[marcham93]

Hi everyone,
 
Information seems to be splattered across the internet and head-fi forums on how to use an external DAC with Apple's iPhone 5 and 6 (lightning cable models). I want to try and sort this information out for myself and anyone who may be seeking to attach an external DAC. According to my research, the lighting cable does not output analog audio, so Apple's lighting/30-pin adapter is needed, which does output an analog signal.
 
Thus, am I correct in saying that if I use the adapter, I can then connect the iPhone 6 to the Fiio DAC/Amp via a 30-pin to USB iPhone cable? Of course, a USB-Mini Male to USB-A Female adapter is needed for the Fiio itself. So, I have tried to illustrate this below to make it clear:
 
iPhone 6 ---> Apple Lighting to 30-Pin Adapter ---> USB iPhone Cable ---> USB Adapter --> Fiio E07K
 
Would this be correct and allow for me to use an external DAC with my iPhone 6?
 
Also, I heard that the iPhone will sometimes give a power warning - is this only when you set the Fiio to charge? If so, can it be avoided by turning off the E07K's charging feature?
 
Lastly, the Fiio manual shows an iPhone 4 being connected to the Fiio with a '30-pin connector to audio jack' cable. Does this allow only amping or also usage of an external DAC? If it allows an external DAC, can I just use one of those cables?
 
Bonus: How 'bad' is the iPhone DAC if I just wanted to use the Fiio as a mobile amp?
 
I bought the unit for use with my iPhone and Macbook Pro.
 
Thanks everyone - I'm learning and really appreciate it.

 

[Joe Bloggs]

Hello there,

You just need the Camera Connection Kit for Lightning ports to convert it to a USB port. Then you connect the E07K to it with an ordinary USB cable. Yes, the iPhone may give a power warning, which may be avoided by turning off the E07K's USB charging (and turning it back on when you need to charge it).

Best regards,
Joseph Yeung
FiiO

 

[marcham93]

Hello there,

You just need the Camera Connection Kit for Lightning ports to convert it to a USB port. Then you connect the E07K to it with an ordinary USB cable. Yes, the iPhone may give a power warning, which may be avoided by turning off the E07K's USB charging (and turning it back on when you need to charge it).

Best regards,
Joseph Yeung
FiiO

Thanks Joseph. Is this the official method? I see most people try to covert the signal to analog using the 30 pin connector - is that also a valid option? I've heard a lot of people say the lightning cable doesn't work because the signal is encrypted. Otherwise, if that is the official workaround, I'll head to the store tomorrow and pick an adapter up.

 

[Joe Bloggs]

Thanks Joseph. Is this the official method? I see most people try to covert the signal to analog using the 30 pin connector - is that also a valid option? I've heard a lot of people say the lightning cable doesn't work because the signal is encrypted. Otherwise, if that is the official workaround, I'll head to the store tomorrow and pick an adapter up.

There's nothing official about using the E07K with smartphones (i.e. we don't officially advertise it as a capability and if a particular smartphone doesn't work digitally with the E07K, well, we didn't say it would work... ) but in practice this has been pretty consistent with all Lightning iPhones and the best solution I know of. You can see people talking about such a configuration here for example:

http://www.head-fi.org/t/634555/ipad-mini-camera-connection-kit-dac

Make sure you pick up the Camera Connection Kit and not just any old Lightning to USB adapter.

Converting the signal to analog using the 30pin adapter gives you a line out from the iPhone (albeit one created by the tiny chipset within the adapter itself) that you can use directly with amplifiers (not DACs) using a 30-pin to 3.5mm adapter.

You could also connect the 30-pin Camera Connection Kit to it to produce a USB audio output for the E07K, but that's a pretty Rube Goldberg contraption...

 

[marcham93]

I understand. Thanks, Joe! I appreciate it. Loving my Fiio unit so far!

 

[LarryNYC]

  Along those lines, I am trying to connect an iPhone 6S through the 30 pin Lightning adaptor to The hornet amplifier by Ray Samuels but the audio level is incredibly low even though the amp is set to high gain. Is this a valid way of hooking up to an amplifier? I read somewhere that the 30 pin connector has a built in DAC to covert from digital to analog. 
 
  I have been using my old iPod with the amplifier and have had no problems. 
 
  Larry

 

[Joe Bloggs]

  Along those lines, I am trying to connect an iPhone 6S through the 30 pin Lightning adaptor to The hornet amplifier by Ray Samuels but the audio level is incredibly low even though the amp is set to high gain. Is this a valid way of hooking up to an amplifier? I read somewhere that the 30 pin connector has a built in DAC to covert from digital to analog. 

  I have been using my old iPod with the amplifier and have had no problems. 

  Larry

Hello Larry,

A valid way, I would say, is to get a proper DAC first That tiny DAC-in-a-cable can't be doing much good for the signal compared to your Ray Samuels amp, no better than just connecting to the iPhone phone out I'd say. First, get a Camera Connection Kit (CCK) adapter for the iPhone 6, to convert its lightning port to a regular USB port with audio output. (only a genuine Apple CCK does that) Then, connect a proper USB DAC to the CCK, such as our E17K. Then connect your amp to it.

If you want your stack to be portable and would like to avoid a 3-level sandwich, look for a DAC+amp unit. Such as our E17K Well, there's a model by Ray Samuels you can look into too...

Best regards,
Joe