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iPhone 6 & 6 Plus Audio Quality
Dec 16, 2015 at 10:15 PM Post #1,696 of 1,973
slaphead said:
Nice to see all these alternative players, but I have a question

As portable music I listen to MP3 and AAC, mostly relatively high bit rate, but nonetheless compressed. As I will never listen to full redbook, or hi res, on the move then the question that I have is, is it really an improvement to run a 3rd party player over Apple's own music app?
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After history of listening to Neutron and PowerAmp on Android, I was astounded how average iOS player sounded on iP6. Hi quality (but still compressed) Spotify sounds better to me than same material  lossless on iphone player. I'm sure the fanboys will come after me now, but that was my experience. 
deadhorse.gif

 
Dec 17, 2015 at 2:10 AM Post #1,697 of 1,973
baroninkjet said:
   
After history of listening to Neutron and PowerAmp on Android, I was astounded how average iOS player sounded on iP6. Hi quality (but still compressed) Spotify sounds better to me than same material  lossless on iphone player. I'm sure the fanboys will come after me now, but that was my experience. 
deadhorse.gif
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iOS player isn't all that, in my opinion - have you did a back to back test with the same songs, same volume on both with the same application (such as Neutron) on both your Android device/smartphone and the iPhone 6 to better/best match the sound of both?
 
Dec 18, 2015 at 12:56 PM Post #1,699 of 1,973
I recently downgraded from the 6s back to the iPhone 5s because the 6s just couldn't handle low impedance IEM's.  
 
I did some brief testing in my phone repair shop using a true RMS multimeter and a 60Hz sine wave at 0dB - I chose 60Hz because this would simulate the ability to drive the frequencies where headphone loads are most reactive.
 
For the test I used several devices around the shop, and of course, a good ole HTC One M8 as a benchmark.
 
The readings below are only raw power analysis and do not determine distortion levels, however it can be safely assumed that the phones with the most voltage drop upon load introduction would present the most distortion.
 
The information in this order - Device:   -   Voltage with no load:  -    Voltage with 22 ohm load:   -    Differential (voltage drop):
 
iPhone 5s   -  1.017 - .918 - .098
iPhone 5     -  1.018 - .876 - .142
iPhone 6s   -   .986  - .779 -  .207
iPod Class  -  1.069 -  .783 - .286
HTC M8      -  1.021 -  .882 - .139
HP Laptop   -  1.095 -  .63  - .465
 
 
The most important numbers are the second and third with higher being better for second and lower being better for third. The second indicates how much power the device can actually drive to the load, The third does not specify, but indicates output impedance, generally devices with lower voltage drop have lower distortion, however most importantly lower voltage drop means dynamic instruments such as drums have more impact with tighter timing at higher volumes.
 
There are a couple phones out there such as the Meizu lineup that offer higher output voltage however I haven't been able to get my hands on one to actually test how much voltage it drives a headphone to.  The iPhone 5s is the most powerful phone I have tested and even beat the HTC m8 by a hair with less voltage drop (impossible to be software related).  This confused me as I have read places that the HTC m8 can output 1.2 volts, but I used the same file as I did with the other devices and regardless of the sound mode setting I couldn't get it to output much more than a volt.  I even tried a different M8 running different software and had the same results.  The iPhone 6s really dissappoints me. The funny thing is, I returned the 6s based exclusively on my ears and ended up doing these tests just before I returned the device.  The results are no surprise.
 
Anyone who wants a good sounding Android should get an M8 and anyone wanting a good sounding iPhone should steer clear of the 6s and iPod classic and consider an iPhone 5s 32GB or 64
 
Jan 2, 2016 at 12:55 PM Post #1,701 of 1,973
Hello guys, 


Do you think the Sony PHA-2 will be a noticeable upgrade from the iphone 6+, please see my signature to see the headphones i am driving.
 
Jan 2, 2016 at 1:06 PM Post #1,702 of 1,973
bandooken said:
  Hello guys, 


Do you think the Sony PHA-2 will be a noticeable upgrade from the iphone 6+, please see my signature to see the headphones i am driving.
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The iPhone is fine for what you're going to use it for.  There's no need to upgrade.
If you're trying to drive the HE-500 with the iPhone though, that's an issue.  I wouldn't recommend the PHA-2 for the HE-500, you probably want a desktop setup for that.
 
Jan 6, 2016 at 2:41 PM Post #1,703 of 1,973
6s+ has excellent sq for me and my Grado's... check WhatHifi's review (many other glowing reviews for its sq out there!!).....Fully agree!
 
Jan 12, 2016 at 5:53 PM Post #1,704 of 1,973
I'm sure this has been asked before and I did Google away but to minimise my time searching and getting confused may I ask....

