Lightning Headphones: Are They Better or Just an Inconvenience?

[skydivertak]

So, combine this with other rumours that I've heard ...

• Detachable cable would allow an audio cable to be attached
• Detachable cable would allow for a Bluetooth option from the headset when disconnected
• Lightning cable allows the headphones to be charged from the iPhone
• Wireless charging on the iPhone would allow connected devices while charging the phone.

Personally, I'm done with wires, and hoping for an integrated wireless charging solution to go with my Bluetooth headphones!

 

[npmacuser5]

It's the age of bluetooth headsets now, cut the cords!

Fine if all you listen to is music. Watch a movie and the potential for out of sync sound becomes a reality over Bluetooth.

 

[Rigby]

So if I do an A/B test with my record player... 1 with the built-in Pre-amp and one through a dedicated, proper Pre-amp... is the dedicated Pre-amp not better because the only difference is more volume?

As long as both are loud enough, no, why would the louder one be better? Audio quality is about distortion, frequency response etc.

And on a mobile device, the main limitation to driving high-impedance headphones is the available power from the battery. Unless Lightning headphones come with their own bigger batteries (which makes them bulky of course), they are subject to the same limitations as the inbuilt amp. Of course a headphone manufacturer may choose to draw more power from the Lightning port than the internal Apple amp does, but this obviously comes at the cost of device battery life.

 

[JonneyGee]

This move would make more sense if they abandoned lightning and adopted USB-C across everything.

Lightning was a dumb idea from the start. Just use a standard connector and quit screwing around.

Given the outrage that surrounded the 30-pin to Lightning transition in 2012, I highly doubt Apple will want to change the standard again for a long time. USB-C doesn't have any real benefits other than being a universal standard, and for people who are locked into Apple's ecosystem, that's irrelevant. For most people, it would be a net negative, having to replace cables and adapters.

Personally, I'm hoping for retention of the 3.5mm port (because options are never a bad thing) and a USB 3-capable Lightning port for faster syncing and data transmission. If a company releases a high-end Lightning to 3.5mm DAC with a Lightning pass-through for charging, that would be great, but I don't want it to be the only option.

 

[teknikal90]

He did for one set, the 800$ pair. Did you even watch the video?

Yes, they tested the $800 headphones using their included 3.5 jack cable AND the lightning cable and declared the difference to be significant.

Not the same. the lightning port goes out to a headphone amp. the 3.5mm uses the built in one.

For this specific headphone, the bigger amp matters. For most other ones that 'normal' people use, it doesn't.You wouldn't go and get Audeze headphones and not get a better amp, regardless of if your phone has a headphone jack.

Making the iphone Lightning out only forces headphone makers to have built in amps on their headphones.
$$$.
We lose.

 

[Nickerbocker]

Sound quality, connecting to multiple devices & another device to charge are a few drawbacks. Also, if you use headphones across multiple devices, some may not offer Bluetooth (i.e. work desktops, or pre 2014 PCs in general).

I've owned two bluetooth headphones, and both came with 3.5 mm phono-jack-to-phono-jack cords for non-Bluetooth devices.

 

[Brenster]

Personally I think the 6s was a huge leap forward from the 6, and the 6 was a regression from the 5S (maybe just feeling the limits of 1GB of RAM with iOS 8 on iPhone 6, though -- 5S on iOS 7 was blazing fast in comparison). 6s performance is quite better than the 6, and 3D Touch is fantastic and quite useful. I love my 6s, but was disappointed with the 6.

I'm out of contract and upgrade eligible on my 128GB 6. It's posts like this and the threatened removal of the 3.5mm jack that make me want to nip out and go for a 6s now.

 

[BlargKing]

User: 3.5mm works and sounds great!
Apple: No actually 3.5mm is the worst
User: Oh your right Apple I cant stand music over 3.5mm! 3.5mm is the worst thing!

Why make sure your 700$ iPhone has a decent DAC when you can shove that responsibility to headphone makers? I mean a decent pair of headphones already runs 200-300$ Why not add an extra 100$ on that by adding a lightning certification and adding DAC hardware to the headphones themselves?

Don't get me wrong, I can see the potential uses of being able to stream a digital signal to an external DAC but making that the only option for users is a pretty stupid way to go, especially when 99% of headphones still use 3.5mm jacks.

