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AirPods Max with third party Lightning - 3.5mm cable?

Can anyone confirm if the 6 ft long version here will work with AirPods Max?
www.amazon.com

Belkin Speaker and Headphone Splitter, 3.5mm Audio Jack Adapter, Dual Audio Output for Earbuds, Headphones, and Speakers for Sharing Music & Videos, Compatible with iPhones, Laptops, & Tablets - White

Enjoy your music library and favorite playlists anywhere with a single cable solution that connects iPhones to car stereos, home speaker systems or portable speakers. Available in Multiple lengths for convenience. preserving functionality for a seamless experience.
www.amazon.com
 
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Kampy1 said:
Can anyone confirm if the 6 ft long version here will work with AirPods Max?
www.amazon.com

Belkin Speaker and Headphone Splitter, 3.5mm Audio Jack Adapter, Dual Audio Output for Earbuds, Headphones, and Speakers for Sharing Music & Videos, Compatible with iPhones, Laptops, & Tablets - White

Enjoy your music library and favorite playlists anywhere with a single cable solution that connects iPhones to car stereos, home speaker systems or portable speakers. Available in Multiple lengths for convenience. preserving functionality for a seamless experience.
www.amazon.com
Click to expand...
No
 
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LeonPro said:
Just buy the Apple cable and be done with it. It's not that expensive.
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It always surprises me how some people (including myself) sometimes get absolutely lost in trying to find "the right solution" to something; like we'll literally spend days looking for ways to save maybe US$10.

At the same time if some magic genie showed up and offered to extend our lives for the same amount of time that we absolutely focused on trying to potentially maybe if we're lucky save that US$10, then we'd value that offer at waaaaaaay more than US$10.

With the right perspective we're all very very stupid sometimes. 🙂
 
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Julien said:
It is important to know what is required of the cable and why others don't work. The Max's require a cable with an Analog to Digital Converter (ADC). Also it must convert the analog signal to AAC for the AirPods.

Cables that come with the iPhone (or 3ed party) are just the opposite and have a Digital to Analog Converter (DAC).

This built in electronics are actually a large part of the high price. Also any use use of a cable thinking they are bypassing the DAC to pass a hi res signal to the Max's is false. The only technical advantage is lower latency and less chance of dropouts than using BT.
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Great explanation and hit's the nail on the head, however sounds like in order to use higher bitrate codecs with APM's Apple could only do this by updating the firmware and possibly Apple Music, while not impossible may lead to a premium Apple music subscription tier🥲
 
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Julien said:
It is important to know what is required of the cable and why others don't work. The Max's require a cable with an Analog to Digital Converter (ADC). Also it must convert the analog signal to AAC for the AirPods.

Cables that come with the iPhone (or 3ed party) are just the opposite and have a Digital to Analog Converter (DAC).

This built in electronics are actually a large part of the high price. Also any use use of a cable thinking they are bypassing the DAC to pass a hi res signal to the Max's is false. The only technical advantage is lower latency and less chance of dropouts than using BT.
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Exactly. I was conversing with a person in another thread and he/she was adamant in providing his own false narrative. Oh well.
 
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LeonPro said:
Exactly. I was conversing with a person in another thread and he/she was adamant in providing his own false narrative. Oh well.
Click to expand...
Thanks to Julien & LeonPro and others here on the forums for helping me understand how the AirPods Max actually work... BEFORE I actually placed my order for lightning-to-3.5mm cables and converters that would have never worked. Not only saved me the $$ but saved me the frustration of figuring it out the hard way
 
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svanstrom said:
It always surprises me how some people (including myself) sometimes get absolutely lost in trying to find "the right solution" to something; like we'll literally spend days looking for ways to save maybe US$10.

At the same time if some magic genie showed up and offered to extend our lives for the same amount of time that we absolutely focused on trying to potentially maybe if we're lucky save that US$10, then we'd value that offer at waaaaaaay more than US$10.

With the right perspective we're all very very stupid sometimes. 🙂
Click to expand...

