The new announcements on them are awful. They are so sugarcoated in cheeryness that they get grating rapidly. As for the volume, they are still incredibly loud on some trains. Including the manual announcements by the crew.
I'm on an intercity service for over an hour, I don't need to constantly be reminded of the trains destination or it's calling pattern. Just tell me the sodding station we are arriving at and be done with it. Whoever thought they should play 3 times per station needs to be subjected to them playing in a loop for the next few months.