How do I get a direct line out (to avoid double amping) from my iPhone 6 Plus to my portable amp (cayin c5)?
Ive read about certain connectors that have a built in dac but am I better off just using the iPhone's inbuilt dac and then going direct to my portable amp, if possible?

Also since using audirvana at home I've realised/heard iTunes on the Mac to be quite compressed. Would that be the same on the iOS? What could you recommend for me to look into software wise?

Thanks
 
Jan 12, 2016 at 6:48 PM Post #1,705 of 1,973
thecrow said:
I'm sure this has been asked before and I did Google away but to minimise my time searching and getting confused may I ask....

How do I get a direct line out (to avoid double amping) from my iPhone 6 Plus to my portable amp (cayin c5)?
Ive read about certain connectors that have a built in dac but am I better off just using the iPhone's inbuilt dac and then going direct to my portable amp, if possible?

Also since using audirvana at home I've realised/heard iTunes on the Mac to be quite compressed. Would that be the same on the iOS? What could you recommend for me to look into software wise?

Thanks
Click to expand...

The only way to pull off analog via the iphone 6 DAC is through the headphone jack...    the other connection at the bottom is digital and requires a external DAC -  the Apple version is the cable with a wolfsen DAC built into the connector...  limits playback to Apple file types...   the other way is to purchase an external DAC/AMP that is the best option.
An example is the fantastic ifi iDSD Micro   DAC/AMP that you just plug onto the iphone and the idsd DAC does its magic.. and the amp is super good too...  with many options selectable depending on how you want it to sound and what type of head/ear phones you want to use...    The App... Onkyo HF is suggested as it has the ability to sense the 64bit processor in the iphone and adjusts the output accordingly and it also senses the DSD DAC in the ifi iDSD micro DAC/AMP and converts all songs to DSD output in real time and also plays back native DSD songs...  don't get much better than that....  
 
Jan 12, 2016 at 9:39 PM Post #1,706 of 1,973
dixter said:
The only way to pull off analog via the iphone 6 DAC is through the headphone jack...    the other connection at the bottom is digital and requires a external DAC -  the Apple version is the cable with a wolfsen DAC built into the connector...  limits playback to Apple file types...   the other way is to purchase an external DAC/AMP that is the best option.
An example is the fantastic ifi iDSD Micro   DAC/AMP that you just plug onto the iphone and the idsd DAC does its magic.. and the amp is super good too...  with many options selectable depending on how you want it to sound and what type of head/ear phones you want to use...    The App... Onkyo HF is suggested as it has the ability to sense the 64bit processor in the iphone and adjusts the output accordingly and it also senses the DSD DAC in the ifi iDSD micro DAC/AMP and converts all songs to DSD output in real time and also plays back native DSD songs...  don't get much better than that....  
Click to expand...
That's great info.

Does the dac have to be a self powered dac to work with the iPhone or do I also have to buy the CCK?
 
Mar 25, 2016 at 1:35 PM Post #1,709 of 1,973
Found this thread. Its a wonderful read. I have been using alot of DAP & DAC/AMP for many years until I accidentally discover that the Iphone 6plus sound quality holds up very well against these DAP. Never thought Iphone would sound as good as dedicated DAP. I am using HEX and K10 CIEM and both sound really good. After some comparison with previous IPhone, the 6+ sound the best> I guess Apple finally nail it this time. 
 
So after lots of A/Bing between my Iphone 6+ and AK240. I have concluded (IMO) that the Iphone 6+ sound quality is really really close to the AK240. There are lots of differences, but the Iphone 6+ sounded as pleasing as the AK240. They are different tonally but I don;t believe the AK240 blow the Iphone 6+ out of the water this time round (as I have seen so many mention around here). I am using Tidal lossless for comparison/ vol match. 
 
Well the thing to note is Iphone 6+ bass is a little loose but sometimes this imperfect does make it more pleasing. Just like the HD800 bass is fast and tight, but I don't enjoy this kind of bass and would rather prefer the TH900 or HEX. Some loosness and a slight slowness make the bass especially Jazz sounded more live and bouncy" Don't get me wrong, the looseness is only very slight and in no way decay more than it should. It still fast enough and it add the impression of having deeper bass. I also do find the Iphone 6+ having slightly more treble presence than AK240 but in no way going into sibilance level. They are both as detail..
 
I strap an amp (Pico slim) to the output for further testing. The Pico slim did not contribute much to the overall enjoyment but make it worse as it affected very badly by the RF interference while walking about. I remove it for good.,
 
I would say the Iphone 6+ sounded more closer to classic DAC port than AK240 and when i switch them all around, I did not miss any thing in the music between these 3. And after several weeks, I have decided to sell my AK240 as I think I can live by the Iphone 6+ with lossless Tidal apps. It sounded "audiophile" enough for me that I don't miss a thing with Ak240. 
 
