[Sordel]

Tyll,

It must be difficult for an amplifier manufacturer to find a responsible approach to this problem. Anyone buying a headphone amplifier is pretty much going to expect it to drive loud, so from a certain perspective I can see that you would want to supply a lot of volume. I used to regularly listen to my iPod at maximum volume with earbuds in noisy environments; only once I moved to IEMs in a noisy environment was the iPod capable of producing a sufficient music level on a train, for example. The step-up in gain needed for high-impedence headphones mean that in most cases HR is supplying a product that is capable of damaging the hearing of the purchaser ... just to cover all bases.

I'm wondering whether there's more that you can do at your end, even if it's just supplying an A4 sheet printed with typical volume levels for different types of headphone at different gain levels. Personally, I listen with the volume dial just shy of 12 o' clock on medium gain with the K 701s, which "feels" right, but I'm not dedicated enough to go to the trouble that Grahame did.

You wouldn't have to drop down into model numbers for this exercise: just give guidance and explain what one is trying to achieve with headphone listening levels. Also, of course, remember to add that you don't guarantee that hearing can't be damaged at lower sound levels ... you don't want to get sued for trying to do the right thing!