[west0ne]

Can't really fault Sennheiser on this. Lightning only devices form only a small part of the overall audio market; Apple have openly said they are pushing wireless and there is already an adapter available so they obviously feel that there wouldn't be a return on the R&D required to produce a decent lightning device.

 

[bosiemoncrieff]

The reason why there are only crap Lightning headphones available is that no sane and decent manufacturer is going to develop for a proprietary, and likely soon obsolete connector.

My thoughts on EL-8 Titanium are on the record, but even though it's an abysmal value for price (and even though the cipher cable powers it poorly), I can't call it a crap headphone—or dac/amp.

 

[Slaphead]

My thoughts on EL-8 Titanium are on the record, but even though it's an abysmal value for price (and even though the cipher cable powers it poorly), I can't call it a crap headphone—or dac/amp.

Ah, but the EL-8, and the SINE, are not purely Lightning headphones, in fact the Lightning cable is only an option in addition to a standard cable, at least with the SINE.

I'm talking about headphones that are made to be purely Lightning.

Although I do agree with you in that the EL-8, and IMO also the SINE, are good, but offer poor value for money in light of what other options are available for less.

 

[theveterans]

Ah, but the EL-8, and the SINE, are not purely Lightning headphones, in fact the Lightning cable is only an option in addition to a standard cable, at least with the SINE.

I'm talking about headphones that are made to be purely Lightning.

Although I do agree with you in that the EL-8, and IMO also the SINE, are good, but offer poor value for money in light of what other options are available for less.

You mean that the Sine doesn't come with a DAC, rather the optional lightning cable has a built-in DAC?

 

[club968]

You mean that the Sine doesn't come with a DAC, rather the optional lightning cable has a built-in DAC?

Yes, that's how it works. The adapter has the DAC.

 

[RickB]

Just received my 7 Plus, and to my ears (for what it's worth) the ouput from the lightning port to the adapter into PX100-IIi has better sound quality than the headphone out of the 6s Plus. It's not much of a difference and I would be happy with either. 

 

[shigzeo]

 
 
Its output via the dongle is the same as the iPhone 6's from the dongle. I assume it's the same through every port with similar spec. I've RMAA'd it here: RMAA Apple iPhone 7.

 

[bosiemoncrieff]

The reason why there are only crap Lightning headphones available is that no sane and decent manufacturer is going to develop for a proprietary, and likely soon obsolete connector. [...]

Ah, but the EL-8, and the SINE, are not purely Lightning headphones, in fact the Lightning cable is only an option in addition to a standard cable, at least with the SINE.

I'm talking about headphones that are made to be purely Lightning.

Although I do agree with you in that the EL-8, and IMO also the SINE, are good, but offer poor value for money in light of what other options are available for less.

I take your point on "pure" lightning headphones suffering from a necessarily small install base (vs. 1/8 inch or a future USB-C standard). IEMs in particular are likely to remain a sticking point—I wouldn't buy a lightning-only K3003, for instance. But with larger cans, being able to swap out cables seems more like a feature than a bug. What's the issue if a manufacturer wants to offer both a lightning cable and a 4-pin XLR in the box?

 

[RickB]

Apple wants to keep the iPhone as thin as possible. Implementing USB-C (which is bigger than lightning) would work against that. 

 

[bosiemoncrieff]

I mean, maybe, but iPads still have their 1/8 inch jack and they're 6.1 mm thin. iPhones 7 are 7.1 and 7.3 mm thin, depending on screen size. Yes, I think Lightning is sexier than USB-C, and apple's fans would bristle at another connector any time before 2020, but if the physics of photography prevent any diminution in camera bump, and we continue to value photography, I think making the rest of the phone thinner will lose some of its appeal. Maybe there was room for the second camera, or more battery, or something, but there is *definitely* thickness — if not volume — for 3.5mm and USB-C, were the powers that be so inclined.

 

[Slaphead]

I take your point on "pure" lightning headphones suffering from a necessarily small install base (vs. 1/8 inch or a future USB-C standard). IEMs in particular are likely to remain a sticking point—I wouldn't buy a lightning-only K3003, for instance. But with larger cans, being able to swap out cables seems more like a feature than a bug. What's the issue if a manufacturer wants to offer both a lightning cable and a 4-pin XLR in the box?

Absolutely none if what you mean by a 4pin XLR means a cable whereby you can use a standard 1/8 or 3.5mm jack. In fact a lot of us convert our existing headphones to lightning headphones using a CCK and something like an Audioquest Dragonfly, or even the Apple Lightning to 3.5mm adapter. My problem is with those headphones/IEMs that are manufactured to be purely Lightning which offer no ability to use a standard headphone jack.

Choice is important to me, in that I want to choose what I use my headphones with. A lightning only headphone is limited to iToys, and most laughable of all, you can't even use them with Apple's own Macintosh range.

To be honest I also have similar issues with bluetooth headphones that don't offer a standard cable based alternative, but that's less of an issue as BT audio is pretty much a standard across multiple manufacturer's devices.

 

[bosiemoncrieff]

I like how the PXC 550 is bluetooth when you want, hi-res USB w/ internal dac when you want, and 1/8 inch when you want. If someone manufactured a lightning to microUSB cable, they'd be perfect. We're in agreement about choice, though the removable cable point may also be about durability of headphones. IEMs are a thorny issue though for sure.

 

[BlinkST]

  I like how the PXC 550 is bluetooth when you want, hi-res USB w/ internal dac when you want, and 1/8 inch when you want. If someone manufactured a lightning to microUSB cable, they'd be perfect. We're in agreement about choice, though the removable cable point may also be about durability of headphones. IEMs are a thorny issue though for sure.

Do you mean:
 
http://www.apple.com/shop/product/MD820AM/A/lightning-to-micro-usb-adapter?fnode=7dad65fb1b953e44e69312867e0a227de19cb3dd6084bbe86cb637011820bc2622268b415b9fd428e4ffea7432f9edaf26b574ed130a830a44492427c3ca9bac41fa2a2d2e54794eb46278ef8822b0d0d8f6880d2175d2b496878ebdc023a53f

 

[bosiemoncrieff]

That's an adapter. I haven't seen a cable.

 

[OldRoadToad]

.