HiWire Posted June 4, 2014 Report Posted June 4, 2014 (edited) Seems pointless to the end user, but they're probably a-fixin' to eliminate the 3.5mm (1/8 inch) jack: http://9to5mac.com/2014/06/03/apple-introduces-mfi-specs-for-lightning-cable-headphones-support-arriving-in-future-ios-update/ Obviously, this could lead to new headphone and accessory sales (again – moar DACses?). Bluetooth still seems to be a muddle re: sound quality: http://www.cnet.com/news/can-aptx-give-you-better-sound-over-bluetooth/ Edited June 4, 2014 by HiWire
Hopstretch Posted June 4, 2014 Report Posted June 4, 2014 Bluetooth is a bag of hurt. Or was that blu-ray?
nikongod Posted June 4, 2014 Report Posted June 4, 2014 I SERIOUSLY doubt that it will result in moar DACses. Certainly, every MFR who could afford to buy the apple-chips necessary to get the digital stream off of ipods will have a DAC. So maybe we get 4 or 5 new DACs and another ipod-SPDIF converter... WOW. The really cool thing (for apple) is that after you buy those $350 headphones you are gauranteed to buy another ipod so you dont have to obsolete your headphones when you upgrade to an Android.
Hopstretch Posted June 4, 2014 Report Posted June 4, 2014 BRB, super busy starting my niche business offering audiophile Lightning-to-TRRS adapters. From the device manufacturer's standpoint, it makes perfect sense to just use the one hole. People tend to have stubborn individual preferences though. (Down, Steve.)
HeadphoneAddict Posted June 5, 2014 Report Posted June 5, 2014 (edited) Well, if these headphone's DAC sounds as bad as the DAC in the lightning to 30-pin adapter we're Fucked... Edited June 7, 2014 by HeadphoneAddict
en480c4 Posted June 5, 2014 Report Posted June 5, 2014 From what I've read before this announcement, the 3.5mm jack is limiting how thin they can make devices and they've been looking at alternatives for a while. Looking at my phone, it appears as though the lighting jack is about 40% smaller than the 3.5mm jack, so that might be why. I'd imagine someone will come up with a dongle (worst word ever) that would allow for standard headphones to still be used and will sound as good (or bad, depending on your opinion) as the standard headphone jack. But it is just one more thing that would have to be purchased.
ktm Posted June 5, 2014 Report Posted June 5, 2014 Gee just what we need. Apple killing off standard audio interfaces and replacing them with their own. Bad enough they are messing with the studio recording process.
grawk Posted June 5, 2014 Report Posted June 5, 2014 apple not including a 1/8" jack on a hypothetical device isn't killing anything off. 1
Tyll Hertsens Posted June 5, 2014 Report Posted June 5, 2014 As I read it---and I could be way off here---there is no analog signal coming off the lightning connector. The DAC has to be in the headphones. So you're killing off any passive headphone use on iDevices. Sennheiser will have to be doing a lot of catch-up if they want to connect to an iPhone. Love to hear if someone has a link to the actual spec.
grawk Posted June 5, 2014 Report Posted June 5, 2014 I'd hope there will be the "thin one" with no headphone jack, and the other ones. But I've come full circle. I almost never use headphones with my iphone anymore. I use it in the car via a dock, and everywhere else I use the ipad or the computer.
The Monkey Posted June 5, 2014 Report Posted June 5, 2014 Well, if these headphone's DAC sounds as bad as the DAC in the lightning to 30-pin adapter were are f*cked... You can say "fucked" on this here website.
Tyll Hertsens Posted June 5, 2014 Report Posted June 5, 2014 Thanks Stretch...just what I was thinkin'.
skullguise Posted June 5, 2014 Report Posted June 5, 2014 DAC-Beats by Dr. Dre......coming soon to an Apple Store near you. Oh....and fuck. Because I can.....say it......but yeah, I can also....oh, fuck, never mind.
HiWire Posted June 20, 2014 Author Report Posted June 20, 2014 (edited) Macworld discusses the implications of a Lightning-only wired audio output: http://www.macworld.com/article/2365061/hit-the-road-jack-why-apple-may-say-goodbye-to-the-headphone-plug.html One step forward, two steps back. Lightning–analog adapters are going to be a pain in the ass. Edited June 20, 2014 by HiWire
Tyll Hertsens Posted June 20, 2014 Report Posted June 20, 2014 I'm going to write a little blurb about it monday, but from what I heard listening to the developer's conference speech by the guy doing the bit on the lightning/headphone jack, is that future implementations (of a 3.5mm jack-less iPhone) of the lightning connector will automatically route an analog signal to the jack when plugging in a passive headphone.
episiarch Posted June 21, 2014 Report Posted June 21, 2014 I really think it's going to be OK. When they first introduced Lightning, Apple was careful to describe it as a multi-protocol digital interface. I take that to mean that on the phone end, the interface chip can be software-driven to emulate things other than USB (and that what people call a "DRM chip" in Lightning cables is more importantly a handshake chip, that tells the phone "I'm a USB cable, so use that emulation mode"). So, if the interface doesn't have to act USB-like, and if Apple still wants to bundle cheap-to-build iBuds with phones and iPods (and sell other earwear too with the best possible margins), what are they going to do? I figure they will supply at least one audio mode that is very cheap to build for. It seems to me that would be PWM, plus the chip for handshake and the control signals (play/pause, volume up/down). It seems to me that in that case a minimal adaptor could be small and cheap, either sold as an Apple accessory or provided by headphone manufacturers in the "designed for iPhone!" editions of their products. And none of this precludes higher-fidelity DACs and pro-level digital audio protocols for them. I think Apple gets a certain amount of mileage from showing people using iPads for mixdowns and performance and DJ-ing and the like, so I think they will make sure there are pro-level Lightning audio protocols as well as an audio protocol optimized for inexpensive iBuds and the like. Just my speculation. 1
HiWire Posted September 10, 2014 Author Report Posted September 10, 2014 ... and it's here: http://arstechnica.com/apple/2014/09/philips-debuts-headphones-that-connect-via-apples-lightning-port/ What a pain in the ass this is going to be when they change interfaces again. 1
grawk Posted September 10, 2014 Report Posted September 10, 2014 ... and it's here: http://arstechnica.com/apple/2014/09/philips-debuts-headphones-that-connect-via-apples-lightning-port/ What a pain in the ass this is going to be when they change interfaces again. Assuming you still have your Philips headphones in 13 years
blessingx Posted January 8, 2015 Report Posted January 8, 2015 Philips just introduced a battery-less active noise-canceling model due to lightning. http://www.theverge.com/2015/1/8/7512673/philips-announces-nc1l-noise-cancelling-headphones-lightning-ces-2015
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