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bubsdaddy

macrumors regular
Original poster
Mar 5, 2008
188
66
The Woodlands, TX
I don't have an iPhone 7 but I picked one of these up today at the Apple Store to try out. I was amazed at how small it is. I have small hands, btw.
 

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Yeah, I like them too. The plug is also very tight, i'm actually using them with my old pair of iPhone earpods.
 
Yep! All the bitching people did about it... and then it comes and it's a tiny, little thing!

I went ahead and attached it to my ear pods that I have on my desk at home that I only use if I forget to charge my LG Tone wireless... but that way it's on them and ready to go when/if I need them in a hurry!
 
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Just picked one up also since I have a 6S plus which have loose headphone jacks. It does the job but it feels super flimsy. My prediction is that heavy users will need to replace every 4 to 6 months and that might be generous.
 
Small equals higher profit for Apple.

Easy to lose, damage or otherwise render useless, this dongle joins a long line of wires so dearly loved by Apple.

Apple blows smoke about wireless, while they get fat and happy off the wires they sell the masses.

Apple hypocrisy at it's finest... :eek:
 
I don't have an iPhone 7 but I picked one of these up today at the Apple Store to try out. I was amazed at how small it is. I have small hands, btw.

Crack that sucker open and tell us what's inside it already!
 
Small equals higher profit for Apple.

Easy to lose, damage or otherwise render useless, this dongle joins a long line of wires so dearly loved by Apple.

Apple blows smoke about wireless, while they get fat and happy off the wires they sell the masses.

Apple hypocrisy at it's finest... :eek:

No joke...after I posted this I lost the adapter. It took me an hour to find it. It's connected to a set of earphones now.

At $9, I don't think this is really a huge money machine for Apple. And I was - still am - against the removal of the headphone jack. I'm just not as angry after seeing how tiny this thing is.
 
I wouldn't vouch for their quality or lack of same but there already are bunches of "clone" adapters up for sale on eBay:

So much for whichever poster who was adamantly claiming "lighting is proprietary, it'll never be widely adopted"... LOL
 
I wouldn't vouch for their quality or lack of same but there already are bunches of "clone" adapters up for sale on eBay:

http://tinyurl.com/ze59kva

Most of these I've seen specs on are DACs only, and don't have an ADC. Not sure why that's the case, unless they can't do both and compete with Apple. Even the one you linked to costs almost as much as Apples with shipping, and can't possibly be the same quality, not to mention doesn't do as much. I'd rather spend the extra dollar and get the real deal.

So much for whichever poster who was adamantly claiming "lighting is proprietary, it'll never be widely adopted"... LOL

These aren't officially licensed MFi products. These manufacturers are essentially pirating the patented Lightning technology. And, they're basically making adapters to compete with Apple in territories where Apple has to charge more for the same product. Not to mention their compatibility is likely dubious. Regardless Lightning is proprietary and the claim that it wouldn't be widely adopted was in relation to audio equipment makers. Legitimate companies cannot use Lightning without paying a royalty to Apple, and certainly a major airline couldn't buy a lot of entertainment systems which included an unlicensed Lightning port. So that is likely true -- Lightning will never be widely adopted in legitimate audio devices since manufacturers will have to pay a license fee, whereas USB-C is a much lower cost. That doesn't mean manufacturers won't offer Lightning products, but they will come with a premium, and there won't be as many of them to chose from.
 
I just took the adapter out of my iPhone box for the first time like 10 minutes ago. It is pretty damn small.
 
I need a way to keep the adapter permanently with the phone. Maybe a case with a cutout in the back for it to slip inside. I work in the AV industry and constantly plug my phone into sound desks.
 
I need a way to keep the adapter permanently with the phone. Maybe a case with a cutout in the back for it to slip inside. I work in the AV industry and constantly plug my phone into sound desks.

Just out of curiosity, since your profession requires you to plug into multiple sound boards throughout the day, is there something about the iPhone 7 that necessitated you buy one, rather than continue using your previous phone, or buying a 6s instead?
 
Just out of curiosity, since your profession requires you to plug into multiple sound boards throughout the day, is there something about the iPhone 7 that necessitated you buy one, rather than continue using your previous phone, or buying a 6s instead?
Already have an iPhone 6S. Reasons for upgrade:

-Fancied trying the + model
-Fresh warranty
-Financially crippling desire to always have the latest model

Don't get me wrong, I can just keep the adapter in my laptop bag and all will be gravy. But having the adapter essentially attached to the phone would just be ridiculously handy.
 
