[zhenya]

Got my dongle. Works great with iOS 10 and my 6s. A quick listen sounds really good, lots better than Bluetooth audio and on par with the regular jack. The dongle is tiny, not sure how they got a dac in there. Long story short, there is hope!

​Do you have any lightning devices without iOS 10? Does it work on those?

 

[bflat]

I have started a thread that will discuss what external DAC/amps work with iOS 10 and iPhone 7/7+:
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/820241/iphone-7-7-compact-external-dac-amp-thread
 
I think it will be helpful for iPhone 7/7+ users help find a solution that fits their needs.

 

[pieman3141]

I've read reviews on the DFR that it ate up more power than the headphone jack did at the same volume levels. Mind doing a comparison, since you have that product?

 

[bflat]

I've read reviews on the DFR that it ate up more power than the headphone jack did at the same volume levels. Mind doing a comparison, since you have that product?

I'll do some testing/listening and post on the DAC/amp thread above. Mind you, the only comparison I can do is iPhone SE which is not known for it's battery life.

 

[zhenya]

I've used my Headamp Pico through the CCK for years and it uses a ton of battery life on the phone compared to the headphone jack - like 10-15% per hour vs. like 3-4% from the jack. I have to think a lot of that comes from the CCK and the non-optimized usb connection, however.

 

[exiton]

 
​Do you have any lightning devices without iOS 10? Does it work on those?

Nope, already upgraded to iOS 10. 

 

[bflat]

I've read reviews on the DFR that it ate up more power than the headphone jack did at the same volume levels. Mind doing a comparison, since you have that product?

Here is a quick test I did. In Airplane mode, using iAudiogate app and playing 44/16 ALAC files, same volume and running the stopwatch:
 
1% battery drain with DFR - about 5 min, 30 sec
1% battery drain with internal DAC - about 8 min 30 sec

 

[pieman3141]

Super. Thanks. Now we can extrapolate things. I suspect that the Apple dongle will eat up less power than the DFR, but that's not guaranteed.

 

[SeeSax]

My dongle will be here before my iPhone 7. Someone asked about iOS 9 devices and I still have an iPad I haven't updated. I'll give it a try and report back. 
 
Edit: @zhenya I will try with iOS 9 for you. 
 
-Collin-

 

[Solarium]

Just tested the dongle on my IP6+ (iOS 10) with the 846.
 
1st thing I noticed, is that plugging in the dongle did not pop up any notifications that something is connected, and that plugging in the dongle does not affect using the 3.5mm. Also, switching from 3.5mm to the dongle was instantaneous. The headphone volume reset at the middle from whatever you were using before using the dongle.
 
There was a black background just like using the 3.5mm. Volume wise, the dongle if anything is actually a bit louder, perhaps 10-15%. I used Tidal lossless and tested some songs from The Flashbulb - Winter Map. I noticed that the bass is stronger, perhaps almost a bit boomier. The bass fades in quicker and louder and less subtle. And that the beginning part of the song with a lot of crackles, the crackles were more louder and more apparent. Another track Bridgeport Run ran with same speed as before, and the sound was crisp and nothing was lost in the listen. I felt like the smaller and more subtle elements of the songs were brought out more. Perhaps there was more of a slight emphasis on bass and treble than before. However, differences were definitely subtle... subtle enough that I often don't know which one I'm listening to without looking at my phone and that I would definitely not be able to pick out which is which on a blind test. I tested some vocals songs, Adele, Amy Winehouse did not yield any obvious differences either. Further testing did not reveal any obvious differences in soundstage, treble/bass extension, background noise, speed, if anything I enjoy listening to this dongle as much as I did my 3.5mm.
 
Whatever this dongle is, I don't think it's worse than the IP6+ 3.5mm. Perhaps there's also less electrostatic noise using the dongle since I didn't get any of the usual noise during the entire testing period, possibly confirming that the DAC is inside the dongle. Also, I don't feel the need to use an external DAC like my Mojo to compensate for the sound quality. The dongle adds VERY little to the headphone bulk (I would just plug the dongle in with my 846 at all times) and has good enough SQ for me.
 
I also tried plugging and unplugging the dongle to see how fast it can start playing music again, and the effect was absolutely instantaneous. I mean if it were a DAC inside shouldn't it take just a bit to connect to the phone? It starts up as fast as I were to unplug and plug into the 3.5mm.

 

[SeeSax]

  Just tested the dongle on my IP6+ (iOS 10) with the 846.
 
1st thing I noticed, is that plugging in the dongle did not pop up any notifications that something is connected, and that plugging in the dongle does not affect using the 3.5mm. Also, switching from 3.5mm to the dongle was instantaneous. The headphone volume reset at the middle from whatever you were using before using the dongle.
 
