iPhone 7 Will Revolutionize Portable Audio for the First Time in a Decade

[RugbyPlayer]

German magazine doing some testing on the adapter. Finding a slight reduction in dynamic range with the adapter in place. Speculating that there is no DAC in the adapter. Any German speakers here?

http://www.heise.de/ct/artikel/iPhone-7-nachgemessen-Audio-Adapter-liefert-schlechteren-Sound-3325932.html

Reduced dynamic range through the adapter is as clear cut as it can get that the adapter has a DAC. There's no othER possible explanation for that

 

[MarkF786]

Two things amaze me about the situation:
 
- There are people tearing apart the complex & expensive iPhone 7, but no one has done the same for a cheap inexpensive adapter.
 
- There are people in China who already know enough about the technology to duplicate it, yet we can't even get some basic info on if there's a DAC or not in the cable.
 
Maybe we're the only community who cares about the answer.

 

[elfary]

German magazine doing some testing on the adapter. Finding a slight reduction in dynamic range with the adapter in place. Speculating that there is no DAC in the adapter. Any German speakers here?

http://www.heise.de/ct/artikel/iPhone-7-nachgemessen-Audio-Adapter-liefert-schlechteren-Sound-3325932.html

Reduced dynamic range through the adapter is as clear cut as it can get that the adapter has a DAC. There's no othER possible explanation for that

Heck. Somebody get a knife and crack open the dongle.

Do you think that all the cheap and chinese ebay dongles have a built in audio chips and are MFi approved ?


If the tonality it's not right, then nothing else really matters.

 

[SeeSax]

  Two things amaze me about the situation:
 
- There are people tearing apart the complex & expensive iPhone 7, but no one has done the same for a cheap inexpensive adapter.
 
- There are people in China who already know enough about the technology to duplicate it, yet we can't even get some basic info on if there's a DAC or not in the cable.
 
Maybe we're the only community who cares about the answer.

 
I think you are spot on with regards to both points. I just bought five of the adapters (counting on my wife losing four of them), so I'll beat this with a hammer if it will prove anything. Problem is, I don't know that I'd know how to identify a DAC in there! We'll see. 
 
 

Heck. Somebody get a knife and crack open the dongle.

Do you think that all the cheap and chinese ebay dongles have a built in audio chips and are MFi approved ?


If the tonality it's not right, then nothing else really matters.

 
I am going to do that. Can't wait to find a PCM1704 inside this little guy... 
 

 
You had asked about someone helping you get a US one. Do you still want that? If so I'll send one, but it would probably take a week to get to Spain and by then, you'll probably have an answer as to whether or not the EU cap is locked to the phone or the dongle. What do you think?
 
-Collin-

 

[elfary]

 Two things amaze me about the situation:
 
- There are people tearing apart the complex & expensive iPhone 7, but no one has done the same for a cheap inexpensive adapter.
 
- There are people in China who already know enough about the technology to duplicate it, yet we can't even get some basic info on if there's a DAC or not in the cable.
 
Maybe we're the only community who cares about the answer.

 
I think you are spot on with regards to both points. I just bought five of the adapters (counting on my wife losing four of them), so I'll beat this with a hammer if it will prove anything. Problem is, I don't know that I'd know how to identify a DAC in there! We'll see. 
 
 

Heck. Somebody get a knife and crack open the dongle.

Do you think that all the cheap and chinese ebay dongles have a built in audio chips and are MFi approved ?


If the tonality it's not right, then nothing else really matters.

 
I am going to do that. Can't wait to find a PCM1704 inside this little guy... 
 

 
You had asked about someone helping you get a US one. Do you still want that? If so I'll send one, but it would probably take a week to get to Spain and by then, you'll probably have an answer as to whether or not the EU cap is locked to the phone or the dongle. What do you think?
 
-Collin-

Oh man that is really nice and much appreciated!

Unfortunately, by now it seems that the dongle output is dictated by the idevice to which it's attached so probably it's unnecessary to try an american dongle.

Thanks a bunch in any case.

You have been really nice and kind




Alcohol is never the answer... But it certainly helps you forget the question.

 

[SparkOnShore]

I think you are spot on with regards to both points. I just bought five of the adapters (counting on my wife losing four of them), so I'll beat this with a hammer if it will prove anything. Problem is, I don't know that I'd know how to identify a DAC in there! We'll see. 



I am going to do that. Can't wait to find a PCM1704 inside this little guy... 



You had asked about someone helping you get a US one. Do you still want that? If so I'll send one, but it would probably take a week to get to Spain and by then, you'll probably have an answer as to whether or not the EU cap is locked to the phone or the dongle. What do you think?

