[epithetless]

Okay, so here's a little experiment I thought could be useful for general reference. I've been curious at times (like when I'm hooking my portables' headphone out to the cassette adapter in my car) what volume level is actually closest to line-out.

The players I've been using are:

Rio Karma
Rio Carbon
Sony d-ne500 mp3 CD player

In your trained opinions, what volume level comes closest to line-out (optimal output with minimal distortion and static) on these and any other portables?

 

[PDream]

You can scrap the Carbon, because the Karma is surely to be clsoer. It's bigger, so it's got room for a bigger battery, so it's got the ability to play louder. Well, that's what I think.

CD players are everchanging, can't give you my opinion of those two.

 

[epithetless]

Sorry I wasn't clear

; I'm not trying to rank players based on their output...I was thinking of this more as a reference guide -- a list of volume levels for all types of players.

Say, for instance, Joe Bloe is hooking his Zen Micro up to the cassette adapter in his car. Or Sue Blue is plugging her 4G iPod into a portable amp. In each case, what volume level would be optimal for such purposes? I know that using a line out is always best...but what about players that don't have line outs? What headphone-out level comes closest? That's what I'm getting at.

So -- with the efforts of all you learned listeners -- I'm hoping we could generate a list sort of like this:

Player:............................Volume level closest to line out:
Zen Micro..................................22/30
iPod, 4G....................................26/30
Rio Karma..................................25/30
...etc.

(I just made those numbers up, but you get the point.)

The reason I'm asking is because I know that different players distort and produce hiss at different levels, and it would be pretty handy to have a general go-to guide to know what the preferred volume level is. Or am I the only one who would find this useful?

 

[Acidice]

On the Karma its 29/30. Dunno about the rest.