This would also make more sense if Apple moved from lightning to USB type C, as Android devices are moving to USB C and this would help boost USB C adoption, not to mention make it so your expensive headphones can be used on anything other than an iPhone.

 

[thirteen1031]

What the F happened to Macrumors?! Is this now a ****** review site with Amazon referral links?

If Apple is removing the jack for standard headphones, THEN it is relevant to see reviews of lightning headphones already out that people could use with their new Apple devices. If Apple was't "rumored" to be doing this, then this would be, not pertinent to Macrumors. Or IF Apple already had out lightning headphones, then you might be right to question why the review wasn't about them instead.

Which is to say, I don't find this review irrelevant to the rumor that Apple may be getting rid of the jack in favor of lightning headphones.

 

[6836838]

In all due respect, I'll wait for a review from a decent audio/hifi site. I'd never trust an IT techie to review anything audio related.

 

[JGIGS]

It's the age of bluetooth headsets now, cut the cords!

Followed by the age of increased brain cancer. YAY!!

 

[now i see it]

Most people have not heard what true HiFi sounds like with excellent headphones on a good "stereo". Yes, they used to be called "stereos" back in the day. Good music on a good pair of headphones on a good sound system will give you tingles up your spine. The sound is overwhelming.

I've never experienced that sensation using the same earphones on an iPhone. The sound out of an iPhone is "dingy". It's seems to sound the same, but it's not. Even with 256kbps AAC compression. Gone are the most important parts of the dynamic range.

It likely has a lot to do with the microscopic DAC circuitry in the iPhone and the microscopic size of all the components in general.

For me, listening to music on an iPhone is never great. Those that have never heard HiFi don't know any better.

Maybe lightening headphones will improve the sound a bit.

 

[PigsOnTheWing]

https://squareup.com/emv

They've already got an answer. Bluetooth Low-Energy, and supports NFC cards on top of all that.

Not quite. The chip card reader still requires a separate magstripe reader for older magstripe only cards — so you'd still be stuck with needing a 3.5mm jack or lightning to 3.5mm adapter.

 

[69Mustang]

Nope - if you're transmitting a digital signal you don't pass it through a DAC; theres no need. You do need to perform the conversion somewhere - but its not unusual in high end home audio systems for the actively used DAC to be much closer to the speaker systems. This allows the audio to be moved from the device to device without impacting quality until its "ready" to be converted.

Even a super cheap CD reader will have perfect audio output as long as it transmits digitally to the next device.

Either I wasn't clear in my query (most likely this), or we're talking about two totally different things. Currently, the iPhone has speakers that plays sounds -ringer, video, notifications, etc- via the DAC (again, not an expert). My thinking says the iPhone would still need a DAC to do that. The prevailing thought here seems to be the DAC would not be in the iPhone, but would be located externally in the headphones. Simply put, how would the iPhone function properly without an internal DAC?

 

[naeS1Sean]

Great video, thanks! I definitely think they should remove it, and I wouldn't be surprised if they somehow fixed some of those major issues when they do so.

People don't like change. What would Apple (and the world) be like if they didn't force people to change...

 

[JGIGS]

Really this is just another way for apple to add more sets of golden handcuffs. You buy an expensive set of headphones that only have a lightning adapter sure gives your a reason to not buy a different branded phone in the near future.

Wonder if Apple would have done the same if they were using standard usb tech on ios devices.

 

[Exhale]

Either I wasn't clear in my query (most likely this), or we're talking about two totally different things. Currently, the iPhone has a speakers that plays sounds -ringer, video, notifications, etc- via the DAC (again, not an expert). My thinking says the iPhone would still need a DAC to do that. The prevailing thought here seems to be the DAC would not be in the iPhone, but would be located externally in the headphones. Simply put, how would the iPhone function properly without an internal DAC?

Oh - yeah i misunderstood that then.

But yes - the phone would still need a DAC (and ADC) for the built in speakers (and Microphones). They would be able to get away with a weaker amplifier though.

Current one according to the review was not able to handle the most expensive headphones tested anyway - and Lightning (likely) allows for a greater power output than what Apple allocates for the built in amp. High end expensive headphones often have a high impedance - and require a greater amount of power to achieve the same volume.