The issue for me isn't the price; it's the quality and robustness. The cable feels incredibly fragile and it isn't very long. I keep hoping someone will make a nice, thick, possibly braided or flat, cable for these. I'd pay $100 for that, especially if it had a really high quality ADC in it.
 
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Anyone know if any alternatives are available yet? I just got some AirPods Max for xmas and I'd like to be able to use them with other things!

In all honesty I don't mind paying for the Apple cable, but I need something longer than the 1.2 meter one they sell - I know I could use an extension on the 3.5mm jack end, but I'd rather have one nice cable!
 
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svanstrom said:
It always surprises me how some people (including myself) sometimes get absolutely lost in trying to find "the right solution" to something; like we'll literally spend days looking for ways to save maybe US$10.

At the same time if some magic genie showed up and offered to extend our lives for the same amount of time that we absolutely focused on trying to potentially maybe if we're lucky save that US$10, then we'd value that offer at waaaaaaay more than US$10.

With the right perspective we're all very very stupid sometimes. 🙂
Click to expand...
I wasn’t expecting to find this level of gold in a thread about an audio cable.

I have this cable and was just looking for “what makes this cable work and not others”… go figure.
Search was worth it, thanks.
 
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I don't mind the price, but the quality of the cable is DREADFUL. I just got mine and it reminds me of the cable quality of the free headphones they give out on the airplane. I'd love a nice woven design.

Also it is quite short. Have people successfully used this on a plane or do you need an adapter?
 
Sorry for reviving this thread…but was wondering if anyone had any luck with an alternative cable.
I love Apple as much as the next guy, but they really mess up sometimes. And that short cable is really not practical at all.
Anyone has any luck finding an alternative or we stuck with Apple’s?
 
Gezellig said:
Sorry for reviving this thread…but was wondering if anyone had any luck with an alternative cable.
I love Apple as much as the next guy, but they really mess up sometimes. And that short cable is really not practical at all.
Anyone has any luck finding an alternative or we stuck with Apple’s?
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You can use headphone extension cords with the Apple lightning to headphone cable. That's all I've found.
 
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NewZealandMatt said:
Hi there, has anyone tried using the AirPods Max for wired sound with a third party Lightning - 3.5mm cable?

Just wondering if I need to order the Apple one or if the ProMax one I already have will work. Hopefully it will - Apple one is currently showing 8-10 weeks shipping to New Zealand.

Many thanks for your help!
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same issue here, cant find an alternative to Apples $35 chord. I purchased my off Amazon, same price (35) as buit directly from Apple Store
 
TriApple said:
You can use headphone extension cords with the Apple lightning to headphone cable. That's all I've found.
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I did the same (TriApple) w the extension. I just wish there was a thicker gauge version to the Apple lightning to Air Pod Max, original $35 line is thin and puny i feel i’ll accidentally break it sooner than later
 
I just broke my Apple one (again), it's too damn short, and so cheaply made.

Wish they would make one as robust as some of their other cables (e.g. the braided TB cables).

My use case is avoiding having to pair/unpair my AirPods Max with Windows PC or other non-Apple devices, so I guess I am not a priority (even though fully bought into Apple ecosystem as well) 🤑
 
Posting on a dormant thread just to get this out. Others have mentioned that we’re going cheap looking for third party cables to save $10. Not really. I’ve broken mine (the cable is indeed very flimsy) and now I’m looking at getting another $40 replacement. This when a $4 cable (came in a two-pack) is far more durable.

The cable should’ve come in a box or, better yet, the headphones should’ve had a headphone port built in (same criticism for the HomePods).

Apple used to include the ports that you actually needed. Hell, the iPod hifi had an audio port that doubled as an optical digital input. Nowadays we’re lucky if a device supports standard Bluetooth.

I’m just griping as I haven’t found a single third-party cable that works. Next I’m going to perform surgery on the cable so I don’t have to spend more On Apple’s blatant cash grab.
 
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