[Spronic]

So this is a win for Apple. $9 for a pretty darn good connect, with the only caveat being a separate dongle... Not to mention the potential for other companies to create cables with a better DAC.

 

[elfary]

So this is a win for Apple. $9 for a pretty darn good connect, with the only caveat being a separate dongle... Not to mention the potential for other companies to create cables with a better DAC.

 
And for multidriver balanced armature earphones users like me. 0'5 ohms of Zout is an unexpected Godsend.
 
Now it might be time to assess the power consumption against the headphone port. I won't be able to do this because i do not want to put iOS 10 on my iPhone 6. I am doing hit and runs with the dongle on coworker iPhones,

 

[west0ne]

So this is a win for Apple. $9 for a pretty darn good connect, with the only caveat being a separate dongle... Not to mention the potential for other companies to create cables with a better DAC.

You get the feeling that the adapter is a temporary fix by Apple to appease existing users and that their preferred route is wireless but where people want wired Apple want to see headphones with lightning port connections; Apple prefer simplicity and using interconnects and adapters takes away from the simplicity.
 
I did notice that some of the cheap adapters on Aliexpress and eBay are specifically stating that they don't work with the Mic function suggesting that some of the cost cutting has come from cheaper components and missing ADC so who knows what the sound quality will be like.
 
As Apple haven't dropped support for USB audio class devices (for now at least) and knowing that the mobile audiophile market is relatively small (in comparison to the whole mobile market) I'm not so sure that we will see large numbers of lightning port only audiophile quality adapters where USB can be used to cover all current devices in the market from mobile to desktop. I'm sure there'll be some lightning only devices and other manufacturers may bundle a lightning adapter with their device for iDevice use.

 

[Spronic]

You get the feeling that the adapter is a temporary fix by Apple to appease existing users and that their preferred route is wireless but where people want wired Apple want to see headphones with lightning port connections; Apple prefer simplicity and using interconnects and adapters takes away from the simplicity.

I did notice that some of the cheap adapters on Aliexpress and eBay are specifically stating that they don't work with the Mic function suggesting that some of the cost cutting has come from cheaper components and missing ADC so who knows what the sound quality will be like.

As Apple haven't dropped support for USB audio class devices (for now at least) and knowing that the mobile audiophile market is relatively small (in comparison to the whole mobile market) I'm not so sure that we will see large numbers of lightning port only audiophile quality adapters where USB can be used to cover all current devices in the market from mobile to desktop. I'm sure there'll be some lightning only devices and other manufacturers may bundle a lightning adapter with their device for iDevice use.

Possibly, but literally in this thread, people were jumping to Android because of lack of a HP jack. Based on the, very real concern, it being inferior. And clearly it is not ideal, but it turns out to be pretty good considering. Anyway, my conclusion, is that it's not Apple's intent to completely remove audiophiles, but just move to a unified interconnect. We're just days from the first iteration, and it's possible companies will see the profit from marketing a high-end, but compact, interconnect on their mmcx etc interfaces. That's what I'm seeing imo

 

[LouisLoh]

Testing with Andromeda (iPhone 6 vs iPhone 7 + adapter)

1. Darker on the 7
2. More hiss on the 7
3. Less detailed on the 7

 
Sigh..... The 6 was a really good pairing with the Andromeda. Awaiting Fiio's new line of exciting products - i1 and BT-MMCX

 

[west0ne]

Possibly, but literally in this thread, people were jumping to Android because of lack of a HP jack. Based on the, very real concern, it being inferior. And clearly it is not ideal, but it turns out to be pretty good considering. Anyway, my conclusion, is that it's not Apple's intent to completely remove audiophiles, but just move to a unified interconnect. We're just days from the first iteration, and it's possible companies will see the profit from marketing a high-end, but compact, interconnect on their mmcx etc interfaces. That's what I'm seeing imo

The problem with that is that I think most people will agree that the defacto small form factor audio connector is the 3.5mm jack and I can't see that changing in the near future; by moving to the lightning connector Apple will, if they succeed, have fragmented the connection market rather than unified it making it more difficult to move between devices. I don't see Android phones/tablets, Windows phones/tablets, desktop computers and laptops adopting lightning ports any time soon. The real profits in the lightning adapters will go to Apple who will be charging a license to anyone who wants to use them under MFi certification programme and not to the headphone manufacturers.
 
I think you're right in that some companies will make lightning cables for their headphones that already have removable cables so that users can switch between 3.5, 6.3, balanced, lightning but that market isn't going to be massive. It also gives headphone manufacturers the opportunity to get a good pairing between DAC/Amp & Driver, again I'm not sure how big that market will be.
 
I think we also have to remember that in the smartphone market, whether Apple, Android or Windows the vast majority of users will never use anything more than the earbuds that came in the box with the phone, there will be a number of users who will buy headphones that are little more than fashion accessories but the audiophile or at least the users who are interested in audio quality and headphones form a relatively small part of the market and most likely weren't high on the list of considerations when Apple took the decision to remove the 3.5mm port.
 
If people choose to jump ship because of this then that is their choice, of course as we all know Android is not without its faults when it comes to connecting external audio processors and the offering from Windows remains limited.
 
I hope that we don't see the likes of Samsung, LG, HTC coming up with their own connections like we had back in the early days of mobile phone headsets.

 

[elfary]

  Testing with Andromeda (iPhone 6 vs iPhone 7 + adapter)

1. Darker on the 7
2. More hiss on the 7
3. Less detailed on the 7

 
Sigh..... The 6 was a really good pairing with the Andromeda. Awaiting Fiio's new line of exciting products - i1 and BT-MMCX

 
May be you do not like as much the intended frequency response of the Andromeda and prefer its fr skewed by the 2.3 ohms of output impedance of the iP6 headphone port.
 
