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Europe to cap maximim volume in DAP's

post #1 of 11
9/29/09 at 11:41am
Thread Starter 
Read this in the paper today. Gov't wants to save you from yourself/nanny state run amok. All depends on your POV
EU caps volume of portable music players - The Globe and Mail

Shane D
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post #2 of 11
9/29/09 at 11:48am
Stupid idea.

Unless they want to control the impedance and sensitivity of all earphones and headphones, volume will still be more than enough.

Most of my earphones need about 5% volume level to listen.
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post #3 of 11
9/29/09 at 11:51am
Quote:
But the new rules will still allow consumers to override the default setting if they want
No, this is smart. They're just changing the default setting (for the obvious reason of using a cable to attach to the TV or stereo or something).

The only issue I see here, is even when I adjust the max volume setting myself, because songs vary in volume I find myself having to change it back for really quiet ones. Which they are probably taking into account as well by only making this the default setting. Until they can actually detect the volume produced, rather than just the amount of power being used, this setting will cause issues with some songs.

Overall it's a nice way to run awareness into the community. Rather than a bunch of advertisements, people have to manually CHOOSE to be at risk, which makes it conscious. If you can't hear the bus you're on, then the music is too loud (actually I'm probably losing more of my hearing just from noisy buses and neighbors tbh, everything is way too damn loud).
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post #4 of 11
9/29/09 at 11:54am
Well the iPod (and other devices as well I assume) has been volume capped for years in EU. I suppose the new thing will be region coded daps that can only be sold in said region
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post #5 of 11
9/29/09 at 1:27pm
thats what I thought; I though the EU has had different volume settings for ages; thus the existence of EU volume hacks for iphone 3G and touch
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post #6 of 11
9/29/09 at 2:00pm
I wish they'd do it here already. If I wanted to hear your crappy songs leaking out of your iBuds (two meters away, on a bus, no less), I'd have given you a pair of speakers instead.

On the other hand, I see a market opening up for portable amplifiers. Naturally, the EU will limit those as well.

Then they'll start flying the sickle and hammer...
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post #7 of 11
9/29/09 at 3:51pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by qusp View Post
thats what I thought; I though the EU has had different volume settings for ages; thus the existence of EU volume hacks for iphone 3G and touch
no it was a french rule before, some makers just found it easyer to not have to make a france only version so limited all
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post #8 of 11
9/29/09 at 4:00pm
That's right, I had forgotten that that was the origin of it
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post #9 of 11
9/29/09 at 4:58pm
Who is listening to a DAP at 100% volume? Anyone who is, deserves the consequences. Ridiculous.
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post #10 of 11
9/29/09 at 5:21pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by akki007 View Post
Who is listening to a DAP at 100% volume? Anyone who is, deserves the consequences. Ridiculous.
Plug a Denon D2000 in a USA spec iPod Classic and you can easily max the volume without it being too loud. Also depends on the "loudness" of the recording. Callifornication is going to be a lot louder at max volume than say the black triangle issue of Dark Side of the Moon.

These volume limits are stupid. The mp3 player has no control over what headphones are used or what the "loudness" is of the music being played. There are too many variables they have no control over. The end result is they have no control over what the final actual max volume is coming from the headphones. Stupid limits.

It would be funny if this backfires. People will assume that the max volume is safe no matter what headphone they're using. Buy an aftermarket IEM that is more efficient than the stock earbuds. Play at max volume because that's a safe level (the government said so). Woot!
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post #11 of 11
9/29/09 at 6:37pm
^x2. Unfortunately the EU is a gigantic, lumbering juggernaut without the ability to make fine-tuned policy decisions because it is trying to legislate for a melting pot of nations that is generations away from melting.

Ummm... bit of politics there, folks. But yeah, it's probably got good intentions at its heart, but without much understanding of the fringe (inc. Head-Fi).... which they probably don't care about much anyway.
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