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Philips Unveils Lightning Cable-Equipped Fidelio M2L Headphones

JAT said:
Standard for what? Phones only, afaik. The original standard for headphones was the 1/4" jack, which is still around in many areas. And media players (like Walkman, radios, etc) have used 3.5mm since well before the 80s.
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Some of the earlier Macs had 2.5mm connectors (more for speakers than anything). I don't really recall them being a standard though, more a lack of standard.

They are definitely all based on the 1/4" jack which was used for 100 years until these fancy boomboxes started putting in 3.5mm. :p
 
its all fun and games till the cable wears and you get the dreaded "this accessory may not work reliably with iphone" error message....
 
HenryDJP said:
It takes time man. They just acquired Beats and Beats Audio. They will have to work on bettering those crappy headphones, infuse iTunes into Beats Music and then do a special dedicated show for this. There was no way they would have time yesterday to include an audio segment big enough to matter. The show was already 90 minutes yesterday.
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Tomlinson Holman + Beats = Goodness?
 
This is called "niche product" in marketing.

And as the name implies it is only for a certain percentage of that market.

I really can't understand and comprehend people who are whining about a product that might not have marginal value for them but for some others have.

This is the first of its kind so even you don't like this you can buy all the products in the market minus this one.
 
Wireless solution, please

I'd love to see Apple make a wireless solution that is better than existing Bluetooth headphone solutions. I wouldn't care if it's proprietary to iDevices, because that's all I would use it with. The problem I have with this Lightning headphone/concept is that you can already get very good to excellent portable headphones that were driven by the move to portable music players - Sennheiser Momentum, B&W P7, Beyers T51i, etc., etc. (but NOTHING by Beats). You can also get a headphone with a built-in amplifier (PSB MU4-2) that is really great (although it has meh looks and is heavy). And the iPhone already has a DAC and amplifier - Is Apple saying that the aren't good (or good enough)? Or that they'll downgrade those components in future iDevices to force people to Lightning-based headphones? This just seems to be a solution looking for a problem.

(I get it that hard-core audiophiles want something better than plugging a headphone into an iPhone with 256k files, but if that's where this is going, then you need, at least, to improve the source material, which most people won't bother because of file-size constraints. And then once you start down that road (DAC, amplifier, cables, etc.), you become a member of head-fi.org, and then it certainly will never end with a Lightning headphone.)

But a great wireless headphone - even if Apple-only - would be a potentially significant improvement over what it out there. I really like the Sony MDR-1RBT's (which I gave to a relative), and plan eventually to get another pair if something better doesn't come along soon. But if Apple really focuses on a solution that brings the SQ of wired and wireless closer together, perhaps with some iOS integration bells and whistles thrown in, then that's something I could get excited about. Still, the Sonys are so good (comfort, battery live, SQ, controls, etc.), it would have be a noticeable improvement. I've never noticed enough of a lag video soundtrack on BT to care, but others do, so for them, an Apple wireless solution eliminating lag would be a real plus.
 
Parasprite said:
Some of the earlier Macs had 2.5mm connectors (more for speakers than anything). I don't really recall them being a standard though, more a lack of standard.

They are definitely all based on the 1/4" jack which was used for 100 years until these fancy boomboxes started putting in 3.5mm. :p
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I wish we could get a new headphone port standard. Even the 3.5mm is just a miniaturization of said century old connector. It was never designed for modern devices. A modern headphone connector would disconnect when you accidentally yank the cable, instead of dragging the whole phone with it. It would do a better job of isolating the signal. And be able to transmit both analog and digital signals.
 
H2SO4 said:
Yep, cos I’m gonna buy a pair of headphones that I can only use with an iDevice……

Tio make things worse the weight is increased by the addition of the DAC and the amp in the headset.

I’ll take some Momentums if it’s all the same to you.
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Why are all the negative ppl so readily available to give their 2cents!!! If you have NOTHING nice to say.... Then don't say anything!

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H2SO4 said:
Yep, cos I’m gonna buy a pair of headphones that I can only use with an iDevice……

Tio make things worse the weight is increased by the addition of the DAC and the amp in the headset.

I’ll take some Momentums if it’s all the same to you.
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And also ****TARD, just what else (assuming u own an iPhone) device that is, do you sit around and listen to music too!!! By your comment, I can tell you are an immature kid, who obviously has no option of a high end piece of stereo equipment that u are sitting at home on a Friday night listening to! Ur prolly checking out vine, badoo, twitter, FB, Instagram , snapchat .... Etc...
 
Philips headphones are usually pretty good, those are very cool and i find lightning calde connection much more better than old 3,5mm jack. Anyway i would use it on iOS only anyway.
 
APlotdevice said:
I wish we could get a new headphone port standard. Even the 3.5mm is just a miniaturization of said century old connector. It was never designed for modern devices. A modern headphone connector would disconnect when you accidentally yank the cable, instead of dragging the whole phone with it. It would do a better job of isolating the signal. And be able to transmit both analog and digital signals.
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Macs have combination optical/analog headphone jacks, already. But a magsafe version would be useful.
 
MRI3T said:
Why are all the negative ppl so readily available to give their 2cents!!! If you have NOTHING nice to say.... Then don't say anything!
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Exactly! All the bitching and moaning here is pathetic. It's not like Philips pulled an Apple and discontinued all of their legacy headphones expecting everyone to move to the new, enlightened, magical paradigm.

