Very clever to give away the lightning equipped headphones with every purchase and a free adapter as well selling them for $9.00 so you can use any legacy equipment. Oh wait. ??? I guess they need to work more on their evil plotting.
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Teardown Confirms Digital-to-Analog Converter in Lightning EarPods and 3.5mm Adapter
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Very clever to give away the lightning equipped headphones with every purchase and a free adapter as well selling them for $9.00 so you can use any legacy equipment. Oh wait. ??? I guess they need to work more on their evil plotting.
You can still upgrade to DRM-free versions with a one-time payment of $25 (to subscribe to a year of iTunes Match).
Sorry if this is a dumb question. Does the iPhone 7 have a DAC like all previous iPhones, or did Apple remove the DAC when it removed the headphone jack?
Since the lightning to 3.5mm jack adapter is so cheap, Apple must have put a pretty cheap DAC in it. The DAC in the 6S and earlier iPhones is not bad - not as good as external DACs like the Oppo HA-2 or the Dragonfly Black, but still pretty good.
This question is relevant for people who invested in nice wired headphones but don't like carrying an external DAC with them. They will be worse off if the DAC in the lightning-to-3.5mm dongle is not as good as the DAC in iPhone 6S and earlier iPhones.
In that case, people with nice wired headphones have another reason to keep their 6 or 6S for another year, or spring for a Dragonfly or better portable DAC/amp.
Since the lightning to 3.5mm jack adapter is so cheap, Apple must have put a pretty cheap DAC in it. The DAC in the 6S and earlier iPhones is not bad - not as good as external DACs like the Oppo HA-2 or the Dragonfly Black, but still pretty good.
This question is relevant for people who invested in nice wired headphones but don't like carrying an external DAC with them. They will be worse off if the DAC in the lightning-to-3.5mm dongle is not as good as the DAC in iPhone 6S and earlier iPhones.
In that case, people with nice wired headphones have another reason to keep their 6 or 6S for another year, or spring for a Dragonfly or better portable DAC/amp.
is this he same specious reasoning that assumes because the adapter is so tiny the DAC must not be very good?
Why don't you read through this instead:
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/iphone-7-audio-quality.1997853/#post-23499442
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The iPhone 7 has to have a DAC for the speakers. In fact it's the same DAC used in the iPhone 6s.
I would also direct you to the same link I just posted in response to another specious assumption regarding the adapter:
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/iphone-7-audio-quality.1997853/#post-23499442
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Oh, it's entirely possible to put a DAC in the plug - they can be amazingly small nowadays - but it's also entirely possible for Apple to amend the Lightning spec (which was designed for such future expansion) to add analog audio passthrough, if that's what they wanted/chose to do.
The other thing I don't see here is confirmation that the chips in question actually are DACs (something like, for example, the model numbers on the chips being recognized as existing manufacturer's model numbers for DAC chips).
Reminds me of the very first Lightning cable teardown, when a random blogger pulled one one apart, found a chip in the connector, and, expecting Apple to be evil, immediately declared "IT'S AN AUTHENTICATION CHIP! PROOF THAT APPLE IS EVIL!!1!." Based on no proof, based on fear, ignorance, and pre-existing agenda. And ALL the news media ran with this (because exciting Apple scandal), and now even Wikipedia lists this as fact, and it all traces back to that one blog post (with numerous stops along the way where people attest that it's true... because they heard it on the Internet). And yet, the chip in the Lightning cables is - and always has been - basically a microcontroller that handles the initial startup negotiation necessitated by the Lightning standard, since the pin assignments are software controllable. The chip isn't there in order to keep others from building cables, it's there to handle the protocol associated with the endlessly-reconfigurable Lightning connector. Does it keep some companies from making cables? Sure, probably. Is that it's reason for existence? No, absolutely not. But the Apple-is-Evil conspiracy theorists win, because journalism isn't what it used to be. Smh.
Oh, hey, and it seems the video, yep, calls one large chip the DAC (they say they don't recognize the number, so how do they know it's a DAC?), and calls the other large chip, the "protection chip, just like other Lightning cables or adapters", indicating that they don't actually know what they're talking about.
So, post-rant, the chip in the new headphones and adapter cable is probably a DAC, subject to additional investigation/verification.
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Size has no relevance, although it's unlikely no concessions were made to fit it in the adapter cable.
If you feel a "two-bit" DAC is good enough, then count yourself among the legion of happy Apple customers.
I suspect the third amplifier is used to drive the Taptic Engine. That device is essentially a low frequency audio speaker. It is much simpler to order 50% more of a component that they are already using than to choose a different amplifier/driver.
Perhaps because they aren't interested in your statist globalist nanny rules?
Apple are trying to push the market towards Bluetooth Headphones, they don't make money from that either.
The iPhone built-in DAC was never anything special. The best quality is always going to be digital out to a high quality external DAC. Hopefully the removal of the headphone jack will create a larger market for them.
I logged in to post this video,
But I would like to mention it seems that he was only concerned about the adapater that came with the phone and didn't bother to try and test lightning connector quality specifically.
He seems very focused on just using headphones with the included adapter.
So I guess what I'm getting at is, maybe further down the line hopefully within the next few months, lightning headphones might actually have better output than the 3.5mm jack.
