Right. Unfortunately, in my direct experience they do not.


Yes, maybe my iPod is defective. I am planning to try few more things (see below) and then try to have it replaced. However, due to the high number of similar cases I've read about, I am now not very hopeful that I can solve my problems by replacing my iPod unit.


I thought I did, and I also did distinguish the two problems (please, see for example the post just above yours, where I state that Zune's volume is little higher, BUT quality - i.e. different issue - is much higher. I also explain there what I believe is the cause for the low (and still higher) Zune volume: 8-dollar earplugs).

However, to sum up, and add information I may have skipped in my previous posts:

Files I am listening to are MP3, 320 bps / CBR, no filter, encoded with Lame and Audiograbber by me and from my own CDs. These are files I got from my CDs at the best quality possible when they were ripped.

I find these problems:

1. low volume: So bad that at max volume and in normal traffic I cannot always understand radio talkshows or news. And, I find music listening very umpleasant.

2. low quality, meaning:
A. very significant lack of low frequencies. Dominance of mid frequences.
B. Yes, very little stereo separation, and consequent lack of "depth".
C. Very little sound dynamics. I would consider my iPod sounding very "flat".
D. No, as you can read in previous posts, i did not mention distortion. Which is relatively expected due to the very low volume.

These are the facts I am experiencing. Clearly, one my classify them in the realm of subjectiveness, as we talk about perception. But still, that's what they are to me.



On the field observations:

A. About Volume. I did notice that connecting the earplugs to the radio, which is in its turn connected to the dock connector of the ipod, the volume level IS slightly higher, but not significantly. This is consistent to what many are saying: the line out at the dock connector has a higher volume level AND better frequency response than the one ad the earplugs connector on top of the iPod.
However, in my case volume is so low even there that, as I said, in normal traffic you can't understand radio talk shows or news.


B. About Volume and Quality Issue.
iPod earplugs and my 100-Euro Sennheizer earplugs sound LITTLE different on my iPod. This never happened to me with ANY device I ever owned. I did try to test the two earplugs at my home stereo and at my PCs, and the difference between the two goes from clearly noticeable (Laptop) to impressive (Home Stereo, when listening to CDs).

C. About Volume AND Quality.
One iPod G2 I tested with Apple standard earplugs sounds at higher volume than mine with sennheizer. Better sound dynamics, too, and better response to low frequencies. Different rips of the same MP3s, though.

D. About Volume AND Quality
One iPod G5 I tested with Apple standard earplugs sounds at higher volume than mine with sennheizer. Better sound dynamics, too, but NOT better response to low frequencies, which I found lacking as well.
Different rips of the same MP3s, again, though.

E. About Volume AND Quality
Zune 30 test with cheap earplugs and different MP3s. see my previous post.



Now, if you make a quick search in Google for "iPod Cap volume", or "iPod Classic audio quality", you will find many forums and threads mentioning these very same issues. This makes me think that it is unlikely, even though possible, that I have a defective iPod, and makes me lean much more towards the possibility this is a widespread issue.
I am guessing that you are experiencing differently with your iPod(s) due to these factors:
* You using a previous generation than 6.
* You using a US iPod.
Or combination of the two.

So, you say you've seen several iPods:
What iPod generations have you used?
Was there any recent EU iPod that could be affected by the Volume Cap Issue?




Some temporary conclusions subject to revision as I gather more data and do whatever test I can:

I believe problem 1 (Volume) is explained by the EU volume cap we discussed above. I am also suspicious that this may be causing a decreased audio quality (see below).
I did in fact read a couple of forums where people supposedly succeeded in installing the US firmware and noticed some significant improvement in quality (not much volume, they say). Since Mark's post yersterday, I made some progress: I found such US firmware tonight. Here:
http://appldnld.apple.com.edgesuite.net/...d_24.1.0.3.ipsw
http://appldnld.apple.com.edgesuite....ipsw.signature
However, I have not tested them yet, so I still remain only suspicious that quality as well as volume issues may be related to EU volume cap.

I am also suspicious that the latest iPod Classic may have simply given up on audio quality in favour of something else: size of the device, battery life, end price.
Here I am just guessing.