There was a black background just like using the 3.5mm. Volume wise, the dongle if anything is actually a bit louder, perhaps 10-15%. I used Tidal lossless and tested some songs from The Flashbulb - Winter Map. I noticed that the bass is stronger, perhaps almost a bit boomier. The bass fades in quicker and louder and less subtle. And that the beginning part of the song with a lot of crackles, the crackles were more louder and more apparent. Another track Bridgeport Run ran with same speed as before, and the sound was crisp and nothing was lost in the listen. I felt like the smaller and more subtle elements of the songs were brought out more. Perhaps there was more of a slight emphasis on bass and treble than before. However, differences were definitely subtle... subtle enough that I often don't know which one I'm listening to without looking at my phone and that I would definitely not be able to pick out which is which on a blind test. I tested some vocals songs, Adele, Amy Winehouse did not yield any obvious differences either.
 
Whatever this dongle is, I don't think it's worse than the IP6+ 3.5mm. Perhaps there's also less electrostatic noise using the dongle since I didn't get any of the usual noise during the entire testing period, possibly confirming that the DAC is inside the dongle. Also, I don't feel the need to use an external DAC like my Mojo to compensate for the sound quality. The dongle adds VERY little to the headphone bulk (I would just plug the dongle in with my 846 at all times) and has good enough SQ for me.

 
Best news I have read all week. Thank you for this!
 
-Collin-

 

[pieman3141]

@Solarium

Can you do a battery consumption test (ie. how much time passes per percentage loss)? Also, can you confirm that there is no hiss, especially when you set the volume to max? I know the SE846s are very sensitive. And I'm assuming that the 10-15% increase works when the volume is set to the same number of steps/ticks on the screen, right? Otherwise, the dongle doesn't seem to be an issue. I'm already satisfied at the iPhone's built-in DAC/amp.

 

[RugbyPlayer]

  Just tested the dongle on my IP6+ (iOS 10) with the 846.
 
1st thing I noticed, is that plugging in the dongle did not pop up any notifications that something is connected, and that plugging in the dongle does not affect using the 3.5mm. Also, switching from 3.5mm to the dongle was instantaneous. The headphone volume reset at the middle from whatever you were using before using the dongle.
 
There was a black background just like using the 3.5mm. Volume wise, the dongle if anything is actually a bit louder, perhaps 10-15%. I used Tidal lossless and tested some songs from The Flashbulb - Winter Map. I noticed that the bass is stronger, perhaps almost a bit boomier. The bass fades in quicker and louder and less subtle. And that the beginning part of the song with a lot of crackles, the crackles were more louder and more apparent. Another track Bridgeport Run ran with same speed as before, and the sound was crisp and nothing was lost in the listen. I felt like the smaller and more subtle elements of the songs were brought out more. Perhaps there was more of a slight emphasis on bass and treble than before. However, differences were definitely subtle... subtle enough that I often don't know which one I'm listening to without looking at my phone and that I would definitely not be able to pick out which is which on a blind test. I tested some vocals songs, Adele, Amy Winehouse did not yield any obvious differences either. Further testing did not reveal any obvious differences in soundstage, treble/bass extension, background noise, speed, if anything I enjoy listening to this dongle as much as I did my 3.5mm.
 
Whatever this dongle is, I don't think it's worse than the IP6+ 3.5mm. Perhaps there's also less electrostatic noise using the dongle since I didn't get any of the usual noise during the entire testing period, possibly confirming that the DAC is inside the dongle. Also, I don't feel the need to use an external DAC like my Mojo to compensate for the sound quality. The dongle adds VERY little to the headphone bulk (I would just plug the dongle in with my 846 at all times) and has good enough SQ for me.
 
I also tried plugging and unplugging the dongle to see how fast it can start playing music again, and the effect was absolutely instantaneous. I mean if it were a DAC inside shouldn't it take just a bit to connect to the phone? It starts up as fast as I were to unplug and plug into the 3.5mm.

 
Theres no reason at all it would take time to set up. the iphone just has to output the data and the dac to receive it after getting power which is nearly instantaneous 

 

[elfary]

Dongle is available as of now in Spain Apple Stores.
 
Too bad today it's my wedding anniversary and i do think that my wife would not enjoy celebrating it by setting up blind tests of the dongle plugged into several iPhones to assess quality and being European...to ascertain whether the dongle output voltage is capped or not.
 
This weekend i will give the dongle a run for its (little) money on every iPhone i can a get a hold of. I will use the Shure Se846 that as Shigzeo would put it: allows you to hear the vacuum from outer space.
 
If some (not married fellow European that owns an European (hence capped) iPhone could get the dongle and test if it gets louder than the headphone port...then we will party real hard.

 

[Artmuzz]

I'm also intrigued whether the Lightning to 3.5mm adapter is not affected by the dreaded EU volume cap. I would test it but I was able to switch off the EU volume cap on my iPhone 6 Plus a couple of years ago when it was jailbroken and surprisingly the EU volume cap is switched off on my non-jailbroken iPhone 6S Plus through using the backup of my old iPhone 6 on iTunes.