I'm still using my 5s for the time being so I won't be one to really talk about lightning quality anytime soon.
I don't really know what axe it is you're trying to grind.
You make the specious claim that because Apple's adapter is cheap the DAC must be low quality. The audio tests confirm its about as good as the 6s DAC, generally said to be of good quality, even by audiophiles. So you're suggesting now that Apple's DACs are cheap and inferior .... to what?
The point is, the tiny inexpensive adapter does almost as good a job as Apple's flagship product DAC. So the customer isn't really losing anything of which they might conceivably be aware in the tradeoff.
So yeah, I'll be perfectly happy with a "two-bit" DAC as long as it's comperable with what I had before. Not to mention it didn't cost me anything more than the price of the iPhone itself. The even better news is that other manufacturers will likely make adapters just as small which have even better DACs in them, though I doubt they will be as inexpensive as Apple's. But then again, they've already been making them if I wanted a better DAC than Apple was previously offering through he headphone jack.
Lightning connector is digital, there's no quality to test. It's sending 0's and 1's, and the device receiving them either gets them or doesn't. It's then up to the headphone manufacturer to choose a DAC that matches well with the drivers they are using. There will then also be a very short analog path from the DAC to the drivers, which is better for noise and quality. Lightning headphones are going to be the best way to get high quality sound.
Yes, the door's not completely closed. It's part of a workable solution.
I'm long spoiled by the continued ability to redownload purchased iTunes music.
i guess you never tried phones with better DAC onboard. You can try ZTC Axion and LG V20. They all have better DAC than iPhone.
I've been looking for a similar cable for months now (a lightning to microUSB adapter that supports audio) and I found only 2, which cost $27 or more. Apple is able to pay MUCH less per component than anyone else, also for quality components, because the size of their orders are gigantic!
On the other hand, the low price in this case is also a strategic conclusion from knowing that removing the mini jack is a touchy subject that could backfire, and an expensive adapter would not have helped there. Even accepting a financial loss on this cable would make sense.
I for one say good for them, that Apple became this successful, created tens of thousands of well paid jobs and are still able to make amazing profits as a result of all that hard work.
Honestly, I don't understand why people get angry when a companies becomes succeful.
"The accessories included in the iPhone 7 box, including a Lightning-to-USB cable, Lightning-to-3.5mm audio adapter, EarPods with a Lightning connector, and 5W USB power adapter cost an estimated $11.80 combined."
Don't lose any sleep over Apple's profits, they're certainly not.
Personally, I think the 7's lightning earbuds are perfectly fine for everyday use. The sound quality is about as good as, if not better than, that which one can expect from an included set of earbuds.
I think it's odd that many arguments against them and the move away from the 3.5mm jack centre around audiophiles. Surely an audiophile would not rely on a phone, however good or expensive it is, as their main source? That's like racing Formula 1 in a Ford Focus. Granted a Focus can serve the day to day needs perfectly well, but it's not gonna do much round the track.
My only gripe about the move to lightning isn't even audio related. As my phone is taken in and out of my pocket as I'm using it, the cable twists and I used to be able to just twirl it round in the socket. Now I have to unplug it or spin the phone every now and then. No big deal, just something I noticed I need to do
I think it's odd that many arguments against them and the move away from the 3.5mm jack centre around audiophiles. Surely an audiophile would not rely on a phone, however good or expensive it is, as their main source? That's like racing Formula 1 in a Ford Focus. Granted a Focus can serve the day to day needs perfectly well, but it's not gonna do much round the track.
My only gripe about the move to lightning isn't even audio related. As my phone is taken in and out of my pocket as I'm using it, the cable twists and I used to be able to just twirl it round in the socket. Now I have to unplug it or spin the phone every now and then. No big deal, just something I noticed I need to do
You spent half-a-grand on an audiophile headphone set and yet used the iPhone's internal DAC?
So did I, and so do I. When I'm out and about... I have no problem with the iPhone's internal DAC.
Having said that, when at home I do have a "separate" DAC which I also spent half a grand on. It has a USB input which the iPhone can use - but I don't use it that way, I use a Sonos as a source when at home, permanently plugged into the DAC (more convenient).
I don't regard myself as an audiophile at all. I just like nice sound.
I think you are confused.
If it is your intention to use your external DAC, Apple has not solved it for you at all. You need a DAC that can accept USB, and then use the Apple Camera Connection Kit and a USB cable to connect your iPhone to your DAC.
Otherwise you need a DAC that is MFi (or otherwise Apple licenced) to accept a direct iPhone connection.
Both of those phone's audio system is premised on having 32-bit source audio, which is pretty rare today. Those DACs don't improve much for regular 16-bit lossless CD rips. They do have have a bit more power, but it's a minimal difference. Where do you even find 32-bit audio?
The LG V20 hasn't really launched in the U.S. yet, so whether it is indeed better remains to be seen. That said, it doesn't seem the DAC in there is better, just that there are 4 of them. Surely this allows a better signal to noise ratio, higher power output, and such. That said, this is only good if you find source material with 32-bit audio to take advantage of this, as LG has explained 3 of the DACs are turned off when regular compressed music is played, or when regular headphones are used. This also implies that when all 4 DACs are running, it is using a considerable amount of power. So, as I said, for the power usage, the iPhone's DAC is close to as good as it gets.
