adjustment patch I was seriously thinking of junking iPod completely and going elsewhere for a new digital player.

[Macromedia]

Well the volume limit in Europe is the fault of the EC. Not Apple...

[englishfly]

We can set the limit settings(Mine is full so no limit), no worries.

[NJO]

well it would be amazing if Apple introduced a rule that iPods sold in Europe had to have limited volume, which was why I typed that the EC introduced the ruling regarding portable audio devices seeing as it was the EC's ruling in the first place.

Apple's first response to volume concerns was to actually cripple their own product in software in the field sooner than do what I asked them to do and make the maximum gain a setting in software... when I asked they simply ignored my request, so so much for innovative thinking and listening to customers.

[Castleman]

You can't blame apple for hearing loss. It's the person's fault for listening to their music so loud. It's not like apple tells them to.

[agentbad]

Wouldn't it be nice if they if actually showed the decibel on the volume bar so you really know how loud it is?

[iPod Dan J B]

Two of my first iPods were bought in England and because of the EU Volume Cap (French Law) I used GoPod to unlock the Cap in the firmware http://gopod.free-go.net/. This really does work. My last three iPods have all been bought in the US.

Dan

[studogvetmed]

Apple's first response to volume concerns was to actually cripple their own product in software in the field sooner than do what I asked them to do and make the maximum gain a setting in software... when I asked they simply ignored my request, so so much for innovative thinking and listening to customers.

The EU Volume cap was not Apple's personal response to Volume concerns. It's something they did to comply with EU law so they could sell their iPods over seas. Had they not complied, they would not have been able to sell their iPods over seas. There was no ability to compromise on this from what I understand, but I could be wrong. So, even had Apple suggested they they could have made a user controllable interface to limit volume if a user saw fit, the law may still not of allowed for this.

[dimmer]

Well I agree with the OP that the nano is ridiculously low in volume, and I had assumed it was due to the EU volume cap. However GoPod still does not work on the new nano sorry to say, so there is no easy solution to remedy the situation.

[tanik]

Actually the next time I use mine, I'm going to use the volume limit. I think it's a really great option. I use them while at my desk and there was a moment where I accidentally brushed against the click wheel and it shot up the volume. It wasn't pretty.

[McBrew]

Dimmer, did you adjust the volume limiter? I didn't even realize that my Nano was limited (factory setting) until I plugged it into my PAL. With the Nano and the PAL both cranked up, the level was still pretty low. Then I investigated it a little more and found the volume limiter. Now it works just fine. I just never noticed it before, as I am either listening with in-ear phones or using the line out (which is not affected by the limiter).

[dimmer]

Yes I adjusted that, and it was set lower initially. The sound is still too low in volume - noticeably lower than my video iPod. If you listen to a lot of softer music like jazz and classical then it is quite annoying if you are in a noisy environment.

[bfcoughlin]

What is the factory setting compared to full potential volume? I seem to remember it was at about 50%, but I'm not sure.

[dimmer]

I think it was 50% as well, but its a few months ago since I changed it!