It's a first product for a specific use and will be bought by early-adopters. If anyone is really satisfied by the crappy sound that comes out of iPhone then I say OK, listen to your iTunes downloads and enjoy.

As pointed out by a few posters some people like their music to sound like music.
 
Nunyabinez said:
The benefit is that you get the digital signal from the phone and then use the chip in the headphones to convert it to an analog signal. One would assume that the DAC chip is superior, or at least specifically tuned to interact with the headphones.
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I wonder about how good these will sound, but I can see how having the headphones built around their own DAC and amp rather than a third party DAC/Amp will give them more ability to choose how the headphone speakers are voiced.

There are a lot of people that think that every new thing that comes out has to be for the masses. There are niches of enthusiasts that spend tens of thousands of dollars (sometimes more) on their systems. If a~$300 set of headphones gives them better sound quality or the same quality as carrying around all the stuff (headphone, portable DAC, portable amp) separately, I can definitely see a market for it even without an analog input. Many headphone buyers have more than one pair of headphones, so this would just be something to use with their iPhones.

I am not saying I would buy a pair, but if it was made by AKG or Sennheiser I would definitely give it a look.
 
JAT said:
Macs have combination optical/analog headphone jacks, already. But a magsafe version would be useful.
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That digital out is through optical connector, which means that it can't provide any power. The mechanism is also too bulky for a phone.
 
iolinux333 said:
You mean like the 2.5mm audio jack I was using, and was the standard from the 1980s onward until Apple stuck a 3.5mm on the iPod?
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Sorry, what? 2.5 has never been industry standard - the only thing it was standard on was blackberries. Every Walkman, audio player, computer, television, or anything else I have ever owned has had a 3.5mm jack on it - since the early 1980s, starting with the first model cassette Walkman Sony ever released.
 
Nunyabinez said:
The problem is that the majority of people have no interest in the actual quality of the sounds that they listen to. CDs are compromised audio that then gets ripped into lossy MP3/ACC and then listened to on low quality DAC through crappy ear buds.

And most people are fine with that. It is like when Blu-Ray struggled to gain traction because DVD was "good enough" for most people.

Some people actually want to hear music with as much detail and clarity as possible. And without getting into the whole "you can't hear the difference anyway" argument, some people can afford nice things that have the highest quality possible. If that's not you, you don't have insult those who want and can have nice things.
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That's all said very, very well.
 
scottsjack said:
Exactly! All the bitching and moaning here is pathetic. It's not like Philips pulled an Apple and discontinued all of their legacy headphones expecting everyone to move to the new, enlightened, magical paradigm.

It's a first product for a specific use and will be bought by early-adopters. If anyone is really satisfied by the crappy sound that comes out of iPhone then I say OK, listen to your iTunes downloads and enjoy.

As pointed out by a few posters some people like their music to sound like music.
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I don't see any reason that this would sound better than a lightning DAC into a standard pair of decent headphones (which is what I have already) - more flexible and higher quality components, most likely. There's not any real compelling reason to include the DAC in the headphone unit themselves, and true audiophiles (I'm not one, though I do invest in decent mid-range kit) will not buy these, because they will choose to buy better headphones and a standalone DAC, even if they were forced to listen to their music in an iPhone (which the majority try hard not to do).
 
H2SO4 said:
Some people probably have more money than sense. Why on earth would anybody buy these that can’t be used on any non apple device? Such a sensible pick from the plenty of options out there that these will be a massive sales hit right?
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Wow, look! Someone with a this-isn't-for-me-therefore-it's-not-for-anyone attitude on MacRumors! Shocker.
 
marmiteturkey said:
I don't see any reason that this would sound better than a lightning DAC into a standard pair of decent headphones (which is what I have already) - more flexible and higher quality components, most likely. There's not any real compelling reason to include the DAC in the headphone unit themselves, and true audiophiles (I'm not one, though I do invest in decent mid-range kit) will not buy these, because they will choose to buy better headphones and a standalone DAC, even if they were forced to listen to their music in an iPhone (which the majority try hard not to do).
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Which DAC do you use?
 
I for one is very interested in these. Finally apple is improving on sound quality(hoping). I use Grados and as been said these are a ripoff, but to me a nice one since i love the grado design. But since there open i cant use them on the bus etc, so a good pair of closed ones i only really need for my ios device. And if they do improve the sound to me it will be worth it. Specially as i wont need a external DAC headphone amp, iphone 3,5 sound quality really sucks. So cant wait to try these. That said, one adapter for 3,5 would be nice.
 
JAT said:
Except, Phillips.
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I bought a $40 set of bluetooth headphones from Phillips and they are quite possibly the best sounding headphones I have ever owned. The battery life is astounding (advertised 8hrs, I get well over 10) and they are light weight with all necessary controls and handsfree built in. optional 3.5mm input for when the battery is dead.

I bought these on a whim as I wanted a wireless set for work and I ended up getting a second pair to leave at home.

I even compared them to a bunch of noise cancelling, high end ($500+) headphones at the airport recently and couldnt understand why anyone would pay that amount of money for what, to me at least, sounded inferior.
 
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