I need a way to keep the adapter permanently with the phone. Maybe a case with a cutout in the back for it to slip inside. I work in the AV industry and constantly plug my phone into sound desks.

How is everyone finding the quality when playing back through the adapter? I took a pair of M50X audio technica and plugged them into the iPhone 7 Plus we are using for development, and found that all audio via the adapter looses some punchiness, it's less full vs when we use the standard audio jack from the iPhone 6S Plus.

I thought it was my imagination but I took the adapter and plugged it into the iPhone 6S Plus and the audio quality sound exactly the same like the iPhone 7 Plus via the adapter.

The sound was so much fuller, highs were better as were the bass, when plugged in via the iPhone 6S Plus legacy audio jack.
 
How is everyone finding the quality when playing back through the adapter? I took a pair of M50X audio technica and plugged them into the iPhone 7 Plus we are using for development, and found that all audio via the adapter looses some punchiness, it's less full vs when we use the standard audio jack from the iPhone 6S Plus.

I thought it was my imagination but I took the adapter and plugged it into the iPhone 6S Plus and the audio quality sound exactly the same like the iPhone 7 Plus via the adapter.

The sound was so much fuller, highs were better as were the bass, when plugged in via the iPhone 6S Plus legacy audio jack.
I've watched a few review videos of the adapter with comparisons and the general opinion seems to be that the adapter does lose a little bit of sound quality, but not enough that the typical user will notice. I can live with that.
 
Already have an iPhone 6S. Reasons for upgrade:

-Fancied trying the + model
-Fresh warranty
-Financially crippling desire to always have the latest model

Don't get me wrong, I can just keep the adapter in my laptop bag and all will be gravy. But having the adapter essentially attached to the phone would just be ridiculously handy.

I see. Yes that "crippling desire" seems to operate counter to your professional needs.

Hopefully your problem will be solved by a case with a built-in jack. I was disappointed Apple didn't offer one in their external battery case (since they are essentially offering the identical case to the 6s without the headphone jack hole), especially since it would add at most less than $9 -- but I guess I understand why they wouldn't. I suspect such a case will be a popular option for the iPhone 7, solving a number of problems.

I wouldn't be surprised if in 6 months most professional sound boards will add that $9 adapter to their stash of every other adapter to accommodate clients.
 
How is everyone finding the quality when playing back through the adapter? I took a pair of M50X audio technica and plugged them into the iPhone 7 Plus we are using for development, and found that all audio via the adapter looses some punchiness, it's less full vs when we use the standard audio jack from the iPhone 6S Plus.

I thought it was my imagination...

We do too, unless you run a double blind test.
 
How is everyone finding the quality when playing back through the adapter? I took a pair of M50X audio technica and plugged them into the iPhone 7 Plus we are using for development, and found that all audio via the adapter looses some punchiness, it's less full vs when we use the standard audio jack from the iPhone 6S Plus.

I thought it was my imagination but I took the adapter and plugged it into the iPhone 6S Plus and the audio quality sound exactly the same like the iPhone 7 Plus via the adapter.

The sound was so much fuller, highs were better as were the bass, when plugged in via the iPhone 6S Plus legacy audio jack.

I suspect the output is going to sound different on different headphones. I've only tested it on my SE with a pair of 3.5mm EarPods, admittedly not the best earbuds, but I noticed absolutely no difference in casual listening.

However, if yours is typical of most headphones, then Apple isn't offering comperable quality for 3.5mm headphones as they were on the 6s. Not that they're under any obligation to do so. What I'd be more interested in, is whether the Lightning EarPods, which have a slightly different DAC, offer identical "quality" as the 3.5mm EarPods did on the 6s.

The other question I have is whether this was a case of Apple using lower quality, cheaper, components in their design, or rather the design limited the quality they were able to achieve?
 
What I'd be more interested in, is whether the Lightning EarPods, which have a slightly different DAC, offer identical "quality" as the 3.5mm EarPods did on the 6s.

The other question I have is whether this was a case of Apple using lower quality, cheaper, components in their design, or rather the design limited the quality they were able to achieve?

Great questions. Haven't been able to find real audio testing/graphs on either. Which is probably like asking, "Hey what's the most nutritious packaged Ramen?" :p

I've seem to have noticed that over time, there are some subtle changes to the manufacturing of the headphones and dongles, such as strain reliefs, and some plugs, so I wouldn't put it past Apple to gradually 'cheap up' things that are on their way out.
 
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