Volume to be capped on MP3 players

"Many MP3 player manufacturers already implement a soft volume cap on their devices. Apple's iPods, for instance, ship with the volume limiter switched on."

so does blackberry

By smokinscots on 28 Sep 2009

I thought the EU already did this? I remember wanting to put a US firmware on my 4th Gen iPod to circumvent the EU imposed volume limitation. In the end, I couldn't be bothered.

By onegin101 on 28 Sep 2009

Samsung as well

My Samsung YP-T10 has this on by default as well.

By iwilson on 28 Sep 2009

More nannying and flawed legislation...

More bloody EU nannying... Shouldn't this be done by parents and schools educating children about noise levels and then let them make their own choice? People have played "Walkmen" at obscene levels decades ago, and I don't see a proliferation of middle-aged deaf people.

On a technical level, this entirely depends on the head/earphones used, so will presumably be yet another excuse for portable music players to force users to use a specific pair so the player will know how much sound is actually being output.

By halsteadk on 28 Sep 2009

up to 10% could play above 89db! 10%?

so this is probably a couple of cheapo tesco own brand or market bought devices.

By darkhairedlord on 28 Sep 2009

Unfortunately many young people will just ignore any level of education you throw at them, especially when all we are trying to do is help them. Everyone goes through that phase where they wish to be recognized, seen, heard or whatever and they'll do whatever it takes even if it hurts them.

We later look back at it in life (if we are still alive) and refer to it as a moment of stupidity. Or moments depending on how blindingly dumb we chose to be.

By nicomo on 28 Sep 2009

Kill them, kill them all!

As an Englishman I'm obviously incapable of speaking to someone on public transport and asking them to turn it down, so either we use this technical/legislative fix or I kill them all. Twice.

By Mark_Thompson on 28 Sep 2009

Disability Discrimination?

And what about those of us who struggle to hear their MP3 players above the noise that can be found on public transport?

I can understand the EU wanting to stop kids damaging their hearing BUT those of us unfortunate enough to never have good hearing are being penalised by some law which is probably not within the UK Disability Discrimination Act guidelines....

By mark_scott_mcse on 28 Sep 2009

Nanny state :(

First off, I hate this sort of enforced nannying.

how they can guarantee no player will produce more than 80dB is beyond me, as let's be honest, a less efficient set of headphones will output a lower volume than a more efficient set (given the same input level).

however, to put the 80dB limit in perspective, Dolby specify that films in cinemas be played back at 85dB. Now in practice this rarely happens, as most projectionists know (trust me i was one for 6 years) that you will set the volume a touch lower (otherwise you get a lot of complaints). This is given the loud sound mixes in a lot of modern films.

IMAX is specified for 95dB playback, a "quiet" nightclub will be around 95dB also. Note that for a nightclub setting, the correct level should be just above the ambient noise level so the music is the prominent sound. I question the logic of nightclubs playing music over 100dB as this is on the cusp of hearing damage (after prolonged exposure). Anything over 120dB can cause instant damage.

So 80dB, in practice is probably not a bad level. But as previously pointed out, on public transport eg the tube, you're a bit snookered. I'm sure that noise-canceling earphones will soon become the norm and manufacturers will seek to make them more efficient to attain higher volumes off a lower voltage input.

just my 2 cents

By hjlupton on 29 Sep 2009

Pre amp

And then there's the preamp route.

If you desperately want loud music from your portable music player you're going to get loud music out of it. It doesn't really matter what legislative measures are put in place.

By steviesteveo on 29 Sep 2009

Could we next have a law that says every car must automatically close its windows when the radio is turned above a given level?

By piphil on 29 Sep 2009

Pointless Legislation

Given that there are a dozen shops on every high street that can unlock your mobile phone, this sort of legislation is pointless. Not only is this nanny state but a law that can't be enforced is a bad law.

By milliganp on 29 Sep 2009

Sod DRM

I thought it was already law in the UK years ago. Even though, it does seem pointless going by what other readers have said. Code will get cracked sooner than you can say 'SOD DRM' or Dynamic Range Manipulation.

By monsieurtechnica on 29 Sep 2009

Pointless Legislation

Given that there are a dozen shops on every high street that can unlock your mobile phone, this sort of legislation is pointless. Not only is this nanny state but a law that can't be enforced is a bad law.

By milliganp on 29 Sep 2009