philgmosaidthis

I was skeptical, but it really brings my Powerbook speakers to life. The volume adjustment alone is worth the fee (way better than iTunes' Sound Check, IMHO).

Anyone have any idea when a version that works with iTunes 7 will be released?

Volume Logic was broken on 9/12/06 with the release of iTunes 7. Since then, I've repeatedly asked Plantronics about a release date and they just keep say they don't have a date. This is ridiculous. How long does it take to fix, when it actually does load and work about 1 in 15 launches? Oh and it works for iTunes videos, just not for iTunes music (most of the time). It can't be that big of a fix.

I'm sick of this BS. Obviously they aren't in any big hurry to fix VL for Mac users. I requested my money back and will not recommend this to anyone, anymore.

I LOVED this app on Windows and was about to happily pay again to use it on my brand new MacBook Pro, but they haven't figured out the Intel Macs yet. Hearing that they're hard at work on iTunes 7.0 compatibility makes me think I won't usethis for quite a while yet.

** Important info and possible fix contained in this long comment **
I'm a huge fan of Volume Logic and have been using it for quite a while (until it was broken by iTunes 7). It's almost become a ritual for me to go check the Octiv website to see if there are any updates on the fix, which there haven't been. That is until today when I decided to just browse their site a bit more to see if they had anymore information on an update, and lo and behold , on their iTunes Mac FAQ (http://www.volumelogic.com/index.asp?content=vl_faq_mac) I find this:
"We have received reports that following the release of Apple’s iTunes 7.0, the Volume Logic plug-ins for both Mac and Windows iTunes are not currently functioning as designed. The plug-in opens as expected, but iTunes’ audio is unaffected by our processing. You will still hear your iTunes music, as if the plug-in were simply bypassed. The causes of this incompatibility are explained below.

iTunes timing issue:
Plug-ins are loaded differently since iTunes 7. Plug-ins are now loaded after the audio subsystem of iTunes is configured. This makes it much harder to implement audio modifications in iTunes.

Apple's CoreAudio bug:
The solutions tried in Beta versions 5, 6 and 7 ran into a bug in CoreAudio that further hampers Volume Logic's functionality on a random basis. Apple has acknowledged this bug, but cannot give a timeline for a solution.

The public beta of Volume Logic has been postponed while we run the software through extended private beta testing. We appreciate your patience while we work through this bump in the road."

And better yet, with a little more browsing on the internet, I find that there may be a work around for the problem! I haven't been able to test this myself while my computer is in for repair, but it looks promising and has apparently worked for several people. Apparently the fix has been tested in 7.0.1, so it's unknown to me yet if it works in 7.0 or 7.0.2, but it's worth a try.

** The Fix ** (unconfirmed)
The key to fixing the problem with VL is selecting a new audio output source and then switching back. Apparently this was initially tried using an Airport Express, switching to that and then back to normal, it fixes VL. Another possible fix is changing the sound output in System Preferences and then switch back, but this may not be possible if you do not have USB speakers or USB headphones (apparently a Griffin iMic will make it work as well). Whatever way you choose to fix it, the fix only seems to work by changing to another output aside from the internal speakers or headphone port.

I hope this was helpful and that the fix works (someone respond with a confirmation for the workaround, if not in a few days, I can test it out and I'll post it). Sorry about the length, but I hope no one minded since it is an important matter.

Thank you for the hint, macmankev! In the System Preferences, I switched the output device to Sunflower (a component of Audio Hijack Pro) and back to Built-in Audio. Now Volume Logic is working again.

Yet another thank you to macmankev. I just pointed the audio output at my USB phone and restarted iTunes. Volume Logic kicked in as soon and I redirected the audio output back again.

Well Plantronics and Volume Logic continue to disappoint. They finally release a "fixed" update (seven months after it was broken) and it does in fact work with the speakers on my iMac. However, if you go to the FAQ you'll see that it doesn't work with Airport Express so I still can't listen to my iTunes library through my stereo (well actually I can, it just sounds like crap).

I guess we'll probably have to wait another 7 months for another "fixed" update . That's only 14 months total. You guys at Plantronic rock!

UPDATE: I just heard back from Plantronics. They have no plans to fix VL so that it once again works with your Airport Express. Nice...

So unless you plan only to listen to your music on your Mac (I don't), don't bother with VL. In fact, I'm so disgusted with how Plantronics handled this whole issue, and the fact that they won't fix VL so that it works with AE again, I suggest not bothering with it at all. Hopefully some other developer will pick up the ball and run with it. I'm not holding my breath.

I just bought this... the sound from my little JBL On-Tour speakers is already pretty good, but I was completely blown away when I fired this plugin up.

Great stuff (^^)