[AnakChan]

Quote:
 

Standard USB DACs don't have the authentication protocols inside them to recognize an Apple phone like that.  You need a DAC made under the MFi program like the Algorhythm to do this.  You could never plug an iPhone 4 into a regular USB DAC and the iPhone 5 is no exception.

 
Cheers...but I thought the authentication chips were in the Lightning connectors themselves (from your Lightning dissection pix)? Or I've mixed up security chips with authentication chips?
 
Edit: P.S. knew about the pre-Lightning. Thx for the clarification about the Lightning-supported iDevices

 

[scootermafia]

Quote:

 
Cheers...but I thought the authentication chips were in the Lightning connectors themselves (from your Lightning dissection pix)? Or I've mixed up security chips with authentication chips?
 
Edit: P.S. knew about the pre-Lightning. Thx for the clarification about the Lightning-supported iDevices

 
The authentication chips aren't the issue.  iPhones of any vintage don't know what to do when plugged into a USB DAC, which is meant to host a laptop, not a phone.  Android phones may have this capability, but iPhones never have and never will except with select devices like the CLAS or the Fostex.  

 

[Twinster]

The authentication chips aren't the issue.  iPhones of any vintage don't know what to do when plugged into a USB DAC, which is meant to host a laptop, not a phone.  Android phones may have this capability, but iPhones never have and never will except with select devices like the CLAS or the Fostex.  

Just to be clear with an Android phone like the Samsung S3 you need to use a special cable call OTG (on-the-go) to enable the host mode. Basically the. Pin 5 is grounded or something like that.

 

[Toxic Cables]

Looks like the Lightning cables from China, have started shipping.
 
 
 

 

[DigitalFreak]

Quote:

Looks like the Lightning cables from China, have started shipping.
 
 
 

But will they work is the big question. The main question for me is will Fiio come out with a DAC/amp bypass solution?

 

[Toxic Cables]

Quote:

But will they work is the big question. The main question for me is will Fiio come out with a DAC/amp bypass solution?

I seriously doubt the factories will be sending out something that does not work. Like any company, they have a reputation to maintain.

 

[DigitalFreak]

True, but I don't believe anything until i see it for myself. I'm sure most of these products will be perfectly fine but like anything else there's always a few fly by night grab the money and run types.

 

[IPodPJ]

Cheers...but I thought the authentication chips were in the Lightning connectors themselves (from your Lightning dissection pix)? Or I've mixed up security chips with authentication chips?

Edit: P.S. knew about the pre-Lightning. Thx for the clarification about the Lightning-supported iDevices

The DAC in the lightning to 30 pin adapter cable is quite decent. It's no Audio-gd Reference 7.1 but for a portable solution/car stereo application it's definitely good. It sounds much better when just used on the battery power from the iPhone than when docked with an external power source, and a good quality LOD is recommended. For $39 it's a solid buy. Now if only the iPhone itself worked as well; it's plagued with iOS and battery issues.

 

[audionewbi]

I wonder if the 30 pin can be modded for its DAC section alone

 

[shotgunshane]

I wonder if the 30 pin can be modded for its DAC section alone

Or just strip the plastic housing off the lightning dock connector, add a 30 pin LOD and custom epoxy housing for the whole thing to make it as small as possible. I'd sign up for one of those.

 

[fuzzyash]

Quote:

I wonder if the 30 pin can be modded for its DAC section alone

 
a big problem ive seen is the super long time to strip off all the glue covering the electronics
it seems like it takes a couple hours for one adapter...
 
Quote:

Or just strip the plastic housing off the lightning dock connector, add a 30 pin LOD and custom epoxy housing for the whole thing to make it as small as possible. I'd sign up for one of those.

the problem is the lightning to 30 pin adapter is sticking out quite a lot, and adding a 30 pin LOD would stick out even more
even though the build quality seems high, the size of the lightning plug snapping off seems likely
 
if the chinese knockoffs can reverse engineer the adapter and allow modding of the dac section, ill be estatic!

 

[KT66]

Lightning to Micro USB Adapter - can I use one of these to plug my IP5 into a Fiio E7?

 

[scootermafia]

I think for anything where an iPhone 4/4S was compatible, an analogous cable could be used to connect an iPhone 5.  You just can't do stuff you couldn't do before, like plug an iPhone directly into a USB DAC.  Stuff like the CLAS works the same as always.

 

[Toxic Cables]

The Chinese Lightning cable, works with everything it should work with, although very noisy due to the lack of shielding, found in the Apple cable.
 
As with all other Lightning cables/adapters i took apart, it still works.
 
 

 

 

 

[scootermafia]

I took apart another set of Chinese cables with a different design.  These are the most salvageable ones for hobbyists.  The shielding is nonexistent, so it isn't that hard to get the handle apart, with a little heat.
Removing the chips shows a very old (ca. 2001) Infineon controller that is still being pirated out there (or it could be new old stock) that's worth a few cents, and a unidentified 3 pin component of some sort, a few resistors, and that's it.  They have simplified the Apple design to the point where it could easily be built for under 50 cents (whereas the Apple cables were appraised at a considerably higher parts cost.