Following Apple’s release of the latest software for iPod classic, version 1.1, some users are reporting that the device now emits pulses of electrical current through its bottom line-out audio pins when it is turned off. According to a series of reports on the Head-Fi audio forums, in which users frequently connect high-end headphones to their iPods using bottom-connecting amplifier accessories, static-like noises and distortion can be heard from the turned-off iPod classic, resulting from what user Nine from Littleton, Colorado reports as “~.5v of DC on the line out whenever the iPod is off.”
“This could be really bad for your headphones if you are connected through a DC coupled amplifier (like my mini^3),” the user says. “I also plugged it into my scope, and verified the .5v is usually just DC, but that occasionally (maybe 10% of the time) it’s got some triangular pulses on it.” While this issue does not appear to affect the classic’s headphone port, and won’t impact the majority of iPod users’ headphones, those using Dock Connector-based amplifiers may want to downgrade their iPods to an earlier version of the firmware, or exercise caution when using other iPod accessories. [Thanks, Larry]