I just bought a new 30 GB iPod with video...

[Wildabeast]

I don't have a problem with mine (60GB). There was also a software update for the iPod recently. Check for that. If you use iTunes for your playlists, you might go through and check the equilizer levels for each song before you upload them into the pod.

[kevingamin]

I have a 60GB Video iPod. Here's what I do to ensure that my drum corps is as ear shattering as I like:

1. Set the EQ to R&B. The way DCI engineers their recordings, this setting brings out the low end without hurting the middle and high end sounds.

2. Sony Fontopia headphones. I never know in-ear headphones could sound so good. If I could afford the models from Shure, I'd have those.

3. Turn off Sound Check. Having this setting on is all right when you play your iPod through a stereo, but drum corps tracks are engineered quieter than average to begin with and Sound Check drops the overall volume even more. When I said ear shattering, I wasn't kidding, so Sound Check is a no-no.

4. If you've installed the latest firmware update, raise the new Volume Limit to the highest level. If a drum corps track is actually too loud for you, you have the smarts to turn down the volume without the iPod getting in the way.

[GGarrett]

I've got the 30GB... has always sounded and looked clear and great to me.

I'm very happy with mine. I put SCV's "Double Beat" drumline excercise video on it the other night

from the discussions we were having here... sounds and looks clear and AWESOME!

[SCVhopeful07]

On my Dell Digital Jukebox, I've found disco is the best EQ setting for drum corps.

[Maestro767]

I think people suing over hearing loss is unbelievably ridiculous. Saying that an iPod gets too loud is like saying ovens get too hot.

Quick! Everyone sue your stovetop manufacturer! The electric coils can cause burns! Class action lawsuit!

[CLBass1]

Ipods have been rated lowest in sound quality among all MP3 players for a while now. The photo was the worst, the video is a little better but still nowhere as good as say a Sony, iaudio, or iriver. The nano is the best of the apple digital audio players in terms of sound quality. The shuffle was the same story. Apple's flash drives just have a hugely noticable difference compared to their hard drives. Also, if you are playing an .avi video file or any other video file, the sound quality will not be as good as .ogg, .wav, .mp3, and maybe even an .aac audio file. When listening to music with so many different ranges like drum corps, you need a good audio player to get a lot out of it. Apple products are not going to deliver nearly as well as other players can when it comes to that (more specifically hard drive apple audio players)

That or your earphones are busted...

Edited April 7, 2006 by CLBass1

[MiamiSun76]

Out of curiosity, what are you using for headphones?

My mid-priced Bose make a big difference in the sound I get from my old iPod Mini.

[Hrothgar15]

Just the ones that came with the iPod...but those sounded superb with my old iPod...

[festive]

I have two iPods...a 2G and a 4G. The 2G sounds better, with the same files, IMO. I don't think it's a mental thing.

Same files on a shuffle sound more like the 2G. Same headphones in each case.

Not sure what's going on. Haven't done any kind of controlled study. Heh.

[boilerman_05]

::Off topic notice::

This may be a bit off topic.....

Oh my goodness, this just makes me lose faith in the human race! That is just as rediculous as people suing tobacco companies for them getting cancer! If you don't want to get cancer, QUIT SMOKING!!! People also sued McDonald's! If you don't want to get fat and have a heart attack, DON'T EAT AT MCDONALD'S!!!! And on the same token, if you don't want to go deaf, DON'T TURN YOUR IPOD TO DEAFENING LEVELS!!!! Headphones have been out for decades! I can't believe people can still sue Apple because they don't know how to use them responsibly! The American legal system needs to be looked at. If the problem is the consumer's fault and not the manufacturer's, DISMISS THE LAWSUIT!!!!!

Product liability is moving more from a standard of negligence with contributory negligence (where the tortfeasor - Apple - only pays damages if there was a tort and the plaintiff exercised due care) to one of comparative negligence ( the tortfeasor pays damages for the proportion of the tort to which it contributed). This means that, while in the past all Apple would have to prove was that the consumer put the volume to loud (thus making the consumer contributorily negligent), now they have to prove that there was no way for the volume to be turned up loud enough to damage the users hearing. The current system (comparative negligence) benefits in that it more accurately assigns damages, but the side effect is suits like this one with Apple. There is also an argument that comparative negligence is less economically efficient because of the increased court costs associated with needing to find a proportion of negligence vs. just finding contributory negligence.

Any lawyers are encouraged to correct me if need be.

::Back on topic::

I would try getting a good pair of headphones.