> That's where the 92% came from as the Archos can go up to +12dB (100%).

I see (never had one).

>> Sure, but 100% for 0dB and (say) 110% convey it just as well.
>
> I don't think this is intuitive at all if it is not clear that 100%
> refers to 0dB.

Seems pretty clear to me. No less clear than 0dB, especially for those that
don't understand it.

> And you'll get other problems.<snip>
> or would you prefer a nonlinear scale where
> 0% is the minimum level of the specific hardware?

I'm saying that for an 'intuitive' value like a percentage, that's exactly
what I would do. 0% is exactly mute (or closest there is), 100% is exactly
0db, anything over is >100. You could map each player's range fairly
closely, but of course if you really want accuracy, dB is the way to go. As
I said, consumer types will prefer the intuitive scale, techies will like
dB. There is no ideal solution unless you make it optional.

> Perhaps it's enough to add "dB" on the display to make it clear?

Yes, that's a good idea either way.

--
gl