-Collin-

So? Have you opened it? It's been half an hour!! I am rather anxious!...

 

[svetlyo]

   
I think you are spot on with regards to both points. I just bought five of the adapters (counting on my wife losing four of them), so I'll beat this with a hammer if it will prove anything. Problem is, I don't know that I'd know how to identify a DAC in there! We'll see. 
 
 
 
I am going to do that. Can't wait to find a PCM1704 inside this little guy... 
 

 
You had asked about someone helping you get a US one. Do you still want that? If so I'll send one, but it would probably take a week to get to Spain and by then, you'll probably have an answer as to whether or not the EU cap is locked to the phone or the dongle. What do you think?
 
-Collin-

We are waiting, just crack it open, PLEEEEEASE! Also, picture or it didn't happen.

 

[SeeSax]

I am feeling defeated by this thing. Short of hitting it with a hammer, I have no idea how to open this thing up. I have the one that came with my phone and one extra, but I'm waiting for the other four to come in the mail! If I do break it open, what the heck am I looking for?

 

[svetlyo]

  I am feeling defeated by this thing. Short of hitting it with a hammer, I have no idea how to open this thing up. I have the one that came with my phone and one extra, but I'm waiting for the other four to come in the mail! If I do break it open, what the heck am I looking for?

Combination pliers?

 

[bflat]

  I am feeling defeated by this thing. Short of hitting it with a hammer, I have no idea how to open this thing up. I have the one that came with my phone and one extra, but I'm waiting for the other four to come in the mail! If I do break it open, what the heck am I looking for?

LOL. Just got my new phone and imho, a DAC/amp can easily fit in the adapter on the lightning connector end. Compared to a standard charging cable, the housing around the dongle is at least 50-75% larger. If it was just audio pass through, why the larger connector housing? And no, I don't plan to open mine up. But if it makes the pass through pundits happy, I will note that the wire from the lightning connector to the 3.5mm jack is much thinner than a charging cable so surely it only contains 3 analog wires so from the DAC built into the lightning connector, there is an "audio passthrough" to the 3.5mm jack.

 

[svetlyo]

 
LOL. Just got my new phone and imho, a DAC/amp can easily fit in the adapter on the lightning connector end. Compared to a standard charging cable, the housing around the dongle is at least 50-75% larger. If it was just audio pass through, why the larger connector housing? And no, I don't plan to open mine up. But if it makes the pass through pundits happy, I will note that the wire from the lightning connector to the 3.5mm jack is much thinner than a charging cable so surely it only contains 3 analog wires so from the DAC built into the lightning connector, there is an "audio passthrough" to the 3.5mm jack.

Do the microphone and volume control on a headphone that has them work with the adapter? People say they do. So then you also need a ADC for the analogue audio from the microphone in there.

 

[Buzzkill93]

LOL. Just got my new phone and imho, a DAC/amp can easily fit in the adapter on the lightning connector end. Compared to a standard charging cable, the housing around the dongle is at least 50-75% larger. If it was just audio pass through, why the larger connector housing? And no, I don't plan to open mine up. But if it makes the pass through pundits happy, I will note that the wire from the lightning connector to the 3.5mm jack is much thinner than a charging cable so surely it only contains 3 analog wires so from the DAC built into the lightning connector, there is an "audio passthrough" to the 3.5mm jack.

All speculation until someone actually finds a DAC in there

 

[bflat]

  Do the microphone and volume control on a headphone that has them work with the adapter? People say they do. So then you also need a ADC for the analogue audio from the microphone in there.

With my old wired EarPods, yes all works. I don't have any other headphone with mic and controls.

 

[RugbyPlayer]

All speculation until someone actually finds a DAC in there

Not really no, there is ABSOLUTELY NOTHING supporting it being analog passthrough. Seriously why is this such an object of contention? 

 

[Buzzkill93]

Not really no, there is ABSOLUTELY NOTHING supporting it being analog passthrough. Seriously why is this such an object of contention? 

Because people that do this for a living are actually saying so

http://www.chipworks.com/about-chipworks/overview/blog/apple-iphone-7-teardown

http://m.heise.de/ct/artikel/iPhone-7-nachgemessen-Audio-Adapter-liefert-schlechteren-Sound-3325932.html?wt_ref=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.head-fi.org%2Ft%2F794101%2Fiphone-7-will-revolutionize-portable-audio-for-the-first-time-in-a-decade%2F585&wt_t=1474063565362

They might be wrong but when the pros are saying it, we need proof