The EU is turning down the volume on all iPods, MP3 and portable media players on health grounds. The European Commission has ordered manufacturers to add a default maximum volume setting of 80dB to their devices within two years.
The current maximum volume level of music players typically hovers between 100-120dB. Citing health concerns, the Commission warns that as many as 10 per cent of portable music users risk deafness by listening to their music at 120dB for more than an hour a day. A study by EU boffins concludes that music can be safely listened to at 80dB for 40 hours a week. The 80dB volume level is comparable with that generated roadside by traffic.
Consumer rights Commissioner Meglana Kuneva says: "It's easy to push up the volume on your MP3 player to damagingly loud levels, especially on busy streets or public transport."
The EU's standard default setting will not prohibit users from increasing the volume, but warnings will make it clear that higher-volumes are potentially unsafe. "The mandate is not prescriptive in terms of how this is done. Industry solutions could include, for example, labels or digital information on the screen."
According to figures released by the US National Institute on Deafness and other Communications Disorders, the 110dB generated by today's MP3 players is the equivalent of going to a rock concert, while 120db is akin to a jet taking off.
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andyj34
September 4th 2010
4. The solution is simple - invest in some quality noise-isolating earphones such as the Shure SE range. Yes they are quite expensive compared to other 'phones but the (audio) quality is superb. I own three models, SE-110, SE-420 and SE-420. All three models share the same earbud which fit snugly into your ear cavity and does really block out say 90% of external noise. I rarely have the volume more than 25% and I commute to London several times a week.
Another trick is when importing songs into iTunes ensure the volume is say one bar from maximum.
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anteaus
October 25th 2009
3. Many existing players have problems with insufficient output to drive better-quality headphones, which tend to be less sensitive.
What this will do is to force the use of trashy headphones which are more, not less, likely to cause hearing damage. H&S-wise, noise-level measurements are 'weighted' with the higher frequencies being more harmful, and the piercing 'squawk' from a trashy but sensitive headphone will damage your ears at a much lower level (by desensitizing your ears to these specific frequencies) than the output from a quality headphone evenly covering the whole range.
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left4dead
October 6th 2009
2. iPod's are already volume crippled in EU aren't they? I had to go find the most sensitive quality headphones I could find (Sennheiser 300x or similar) because I could barely hear it. 'Normal' headphones are useless in a noisy environment. This kind of meddling really gets my goat. Do they think we are all such morons that we don't know how to operate a volume control?
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drawingbreath
October 5th 2009
1. So, now's a good time to invest in an inline amplifier company then?
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