Philip Houska Any change makes people feel (at least temporarily) insecure. Using the Lightning connector to listen to music instead of the 3,5mm jack is not an exception, especially given the widespread use of this standard and the fact that virtually nothing else has been used to connect headphones. The replacement of the 3,5 mm jack with Lightning is apparently on the way for the next iPhones that Apple will present in the fall.
Reactions to these speculations vary, but negative ones tend to prevail. There aren't many headphones with Lightning yet, and on the contrary, you can no longer connect millions of the classic ones with a 3,5 mm jack to the iPhone. But if the offer were to expand, the user could profit from it. The experience of listening to music can be much better through Lightning. The digital-to-analog converter (DAC) and the amplifier are built into this interface natively, not separately.
For example, the Audeze company came up with an elegant solution – with first-class (and expensive) Titanium EL-8 and Sine headphones, which have a specific cable that includes the aforementioned components (DAC and amplifier).
It can therefore be said that Audeze sets a certain "bar" from which other manufacturers could develop and present similar alternatives to the world. With the aforementioned cable and Lightning connector, users could get much more out of their iPhone.
Noticeably higher volume
Even though the surround audio system of the iPhones within the 3,5mm interface is very good by the standards of today's market, it is not good enough to squeeze out everything that they hide from better headphones. This is also helped by the maximum volume limit, which does not allow more professional audio accessories to pull out their potential.
Just connecting the headphones through the Lightning connector using the given cable is the right step to ensure that the volume is proportional to what the specific headphones offer.
Higher sound quality
No matter how high the volume is, the listener will never be fully satisfied if first-class sound does not come out of his headphones.
Connecting the mentioned cable via Lightning guarantees a better experience. The digital-to-analog converter will increase the amplifier's capability and create a cleaner musical impression, both in terms of a more natural sound of the instruments used, and also in terms of a more complex sound atmosphere.
Better equalizer and uniform settings
With the arrival of Lightning headphones, there is also the possibility of noticeably better correction of the sound frequency with an electronic signal, and it practically does not matter whether the music comes from streaming services or from the library stored in the iPhone.
An interesting function, which, for example, the aforementioned headphones from Audeza, can be a certain uniform setting of the frequency response, which ultimately means that once the user has set up his headphones according to his wishes on one device, the given setting remains saved and can be used further also on other devices to which they are connected using Lightning.
In addition to the mentioned advantages, other manufacturers can come up with other features that will significantly advance the use of this type of headphones. Despite this, however, it can be expected that it will take some time for individual users to get used to it. After all, there was a 3,5mm jack for many years, which worked smoothly and reliably for most users who were satisfied with "average" sound.
headphones with their own DAC are on the market more often, for example the Senn Momentum. After all, they connect via USB. Apple should stop inventing crap and instead make Apt-X work over BT.
If it's not because Apple doesn't want to pay for Apt-X license fees (I assume they do for Apt-X). On the other hand here http://www.aptx.com/blog/future-aptxr mention that Apple is among the companies that have taken note of Apt-X.
First of all, you need to use really high-quality headphones and not noisemakers, which may be significantly helped by lightning, but it will still be far behind high-quality headphones with a 3,5 mm jack. Then it is pointless to advocate the removal of the jack connector - the only thing it will bring for the next five years will be the need to use a reduction. You can disagree with this, but that's all - owners of better Shure, Sennheiser, etc. headphones will only confirm this.
anyone with more of an interest in audio will attest to that
By putting their own DAC in each headphone, they just increase the price of the headphones. In the case of cheap headphones, the quality will just be worse, because they will want to save money. And if someone wants better sound, they buy the OPPO HA-2, for example
"The digital-to-analog converter will increase the power of the amplifier" Just a small correction, the DAC only converts the signal and the amplification requires an amplifier (which is integrated)...
I'm not an audiophile myself. All I have to do is plug in my headphones and they play the way I want. I have Sony headphones for NOK 600, which, although they are objectively over-bassed, suit me perfectly. And personally, I am more satisfied with the current sound quality than with the inability to charge the phone and listen to music