Just to be clear: I am not saying that Americans are morons, I just meant it must be great to be a US citizens if one happens to be a moron. No racism intended.

I have a 3g ipod too. These lawyers don't represent me as they claim. They don't represent my concerns.

Different headphones and ear buds produce sound at different levels. What is excessively loud on one set is almost inaudible on another. I have one set of cheap earphones that require the iPod to be set to about 90% volume to be able to hear the music clearly. On another good quality set about 50-60% produces the same level of comfortable listening.

Apple put a warning in the box. Now they have a way for parents to enforce a limit for their kids which is a really good move because kids (like most adults it seems) are generally stupid. But kids at least have a valid excuse.

right, that is an additional fact that seems to be ignored in this discussion: you will find headphones that even need a separate amplifier for the iPod's audio signal in order to reach a useful volume.

That's why Apple's solution is probably very reasonable, although IMHO they should also allow to _unlimit_ the iPod

I have an audio input jack on my car's audio system. Because this jack doesn't seem to have the gain that the radio does, I often set the volume on the ipod to almost the max so that I don't have to turn up the car's volume all the way (and then blast myself when I switch to radio). It's great to let the ipod put out enough current to be suitable for this type of application.

Also, my big old studio headphones, which were designed for a home stereo, need a very high volume setting to produce the appropriate volume for a quiet room.

If the volume is limited lower than what it is right now, it's limiting my ability to use it. That's not good.

> If the volume is limited lower than what it is right now, it's > limiting my ability to use it. That's not good.

Ah, but now there can be a class action law suit against Apple for limiting the volume of the product, right? When I bought it, I could play it until my ears bleed, but now Apple is limiting me? Ah, but you say the update is a user choice, and I don't have to be limited. But then isn't listening to music at full tilt the users choice? Can't I choose to listen at half tilt, and avoid this whole stupid mess?

I hate our legal system. Individuals who lose class action law suits should be forced to pay the legal fees of the defendant. That right there would stop most of the dumbass lawsuits, and would most of the time stop settlements. Why settle, when you can set precedent, and do it on the dumbasses dime!

'If the volume is limited lower than what it is right now, it's limiting my ability to use it. That's not good."

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=303414

"Many consumers would conclude that 100 DB is twice as loud as 50 DB but that's not the case; for every 10 decibels, the loudness actually increases twofold. Fifty decibels is twice as loud as 40, 60 is four times as loud as 40, and so on."

...and human hearing response is logarithmic not linear when it comes to loudness perception.

lawyers piled on top of lawyers....they're going to be the death of america. You guys south of the border are getting crazier by the day, I swear. You're loveable, but you sue each other just for breathing. If a grass-roots movement against trivial lawsuits doesn't start soon, you're ALL going to end up in court for some stupid reason or other. Folks, an iPod is an inert object. It must be powered and then manipulated by a human being in order to work. An iPod will therefore never cause hearing loss...Ignorance and misuse, on the other hand, most certainly will. Just like a table saw.

"Apple has acknowledged that its iPod line is flawed". No they have not! They did all the whiners a favor who don't know how to use a volume control and common sense and added this feature as a bonus to it's iPod line. Any idiot can turn up the volume on any radio,TV,stereo, or player of any kind and blow there ear drums out. It has nothing to do with the iPod or its design. Since when did a volume control become so hard to use? This lawsuit is about getting rich quick off of Apple while it's doing good, and that's all this is about. If you're so dumb as to turn every players volume control on full blast when you use it you deserve to be deaf! What about car stereos with 600 to 1000 watts in a car! You think your safe turning the volume up so people half a block away can hear you won't make you deaf or cause hearing loss? Think again.

Maybe they should be sueing the US for not imposing a limit of 100 decibels (DB) for personal listening devices, like France.

the company does next to nothing to educate consumers about what is safe," said J.R. Whaley. Mr. Whaley the company puts warnings in every iPod manual. And since when is it a companies responsibility to hand hold every hand of every consumer. Why don't you sue the car manufacturers who sell these cars with 600 to 1000 watt stereos. You think those can't do more than 130 decibals? What bunch c***, again I say use common sense and the parents have a responsibility to teach there kids too.

The McDonald's coffee case was not a frivilous lawsuit. Most States regulate how hot you can serve a hot beverage like coffee. This is to protect people from serious burns. The particular McDonald's kept the coffee well above the legal limit.

While you might expect to get burnt if you spill hot coffee on yourself, you are not going to expect that your skin peels off from spilling coffee on yourself. Since McDonald's broke the law, McDonald's acts were negligent.

Apple on the other hand, did not act negligent if reasonable people would not have included the sound protection software. Walkman's did not have such protection, so I suspect Apple was not unreasonable. Moreover, the Plaintiff in this case has said he does not know if Apple's music player caused his hearing loss. To win, he must prove that it did.

Yup, I'm sueing the car makers for making my car drive faster than the legal limits. LMAO. They complained about Sony walkmans being too loud in the 80s. I like how the singer from the Who said he lost his hearing by listening to loud music. I guess the pyrotechnical error had nothing to do with it.

Ignorance breeds on stupid people

"...and human hearing response is logarithmic not linear when it comes to loudness perception." -shawnce

You're mostly right, our perception of sound IS non-linear. It is described using equal loudness contours (Fletcher-Munson). The decibel (dB) scale is what is logarithmic.

On yet another note, its interesting to compare OSHA recommendations for occupational noise limits to what an average ipod listener might endure. http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/98-126a.html

Don't get me wrong, I'm completely on Apple's side, but I understand the concerns of potential hearing loss.

I wonder when Apple will release a Pro Edition of iPod that makes it possible to hear the music on the device without buying extra amplifiers? Here in Europe the situation is really bad. On one of my favourite music tracks I cannot hear the singing at one place on max volume with a Boostaroo added .... and I do not have a hearing problem! Not all music is without dynamics as with most pop music sold at iTunes music store. Music lovers demand something better than the current line of iPods... .

I guess most of you didn't own the first generation iPod. The wheel was mechanical and would loosen over time. You would be running, or even walking, and the volume would change and you would be deafened or music-less. So, this is a legitimate complaint.

Also, many parents would like to know that their children will still be able to hear them, at least physically, when they reach late teens.

Did the first gen ipod not have a hold switch? I can not recall.

Still there have been four new generations of the ipod since it was first introduced in 2001. In addition that unit was discontinued 3 years ago this april. So i think your argument for the validation of this complaint is not legitimate.

In regards to your children's hearing. Try this. Be a parent and regulate what they do instead of expecting a company like Apple to take measures to do that job for you while impeding on the desire of the rest of their consumers to set volume levels to what they feel are comfortable.

I ride the subway and i need my ipod to be able to deliver higher volumes to drown out the noises of the trains and fellow passengers.

I'm tired of parents thinking they can impede on my rights and entitlements to make it easier for them to parent their children. But thats just a general complaint i have about alot of the regulation i see in this country.

If you're too stupid to realize that listening to loud music will ruin your hearing and you insist upon doing so, you're suddenly going to become smart enough and take the time to set volume limits on your iPod? I don't think so.

Better hand it over to mommy and daddy so they can set a reasonable limit for you. Of course, you'll have to show them how to set it.