A different ? about iPod volume levels.

I posted this in iTunes disc. a while ago but I think it might b more appropriate here.

I use my 20gb iPod @ work. I have a boombox with an line in jack that I connect to the iPod through the headphones jack. This is the only way for me to get tunes while driving my company truck.

For a while I had to turn the volume on my iPod up to 85-95% (Appx % based on volume slider's position) i would also have to have the volume nearly maxxed out on the boombox just to be able to hear the songs at a descent volume. (I am in a truck, but even in relatively quiet environs, volume is remarkably low) The BBox's CD player & radio will crank up quite a bit, if not too much volume, but when the iPod is connected through the line in jack, its barely audible until I max everything out. The iListen FM transmitter for my car had this same issue. Although i didn't have to have the car's radio completely maxed out, I did have to have the iPods volume up past 90% to get a descent listening volume.

I have since discovered the "volume control" in iTunes (command I) and at first I adjusted some of the song volumes up about 35-50%. This helped but I still needed the boombox volume up almost to max. (My rechargable batteries werent lasting an entire shift at that volume!)

I have gone through and raised the song volumes in iTunes to about +75% or more. Now I can have the volume on the iPod @ roughly 60% and the boombox at a little more than half.

What I have noticed lately is that now, the volume control on my iPod is no longer doing anything to the volume past a certain point, (appx 55-60% on the slider position). This is the same with the boombox, the earphones or even the FM transmitter for my car radio, I don't begin to hear any music until the iPod's volume slider reaches about 40%, and after that the volume seems to max out at about 55-60% and doesn't go any higher. After I hit 60%, I can turn it up to full (on the iPod) without any apparant change in the volume levels.

Worse yet is the music sounds terrible using anything other than the boombox. The music's high end while using the FM transmitter is very staticy and buzzed. Using the earbuds, sound quality is fair below about 45% volume, but that's a little low for me.

I do have sound check enables in iTunes & the iPod and I have adjusted the volume on ALL the song files in iTunes using the "command I" (or get info) option.

I was wondering if there is a "fixed" upper limit on the volume in iTunes or the iPod, or is there possibly something wrong with the iPod? I have tried finding a post or link that i read here (in the discussions) that seemed to imply there was such a volume limit, but now I can't find it. It wasn't reffering to the iPod's with a limit on volume sold in Europe (I bought mine in the US anyway). This "link" seemed to be stating there was a limit on volume to preserve sound quality. (Yet it doesn't seem to have done that!!)

I didn't notice this "limiting" with the volume until after the last time I upped the volume from within iTunes. This is a little aggravating!! I would appreciate any insight!! Thanks!

Craig