They apparently fixed the mono MP3 and equalizer reset bug. I tried it on a mono podcast with the equalizer on and it appeared to work. See the following:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=304490
Symptom
Some customers may experience an issue where a Fifth Generation iPod will reset when attempting to play certain MP3 files or podcasts encoded as MP3. This symptom may occur with any MP3 file encoded at 32Khz or higher with a mono channel.
Products affected
Fifth Generation iPod
iPod Software 1.2
Certain MP3 songs and podcasts with a mono audio channel
Solution
Update to iPod Software 1.2.1 or later using the latest version of iTunes.