As output impedance rises the headphone frequency response follows its impedance curve. Even if you like the skewed response that's technically inferior to a 0 ohms Zout source.
 
About the hiss...is it much more hiss?
 
I can not hear any hiss with the SE846+dongle+iPhone 6s Plus/iPhone 7.

 

[simonpickard]

  Testing with Andromeda (iPhone 6 vs iPhone 7 + adapter)

1. Darker on the 7
2. More hiss on the 7
3. Less detailed on the 7

 
Sigh..... The 6 was a really good pairing with the Andromeda. Awaiting Fiio's new line of exciting products - i1 and BT-MMCX

I found the complete opposite.

 

[LouisLoh]

   
May be you do not like as much the intended frequency response of the Andromeda and prefer its fr skewed by the 2.3 ohms of output impedance of the iP6 headphone port.
 
As output impedance rises the headphone frequency response follows its impedance curve. Even if you like the skewed response that's technically inferior to a 0 ohms Zout source.
 
About the hiss...is it much more hiss?
 
I can not hear any hiss with the SE846+dongle+iPhone 6s Plus/iPhone 7.

Yes, I believe so. I preferred iPhone 6 out to Mojo for the Andromedas too. And the Mojo has a lower output Z compared to the iPhone 6. 
 
The difference in hiss is definitely audible, but on the whole the absolute amount of hiss is not overly bothersome.

 

[elfary]

 
Yes, I believe so. I preferred iPhone 6 out to Mojo for the Andromedas too. And the Mojo has a lower output Z compared to the iPhone 6. 
 
The difference in hiss is definitely audible, but on the whole the absolute amount of hiss is not overly bothersome.

 
In any case i deem my iPhone 6 as the best iem driver i have ever used. And i was there and did that (Boutique daps, amps, dacs...)
 
But sure that dongle got me impressed. Sounds plenty good to me.

 

[LouisLoh]

   
In any case i deem my iPhone 6 as the best iem driver i have ever used. And i was there and did that (Boutique daps, amps, dacs...)
 
But sure that dongle got me impressed. Sounds plenty good to me.

I don't own any boutique DAPs, but out of the three (iPhone 7, iPhone 6, Mojo), I agree that the 6 definitely hits the sweet spot when it comes to warmth and details, when paired with the Andromeda.

 

[325xia]

I can not hear any hiss with the SE846+dongle+iPhone 6s Plus/iPhone 7.

+1 on not hearing any hiss. Contrary to some, I find that there is a difference when using the Lighting Dongle connected to my SE-846's with my 7Plus. I read here that it might be because of the lower impedance. Whatever it is, it sounds more detailed. Really improved IMO. So, yes there is a difference. Whether you like it or not is not my complete point. That fact that there is a difference is more to the point I'm trying to make. This is compared to my last iPhone, the iPhone 6s Plus.

 

[arftech]

   
And for multidriver balanced armature earphones users like me. 0'5 ohms of Zout is an unexpected Godsend.
 
Now it might be time to assess the power consumption against the headphone port. I won't be able to do this because i do not want to put iOS 10 on my iPhone 6. I am doing hit and runs with the dongle on coworker iPhones,

I'm curious as to why you don't want IOS10 installed on your 6 Plus?  

 

[elfary]

 
I'm curious as to why you don't want IOS10 installed on your 6 Plus?  

 
Because in my decade long iOS experience from the 2nd time you upgrade the OS the speed and 'snappiness' begin to decline. And i treasure the feel of speed more than any new feature. Plus, i do really loathe the gigantic font sizes of the iOS 10 Now Playing screen. I dig way more the iOS 9 Music app aesthetics. Furthermore i am enjoying a longer battery life than ever before and everything is so stable and efficient that for the sake of investigating the dongle i do not want to put my current user experience at risk. May be i am getting old.
 
Sure, it is taking guts staying on iOS 9.3.5 having that dongle sitting in the desk but in the long run i know myself and i would regret upgrading to iOS 10 and i would end up purchasing a new phone which i have sworn myself not to do until they upgrade for real the industrial design. All i am trying to do is just  keeping my wallet closed. Anyway the inner struggle is full blown by now  so...
 
That is why can not assess properly the dongle power consumption. But i plan on using the dongle on every iPhone i come across: so far iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone 7 and iPhone SE. And i would have never expected that adapter to drive so well both the SE846 and the W30 in ears. Kudos to Apple.

 

[CoryGillmore]

   
Because in my decade long iOS experience from the 2nd time you upgrade the OS the speed and 'snappiness' begin to decline. And i treasure the feel of speed more than any new feature. Plus, i do really loathe the gigantic font sizes of the iOS 10 Now Playing screen. I dig way more the iOS 9 Music app aesthetics. Furthermore i am enjoying a longer battery life than ever before and everything is so stable and efficient that for the sake of investigating the dongle i do not want to put my current user experience at risk. May be i am getting old.
 
Sure, it is taking guts staying on iOS 9.3.5 having that dongle sitting in the desk but in the long run i know myself and i would regret upgrading to iOS 10 and i would end up purchasing a new phone which i have sworn myself not to do until they upgrade for real the industrial design. All i am trying to do is just  keeping my wallet closed. Anyway the inner struggle is full blown by now  so...
 
That is why can not assess properly the dongle power consumption. But i plan on using the dongle on every iPhone i come across: so far iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone 7 and iPhone SE. And i would have never expected that adapter to drive so well both the SE846 and the W30 in ears. Kudos to Apple.

Dude I absolutely love iOS 10 on my 6+! Hell the new messaging features alone are really cool, assuming you're a big texter (I am). But yeah no slowdown for me. It's actually been a really solid experience.
 
And it doesn't take guts to stay on OS 9.3.5. It takes one word: Courage.