Thanks for this thread as I was about to make one after my exciting accidental discovery. I do want to note that either you get a very good DAP like the Q1PR or AK 240/380 for high res files or use the Iphone 6+ for normal lossless CD. Strapping an M8 or Pico slim does not make much differences... they will make a big diff with previous Ipod/Imod and older iphone but not with Iphone 6+. If you have a friend to do blind testing and volume match, try it yourself .. I have many friends that fail to find the differences in one of those test and when one is not blind tested, they tend to choose the one with the amp as having better sound quality.. the brain like to see powerful machine attached to the phone to make it more audiophile and diff so it must sound better. IN fact, there are many dedicated amps/dac and even lower cost DAP that sound worse than the Iphone 6+ . Some sound muddy, but I have read others interpreted it as warmer and smooth as a way to justify for the additional machine strap to it with huge RF interference. but I do not want to mention them here. 
 
This is only for Iphone 6+, I have not try the iphone SE or 6s so I cannot present any findings. But I like the iphone 6+ HP out so far.. 
 
Mar 25, 2016 at 2:25 PM Post #1,710 of 1,973
Ditto.  I haven't gone higher up the chain than say a AK100 or FiiO X5 in terms of DAPs, but I've always ended up selling DAPs and just using my iPhone 6+ for IEMs and easy to drive headphones.  I would probably say the DAPs were slightly better in regards to sound quality, but never so good that I would regret listening to the iPhone.  Good things about DAPs are the ability to drive less efficient headphones, bigger storage capacity, use as an external DAC with various transports/amps and they allow us to focus on the music with fewer distractions.  I will still continue to try DAPs, but at work I mainly use my 6+ with very little regret.    
 
 
Quote:
audiowood said:
  Found this thread. Its a wonderful read. I have been using alot of DAP & DAC/AMP for many years until I accidentally discover that the Iphone 6plus sound quality holds up very well against these DAP. Never thought Iphone would sound as good as dedicated DAP. I am using HEX and K10 CIEM and both sound really good. After some comparison with previous IPhone, the 6+ sound the best> I guess Apple finally nail it this time. 
 
So after lots of A/Bing between my Iphone 6+ and AK240. I have concluded (IMO) that the Iphone 6+ sound quality is really really close to the AK240. There are lots of differences, but the Iphone 6+ sounded as pleasing as the AK240. They are different tonally but I don;t believe the AK240 blow the Iphone 6+ out of the water this time round (as I have seen so many mention around here). I am using Tidal lossless for comparison/ vol match. 
 
Well the thing to note is Iphone 6+ bass is a little loose but sometimes this imperfect does make it more pleasing. Just like the HD800 bass is fast and tight, but I don't enjoy this kind of bass and would rather prefer the TH900 or HEX. Some loosness and a slight slowness make the bass especially Jazz sounded more live and bouncy" Don't get me wrong, the looseness is only very slight and in no way decay more than it should. It still fast enough and it add the impression of having deeper bass. I also do find the Iphone 6+ having slightly more treble presence than AK240 but in no way going into sibilance level. They are both as detail..
 
I strap an amp (Pico slim) to the output for further testing. The Pico slim did not contribute much to the overall enjoyment but make it worse as it affected very badly by the RF interference while walking about. I remove it for good.,
 
I would say the Iphone 6+ sounded more closer to classic DAC port than AK240 and when i switch them all around, I did not miss any thing in the music between these 3. And after several weeks, I have decided to sell my AK240 as I think I can live by the Iphone 6+ with lossless Tidal apps. It sounded "audiophile" enough for me that I don't miss a thing with Ak240. 
 
Thanks for this thread as I was about to make one after my exciting accidental discovery. I do want to note that either you get a very good DAP like the Q1PR or AK 240/380 for high res files or use the Iphone 6+ for normal lossless CD. Strapping an M8 or Pico slim does not make much differences... they will make a big diff with previous Ipod/Imod and older iphone but not with Iphone 6+. If you have a friend to do blind testing and volume match, try it yourself .. I have many friends that fail to find the differences in one of those test and when one is not blind tested, they tend to choose the one with the amp as having better sound quality.. the brain like to see powerful machine attached to the phone to make it more audiophile and diff so it must sound better. IN fact, there are many dedicated amps/dac and even lower cost DAP that sound worse than the Iphone 6+ . Some sound muddy, but I have read others interpreted it as warmer and smooth as a way to justify for the additional machine strap to it with huge RF interference. but I do not want to mention them here. 
 
This is only for Iphone 6+, I have not try the iphone SE or 6s so I cannot present any findings. But I like the iphone 6+ HP out so far.. 
Click to expand...

 
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