New iPod FW allows volume limit setting, may fix my long standing iPod issue!

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Jon
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New iPod FW allows volume limit setting, may fix my long standing iPod issue!

I've been long annoyed at Apple for a particular issue with iPods: the volume resets to max when the iPod resets or restarts. This is very annoying. The new update is supposed to let you set a personal max, and allow parents to set a max for a child's iPod to prevent hearing damage. I know many younger people use poor choice as to how loud they listen to music. A brother in law likes his headphones so loud they can be heard 2 rooms away. That is stupidly loud, and harmful. Unfortunatly that is with a portable CD player. This new update is a good step, and any kid who thinks their parents are being unfair to set the max lower really needs to think about the level they listen to music at. One doctor I've seen interviewed stated it best: if you can't carry on a conversation with someone while listening to your headphones, then they are too loud.

Jon
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As for my issue, I read the n

As for my issue, I read the news release again, and it's only for the Nano and 5th Gen. I've got a 3rd Gen. Too bad.

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Re: New iPod FW allows volume limit setting, may fix my long sta

I've been long annoyed at Apple for a particular issue with iPods: the volume resets to max when the iPod resets or restarts.

Huh? Neither my 3rd gen nor mini has never done that...it's always reset to about 25% volume.

One doctor I've seen interviewed stated it best: if you can't carry on a conversation with someone while listening to your headphones, then they are too loud.

While it's true that a lot of people listen at unhealthy volumes, I don't believe in the "if you can't hear other people it's too loud" theory. Normal conversations are around 60dBA, and 85dBA is generally the beginning of the "too loud" category -- but 85 dBA is only considered dangerous if you've been exposed to it for a long time, like 8 hours. A lot of guides list rock concerts at being around 120dBA, but I say that's baloney -- they're probably closer to 140dBA, because a lot of the shows I've been to have been so loud my ears were distorting (which is why I invested in a good pair of earplugs). Of course, 120 dBA on up is pretty dangerous for more than a few minutes, but I'd be really surprised if any music player had a headphone amp powerful enough to drive headphones to that level.

It depends on the sensitivity of the headphones that you use, but generally I've found that a volume of about 75% on the iPod while using isolating earphones (like Shure E2s) is about as loud as you should crank it. Isolating earphones (also known as canal earphones, as they're inserted into the ear canal) are better than normal earbuds because you don't need to crank the volume as much to overcome ambient noise.

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I agree with your comment on

I agree with your comment on isolating earphones. I got my set nearly 2 years ago, and I love them. Not only do they have better sound quality than the stock earbuds, but they dampen outside noise by, and I estimate here, 10-20dBa.

Jon
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After trying several reset by

After trying several reset by hand, it only changed the volume level twice. Once from about 25% up to 50% after reset, another from 80% to 66% or so. If I'm remembering correctly the reset level to full happens if teh battery runs down and the iPod shuts itself off or it sits unused for a couple days and has gone into the deep low power mode.

Also ISTR it happening with my original 3rd Gen that had a bad headphone port. When I took it to a shop to have the problem verified (as if I could screw up plugging in a set of headphones) the tech plugged in a set of monitors and he jumped when he played a song to test it and quickly cranked the volume down. So, it's happened on both 3rd Gens I've possessed.

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