 

[cmichaelb]

I don't understand what's wrong with the wireless/Bluetooth headphone option? There are great ones to use starting at $20 on Amazon and up depending on your purchase preference. No reason to stay wired any more practically and even those wireless headphones come with a wiring option.

Sound quality = bluetooth has a ways to go

 

[dannys1]

If it leads to a deluge of tiny but good quality light connected DACs (with a headphone jack) then it'll be a boon - it makes me laugh how the biggest complaint from people who've spent lots of money on in-ears is the removal of the headphone jack when the iPhone is only built to drive low quality headphones anyway!

I guess this proves the DAC inside the iPhones is not good!

Anyones ears can prove that.

 

[ThisBougieLife]

For me, listening to music on an iPhone is never great. Those that have never heard HiFi don't know any better.

Maybe lightening headphones will improve the sound a bit.

Agree completely, but I don't expect Hi-fi from my iPhone. If I really want to hear quality, I use my USB DAC with my expensive Sennheisers. I only listen to music from my iPhone while on the train (where the background noise drowns out most of the dynamics anyway) or I use the iPhone to listen to podcasts, where the sound quality really doesn't matter. So this is kind of a non-issue to me.

 

[CFreymarc]

If this 3.5-mm connector is going away, there are plenty of solutions for using headphones. My fav is a Bluetooth audio jack that is common in automotive aftermarket. Wouldn't be surprised if Apple has their own 3.5-mm audio to Bluetooth connector themselves. The ones really hung to dry are those non-audio accessories that use the 3.5-mm connector such as card swipes and sensor inputs.

 

[thirteen1031]

The biggest difference he described was the volume ... which invalidates the entire listening test. If you don't properly level-match the audio when doing an A/B test, the louder one will always be perceived as "better" even if it isn't.

Um...but the reviewer said that the one that was set at the lower sound level was the better one...or at least to get equal "loudness" he didn't have to up the volume on his phone as high as with the lightning cable. Which would be a plus if that's true for more than just digital music. I've run into movies, stations and podcasts that are recorded badly and could use more volume--but there's no getting it any louder. Be nice to have volume wiggle room on those.

 

[MH01]

It's the age of bluetooth headsets now, cut the cords!

When Bluetooth sounds as good as corded, get back to us.

I've tried all the top end Bluetooth headphones, everyone sounds better with the cable plugged in.

I'll jump when Bluetooth is ready.

 

[Rigby]

Um...but the reviewer said that the one that was set at the lower sound level was the better one...or at least to get equal "loudness" he didn't have to up the volume on his phone as high as with the lightning cable. Which would be a plus if that's true for more than just digital music. I've run into movies, stations and podcasts that are recorded badly and could use more volume--but there's no getting it any louder. Be nice to have volume wiggle room on those.

That depends a lot on the headphones (primarily their impedance). The iPhone amp has been designed to drive lower-impedance phones such as the included earbuds. With those and similar models, it's more than loud enough (in fact a few years ago EU regulations forced Apple to add a volume limiter in iOS since the maximum volume exceeded levels that can cause hearing damage when used over extended periods of time).

 

[6836838]

Apple are not doing this to give us better quality sound. They are doing it for three reasons:

1) Keeping hardware costs down (especially since a waterproof jack would be more expensive, although possible)
2) DRM. With no analogue Audio-Out, they can actively control what's going out on the digital channel.
3) Making people think that 'Digital-Headphones' are actually better and forcing believers to 'upgrade'. The reality here is that the DAC just moves a few centimetres closer to the ears, which makes no noticeable difference at all.

I'm not saying there is anything wrong with DAC's in headphones, but it means we'll have headphones limited only to Apple products. I'm hoping this will perhaps create a market for DAC-only cables/adapters, as I'm already very happy with my earbuds. That being said, it's still going to be annoying carrying around an extra connector.

To boot, people are generally only going to notice the difference if their audio is saved or streaming in lossless or at a very high bitrate. And I really can't see the in-line external DACS (in a streamlined adapter) being that much better than the one already built into the phone.

This could really backfire for Apple, as I for one will not be racing to jump onto Lightening-only audio devices for a long while. Especially as an amateur musician with quality monitor buds that I use on multiple devices.