“There are no current European standards on volume controls for MP3 players, though under French law personal music players must be limited to an output of 100 decibels (db). The Apple iPod, which can reach 130db, was briefly withdrawn from sale in France in 2002 until Apple updated the software to reduce the maximum volume. All iPods sold in Europe are now limited to an output of 100db. The European Commission’s new proposals call for the default setting on all personal music players to be 80db. This would apply to MP3 players and mobile phones that are capable of playing music. However, the proposals apply only to the default setting, not to the maximum setting for the device.”
Once again the EU are stating that the average person is as thick as a four by two and needs to be protected from himself/herself. Perish the thought of personal responsibility!
yeah, wtf? This is getting retarded. Some place was planning to, or did, outlaw *hanging plants* because they pose a hazard if someone walks into one. what. the. hell.
They gotta justify their salary somehow.
Activity: a politician’s substitute for achievement.
This really is retarded. Now we shall hack the firmware to make our players play loud enough.
Nah, RTFS, this limitation only applies to the default setting, so actually if you want the volume to be higher then just turn it up! The French law does impact other countries though, my mate bought an ipod and the maximum volume seemed to be restricted, I guess this is because they sell the same French version of the player here in the UK. However, there is a simple 1-click app to disable the limitation so it was only a minor annoyance.
The article says that the idea of the law is that the default settings of all players will be completely safe, but that consumers can turn the volume up if they wish. There will be clear warnings given about the dangers of high volume levels to hearing. Maybe it’s a bit of a nanny-ish law, but I don’t think it’s so bad to raise awareness about damage to hearing as long as I can still listen to loud music if I want.
agreed.
Perhaps instead of passing legislation on the default and/or max levels of mp3 players, they should pass a legislation on the quality of supplied earphones.
Better quality earphones channel the sound better, have better wider frequency range, louder bass and better at blocking external noises.
So in short, better quality earphones reduce the need for excessive volume.
So once again, government treats the symptoms rather than the causes.
If they’re going to do that then they should also finally put an end to the loudness war so that at least at lower volumes the dynamism of the music isn’t lost. I personally would prefer they don’t bundle any ear phones or at least a remote ear phone with an 3.5mm female so that one can plugin what ever ear phone that the customer wants.
Personally, I prefer big can ear phones; my own are a pair of Skullcandy GI ( http://www.skullcandy.com/shop/gi-p-115.html ) rather those in ear things – the in ear lack the ability to handle bass, too much noise from environment interfering to the listening of the music.
I know it’s all down to personal preference, but I much prefer in-ears for commuting.
I ware cans all the time for DJing (Sennheiser hd25 IIRC) so, for me, it’s nice not to have something pressing against the ear when commuting.
To be honest though, my in-ears have excellent bass and trebble reproduction even with the low-end artificially beefed up. But then I rarely spend less than £30 on ear phones so that writes off most pairs in your average high-street store
Edited 2009-10-01 12:47 UTC
Though some people set there MP3-players ridiculously loud; Sometimes a boy walks past my double glassed house, and I can understand the lyrics of his song, with regular ear buds!
I don’t think it’s such a bad idea to adjust the default volume to a volume which is not harmful , it’s not that people are stupid, but tend to you get used to your volume.
But I hope they don’t start putting maximum volumes, because headphones (which I prefer) tend to be much less loud then ear buts. Already now, I have to set my player to it’s maximum volume.
Edited 2009-10-01 07:55 UTC
lol
Yeah, this is patronizing bullshit. If I wanted to blast my ears out, who cares!? Actually: NOBODY SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO CARE!!! I chose it and should have informed myself about the risks.
And teenagers listening to music so loud, everyone around them hears it? Stop being so awfully wussy, go over there and whack’em! When I was young I sure rebelled, but in the end respected my elders. After all, I knew perfectly well I was doing something wrong and accepted the consequences.
There used to be a consensus: Step out of line, get disciplined. These days everyone just looks away… too scared of being shot, being sued or being derided for disciplining a rebellious child.
This is not about a volume limit, it’s about the default volume. You can still blast your ears out because it makes you feel like a rebel, and we’ll still don’t care if you do. It would just be silly if a company sold music players that blast your ears out by default.
[q]Yeah, this is patronizing bullshit. If I wanted to blast my ears out, who cares!? Actually: NOBODY SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO CARE!!![q]
Just a thought: when people who get their ears blasted then drive cars and can’t respond in a timely manner to a risky traffic situation because they can’t hear clearly, everyone aroud them has a stake, right?
Drivers are a special case. If drivers need this law, why not restrict it to them?
You can’t use special cases to justify general laws (i.e. applicable to everybody).
I think several studies have found that the type of sound you are listening to matters as much as the decibel level. For instance, you will go deaf listening to a road drill at a lower sound level than if you were listening to undistorted classical music.
Some music sounds like road drill to me though
’nuff said.
to all those loud Billy Mays commercials!
haha! Am I the only one that is glad his commercials are finally slipping off air? I HATED them. Argh.
I’m going to be a real rebel and say I support it, in fact if anything I think it’s too weak.
I’ve listened to loud music a bit too much and my hearing is definitely not what it once was, I also have mild tinnitus. I have without doubt, damaged my own hearing.
These days I try to keep the volume down, but your ears adapt to loud volume so it doesn’t sound that load. It’s very, very easy to pass the safe limit.
Given the volume some people play these things at they are going to completely destroy their hearing. I don’t think I’ve listened to music anywhere near the volume of some people.
So, a law that stops people from listening to lunatic volumes is no bad thing in my view.
Supporting a law can’t mean being a rebel. It’s quite the opposite.
Or are you accusing “us” of group pressure?
Wow, I never read so many stupid comments in one place … well hmm, maybe on icanhascheesburger.
Before you open your mouth, you should activate your brain cells. Seriously, up to now I thought this is a serious place where people write serious comments .. it’s such a shame.
Who of you guys actually lives in the EU and has a digital audio player? And who actually _read_ the posting/article _entirely_?
I’m outta here.
Edited 2009-10-02 17:26 UTC