Sony NWZ-F806 EU volume limitation

[Graviton]

Hi!

I'm going to purchase a Sony Walkman NWZ-F806 but have a question about volume limitation.

A lot of posts on different forums state that European version of this player has significant limitation on outpu power and therefore has worse sound quality.

I cannot find any official information about this. Could you please help me with this?

Does it really have the EU volume cap?

Thanks in advance!

[Thalamus.]

Hi  Graviton,

Welcome to Questions & Answers..

Yes I believe new MP3 players have had there output levels reduced due to new EU rules..

The  EU has passed a ruling, following concerns that listening to the portable music players at high volume could cause hearing damage, that MP3 players must not be louder than a maximum setting at 85 decibels..

I think you'll find that Sony are not alone in following this EU ruling..

Best I can suggest is that you visit your local retailer & try before you buy, I seem to remember reading posts on this forum that mentioned that the sound was fine & then there were others who state it's not loud enough so I guess it's down to personal choice & hearing levels..:smileywink:

[Graviton]

Thanks for the answer!

That makes no sense actually. There are different earphones/headphones with various impedance... Some of them are really quiet and they need more power to drive at a normal level... Moreover, there are a lot of different music files with different level of loudness.

What are the reference earphones and music files then, which are taken as a base when measuring loudness?

And why there is no official information about it?

All this stuff drives me crazy a bit, I'm really not sure if the sound is okay or it lacks power... And I have no possibility to check before buying.

Message was edited by: Graviton

[ClarkLong]

The walkman F in Europe has a volume cap like most Walkman for years... Well if you are into music you have experienced enough to know that none Walkman can handle musical/pro headphones and most of those  audiophiles use headphone amp...

If you never needed that...or use a 100£ headphone (including crappy beats at 250£), you shouldn't have any problem with Walkman F volume cap.

[Graviton]

I'm going to use Sony MDR-EX1000 earphones. They have 32Ohms but in fact they are not too sensitive, they need more volume compared to sennheiser in-ear headphones.

Do you think the capped volume will be enough to drive them?

[ClarkLong]

it will but you will be surprised how high you have to turn up the volume like almost to the max all the time.

[Graviton]

And do you know if this limitation is software based or hardware based? Could it be possible to remove the volume cap by installing US or JP firmware for example?

[Thalamus.]

Hi,

sorry my original post did not makes sense..:smileysad:

Graviton wrote:
And why there is no official information about it? 

If you search the net you can find several sites discusing this subject & if you want to read the actual EU ruling then try doing a search for  EN 60065 A12 and EN 60950-1 ..

However as far as I can tell manufactures have to abide by the following..

• The sound pressure level should not exceed the 100dB limit.
• Sound pressure levels below 85dB are considered safe and are not covered by the EU requirements.
• For sound pressure limits above 85db(A) but below 100dB(A) a feedback system integrated into the player will inform the user every 20 hours of listening time about the excessive sound pressure levels.
• There will be a warning in the user manual, on the packaging or on the player that prolonged listening to personal audio players can damage your hearing. But as far as i can tell there is no stipulation that the 85 decible limit has to mentioned..

The EU ruling is backed up by an scientific study which it seems most manufactures, Sony included, are keen to follow to ensure the long-term protection of auditory health of it's customers..

Graviton wrote:
There are different earphones/headphones with various impedance... Some of them are really quiet and they need more power to drive at a normal level... Moreover, there are a lot of different music files with different level of loudness.

As to headphones I guess Sony would have made changes the impedance in order achieve the appropriate levels, however that does not mean that the final output level would not be of a suitable quality..

I guess depending on the external sounds around you, you could consider using a set of noise cancelling headphones..

Graviton wrote:
What are the reference earphones and music files then, which are taken as a base when measuring loudness? 

I'm not sure maybe a question to ask the EU Commission..:smileyconfused:

Graviton wrote:
All this stuff drives me crazy a bit, I'm really not sure if the sound is okay or it lacks power... And I have no possibility to check before buying.

Not sure we can aswer that one for you as I mentioned above the only way to know for sure before you make a purchase is to visit a local stockist & give them a go..

I have a walkman & have not noticed any issue with the audio volume..

[Thalamus.]

Graviton wrote:
And do you know if this limitation is software based or hardware based? Could it be possible to remove the volume cap by installing US or JP firmware for example?

I think it's a bit of both..

However there is an option within the walkmans settings to switch off AVLS (Volume Limit) which may make the sound louder..

Tap the (Menu) button with the Home screen displayed, then tap [System settings] - [ Sound] - [AVLS (Volume Limit)].

As to changing the software, I seem to remember reading that this had been tried on another walkman model but that the user reported that the language had changed to Japanese & some other adverse effects but can't be 100%..

[ClarkLong]

The volume cap is probably software (always been that way with Sony)for cost productions. The only way to unlock it is to enter the service mode (you lost your waranty & might brick your walkman) or to load US OS (at your own risk). Japanese soft usually only cary Japanese languages....