Fiio E17 and iPhone 5 - what about DAC
Dec 4, 2012 at 4:28 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 15

JulienH

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Reading a lot about DAC and iPhones and them not working. How about the new iPhone 5 and THE E17? Does THE DAC work with the headphone jack? Want to buy an E17 and AKG K 272HD.
 
Dec 6, 2012 at 3:43 PM Post #2 of 15
Quote:
Reading a lot about DAC and iPhones and them not working. How about the new iPhone 5 and THE E17? Does THE DAC work with the headphone jack? Want to buy an E17 and AKG K 272HD.

 
Apple still require that their specific chip be used to extract digital audio from the dock, and headphone jacks only support analogue, so it's a no on both counts unfortunately.
 
Dec 8, 2012 at 11:38 AM Post #3 of 15
Is there another amp/dac that will work then? I love Apple, but this turns out to be a bit dissapointing. Never had the need to spend some money on a better headphone and since I like the looks of the AKG very much, I probably need an amp. So any suggestions on this are welcome!
 
Dec 8, 2012 at 6:37 PM Post #4 of 15
I'm using the E17 with the LOD connector on my iPhone 4S and love the sound, can't say I'm unhappy with the on board DAC in the phone, however reports do suggest that the 5 has some sound quality issues.

The Fostex HP P1 is iPhone certified so it will bypass the internal DAC, only issue will be using the lightning adaptor..yet another bit of plastic to cart around...oh and the HP P1 is around £400...
 
Dec 9, 2012 at 3:01 AM Post #5 of 15
Quote:
Reading a lot about DAC and iPhones and them not working. How about the new iPhone 5 and THE E17? Does THE DAC work with the headphone jack? Want to buy an E17 and AKG K 272HD.

I'm assuming your iPhone 5 comes with the new 8-pin port?
So you need to see if someone makes a cable that will connect the Apple 8-pin port to a the E17's USB port.
 
Or just get a Fiio E11 portable headphone amplifier ($60) and connect the iPhone's headphone jack to the E11 line-in port.
You could also use the Fiio E07K the same way as the E11 or E17.
 
What price are the AKG K272HD?
 
Dec 14, 2012 at 8:10 AM Post #7 of 15
Quote:
I can buy the AKG for around the 170 dollar. Is a LOD connector for iPhone 5 also an option (if available)?

Unfortunately LODs only extract analogue audio whereas the thunderbolt port only outputs digitally, you'd need to get the thunderbolt>30 pin adaptor into which you could plug an LOD.
 
In terms of DAC/amp combinations that will work, you're going to be looking at the expensive class of products that have the Apple authorised chip I mentioned previously. The most notable example is the Fostex HP-P1, but there's also products from Go-DAP that do the same job. The Cypher Labs Algorithm Solo line can act as DACs, but need separate amps.
 
Dec 14, 2012 at 2:48 PM Post #8 of 15
just swapped my iphone 5 for a galaxy s3 and bought the fiio e07k.
 
even though jellybean isn't as "polished" as iOS i'm glad i switched.  
 
still have my classic, ipad and 5.5g so won't miss much.
 
cheap portable 96/24 
beyersmile.png
 FTW
 
Dec 13, 2013 at 4:19 PM Post #9 of 15
Hey Guys,
 
I have been trying to follow the thread and not sure i completely understand what is the best solution.  I have a Fiio E17, Iphone 5C and multiple headphones (Sennheiser 598 (50 ohms), Audio Technica ATH-ANC9 (100ohms) and Denon AHD- D7000 (25 ohms).
 
The E17 worked fine on my 30 pin iphone 4 but obviously will not work on the Lightning connector.  Do I need the lightning to camera or the lightning to usb and then get a usb to E17?
 
also what is a CCK?
 
Thanks for everyone's help.    
 
Dec 20, 2013 at 7:22 PM Post #10 of 15
Hey Guys,

I have been trying to follow the thread and not sure i completely understand what is the best solution.  I have a Fiio E17, Iphone 5C and multiple headphones (Sennheiser 598 (50 ohms), Audio Technica ATH-ANC9 (100ohms) and Denon AHD- D7000 (25 ohms).

The E17 worked fine on my 30 pin iphone 4 but obviously will not work on the Lightning connector.  Do I need the lightning to camera or the lightning to usb and then get a usb to E17?

also what is a CCK?

Thanks for everyone's help.    

I'm interested in the same thing... Can anyone Help us??
 
Feb 5, 2014 at 4:23 PM Post #11 of 15
I got a Lightning to USB Camera Adapter from Apple and attempted to use it with my iPhone 5s and E17, it doesn't seem to work. The phone reports that the device requires too much power and doesn't seem to allow it. Some amps work however, ALO posted a video of theirs working with this cable and an iPhone 5 (http://instagram.com/p/ep2IP5mLPz/).
 
Feb 5, 2014 at 4:49 PM Post #12 of 15
I got a Lightning to USB Camera Adapter to use with my iPhone 5s and E17, best I can tell it doesn't work. The phone reports a message saying the device requires too much power and you don't get any audio out. It seem like some amps work though, aloaudio has a video of one of their amps working with an iphone 5 on their instagram account. 
 
Feb 20, 2014 at 8:58 PM Post #14 of 15
It seems that  Lightning to USB Camera Adapter does not work in this situation. You need an apple lighting to 30 pin adapter(cable) to make sound happens. I have a iphone5s and that works for my phone and fiio e17. (also make sure you have FiiO  Line Out Dock (LOD) Cable For iPod and iPhone)
 
Feb 22, 2014 at 7:10 PM Post #15 of 15
Reading a lot about DAC and iPhones and them not working. How about the new iPhone 5 and THE E17? Does THE DAC work with the headphone jack? Want to buy an E17 and AKG K 272HD.

To my understanding, the DAC component in the FiiO line does not work with iPods, only the amp does. The DAC works when you use it with a computer.  If you want a DAC that actually works with an iPod you have a few options.
 
The Fostex HP-P1 is an amp/dac combo that works with iPods. The CypherLabs Theorum is a dac/amp combo that works with iPods and is manufacturer approved by Apple. Lastly the CypherLabs SOLO (original, -R, or -dB) is a stand alone DAC that works with ipods, however you'll then need to buy an additional portable amp.
 

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