The N900 headphone output is a LOT louder than the N810 was (no idea how it compares to the iPhone), I cannot listen to it on max settings even in ballads or non-orchestral classical music. But then again, my ears are not blasted yet The bad news for loud-music listeners that it's like an addiction. As your body adapts, you will need bigger doses (more dB) just to keep the perceived level of loudness. And after you cross the physical damage level, nothing will sound loud anymore. The EU regulation is AFAIK just for the *default* volume level. Yes, there were players that play on max volume so they would sound more powerful compared to others you might want to try out in a shop. Also, the max limits will hardly work out as it can be (and already is) broken with recompressing/mastering with higher gain values. The output levels are the result of a mix of HARDWARE and CONTENT. If you calculate the limits for a worst case scenario, 'normal' music will be (literally) unusably quiet.