Griffin's volume-limiting MyPhones can't crank to 11... or 8
By Darren Murph 
posted September 20th 2009 1:56PM
posted September 20th 2009 1:56PM
[Via Macworld]
posted September 20th 2009 1:56PM
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Wouldn't capping peaks @ 85db introduce clipping?
Exactly. These headphones must be for training kids to accept crappy audio quality from their future ipod(s).
Why would it clip? It's a limiting circuit. It simply provides gain reduction beyond a certain threshold. In pro audio, such circuits are actually used to prevent clipping, not create it.
The effect will be perceivable when the volume level of a song increases mid-song (like in an orchestral piece). At this point the circuit will make the volume go down and thus you will perceive the sound as fluctuating. Maybe "clipping" is not accurate, but the sound quality and experience promises to be terrible.
BTW- what quality circuitry do you think they are using in these headphones?
The circuitry is obviously not of high quality, which isn't really that relevant. Were you planning on buying your youngsters a set of UE-11s with a dedicated headphone amp?
While you are correct, and the listening of very dynamic material would be ruined by the circuit, who really listens to such music with this kind of system anyways? 99% of stuff America listens to today is squashed so much as to never vary in volume more than a few dBs. Then, there's the fact that mp3 compression limits the dynamic range even further. Dynamics simply aren't important to the American consumer in this day and age, as today's musical material lacks any.
Plus, if your kid is sophisticated enough to appreciate classical music, I don't think they are a prime candidate for headphone crankage.
If a user is sophisticated enough to desire sound quality better than that which limited circuitry could provide, then said user should also be able to set their own listening levels. For everyone else, limited headphones could be very useful.
Well said Russ. However, I also agree with what Saca has said; this is apple training.
**Plus, if your kid is sophisticated enough to appreciate classical music
See, this is where I get my back up somewhat. Who the hell decided classical music was sophisticated? I mean, sure if you're around 60 it's all cool and stuff I guess; but jeez we're in the new century here bud. Grow up with the times, or else check yourself back into your old age home.
Darn hippies. Where's Cartman when you need some Hippie control??
Kids can even listen to music with a wide dynamic range (supposing they find any); all they have to do is not turn it up so high, and it'll be dine.
IMO this is a great idea - especially since with normal headphones there's actually no way to tell if you are listening at a dangerous volume (unless you're knowledgeable about the specifications of both headphones and device and how its volume setting corresponds to etc etc).
Also, that fact sort of highlights a potential for improvement; headphones should come with data connections that allow information about the effective dB level for given input current, or some such; this would enable devices to scale their output, show volume in dB, and limit correctly on all headphones. I'm not holding my breath for all headphone manufacturers to agree on a new format though...
@me : 'dine' => 'fine', obviously. sigh.
Canny, I'm 18, and a music major. Judging by a comparison of my grammar to yours, I'd say a taste in classical music correlates to sophistication.
@Canny
Well... you sure showed us all a thing or two about being sophisticated.
WOW I LOL'D
Very funny post.
Okay. But if the medium is the maximum. And the kids are basically being conditioned to turn their headphones to the max (because it is actually the medium). When these kids get other headphones, won't they just want to turn them up as loud as they can? This is a really great idea. "Don't destroy children's ability to hear with OUR headphones. Let's just make them do it themselves when they move on to another product." Genius.
Wouldn't earbuds be more popular with kids, since they are much more portable than a full headset?
I don't think this is a good solution to protect kids' hearing, although it certainly is a good marketing angle for "kid friendly" products. Earbuds are commonly available in any store for a few bucks, and any kid would dump this monster contraption in a heartbeat.
If there is to be a solution, it needs to be built into the music player itself, eg something like ReplayGain but with a password-access feature.
With the iPod video & iPod touch have they both have volume limiters with passcode .
Downside with touch is that smart kids will set up passcode lock for the whole iPod with auto-format after 3 failed attempts hoping there absent minded parents will forget to set it back up again after restoring the iPod .
This might be better implemented as a device that connects between the headphones and the MP3 player. That way you can give you kids the pleasure of a pair of Sennheisers and at the same time maintain their eardrums.
It would be impossible for said device to determine the impedance of the connected headphones, so your idea is useless. Sorry.
Pff screw you mum I am gonna deafen myself with this screwdriver just to spite you!
And that same night, in the next room, we can hear mommy screaming daddy's name and the effects of the bed spri-
oh, well, right... you can't ...
(in the place of awkward silence, we hear mommy screaming)
I still don't understand why kids consciously destroy their hearing...I mean, the volume on my Zune is usually at 12 out of 30. That's plenty of sound for me and I'm older than those kids.
isn't it 20?
12 out 20.
Me it's 10 to 12 most of time.
the zune hd goes upto 30 now.
What you fail to understand is when it comes to kids: it's either all-or-none.
They have little to no concept of moderation.
85 dBs is hardly "barely audible".
@Towncivilian it won't clip, it's a limiting circuit. Simple gain reduction.
@Mitchell they are actually being conditioned to think of 85 dBs as the new max, so if they put on normal headphones, and turned them up louder, they'd think it far too loud, and turn them back down, since it's louder than anything they've ever been comfortable with.
I hope these kids never plan on attending concerts, because they will be in for a rude awakening.
they should of just focus there r&d on making a cheap noise canceling earphone this way kids wouldn't have to crank it up all the way to hear the music they like.
Probably still sound better than Bose QuietComforts
LOL. I tried the new ones out at best buy the other day. And honestly they were pretty bad sounding, but even worse they couldn't even block out the store noise.
I was listening to HD radio on my Zune HD last night. It maxes out at level 30, but I had it set to level 7 and it sounded great and I heard everything perfectly. Granted it was almost total quiet in the room and I was in bed, but there's no reason to blast out your eardrums with anything over 15. If other people can hear your music around you with your earbuds in your ears, you have it WAYYY too loud.
My samsung P2 has a volume limiting function that can be enabled or disabled by the user. I normally leave it turned on when using headphones to ensure I don't continue to turn the volume up and damage my hearing. This is a feature that most media players should have.
There is no harm in having it on the player end, but these headphones promise to be terrible, and like others have said the kids will eventually stop using these headphones and l crank the volume up.
The problem with limiting on the media player is that different sets of headphones have different impedances. 50% volume on one set of headphones will be much, much louder on another set. Then, on a large set of AKG cans, 50% percent volume may produce barely any sound at all.
Meh, my iPod's volume is usually set from 25% to 50% loudness. I don't want to ruin my hearing, or blow out my earbuds.
I sigh every time at school I hear some kid's music blaring from earbuds 10 feet away from me. Oh well, they can pay for new earbuds and new hearing aids, since I won't be.
Not directly, but it's looking like you will be through your taxes.
Yeah. This should be mandatory.
they're probably wearing those horrible Apple earbuds that cam with their ipod, though, and those things leak sound like a motherfucker. i have some cheap (~$30) IEMs, and i typically run those at 2/3 of what i run my ipod buds at. also, while they're not excellent buds, my IEMs sound infinitely better than ipod buds.
hooked on phonics worked for them.
I feel a new generation of rebel audiophiles coming.
I liked loud music before loud music was cool, just fyi.
Audiophiles don't let other audiophiles destroy their hearing.
"I liked loud music before loud music was cool" -- You're pretty old, then; the 1812 Overture (cannons!) was written in 1880.
Or are you just thinking of the late 1960s?
Sony did this with the PSP headphones. It's an absolute waste of time, in public places where you're surrounded by background noise you can't hear them very well at all.
Just because there is background noise doesn't make it any safer to blare sound in your ears at dangerous volumes. When I drive my tractor I can't listen to normal earbuds, I have to get noise cancelling ones because I refuse to turn the volume up to 80 % just to hear the music. Just imagine how horrified you would be to listen to 80% volume if it was absolutely silent and thats the same reaction you should feel when its loud too.
It also analyzes the sound spectrum and cancels out rap music. It's for the kids' sake.
Think of the children!
Those headphones look like something I had to use from the school AV room when I was 5 years old.
Can't you cap the volume/password protect it with most newer iPods? I seem to remember my friend doing this, then forgetting the passcode.
the new ipod shuffle can. in fact its not a bad idea since some people reported issues with sweat short circuiting the remote making it turn the volume
I listen from 25% to 40% of my volume..
Good to know!
1. Create crappy headphones with low quality materials.
2. Call its problems "features"
3. Market to overprotective parents
4. Overprice
5. ???
6. Profit!
This is actually one instance where you could leave out the "????"