Apple dongle no elegant solution
Review
Never has one little dongle caused so much angst for so many music fans, but Apple’s lightning-to3.5mm audio adaptor is about to become a necessary evil.
Even for Apple it’s a controversial move to rip the 3.5mm headphone jack out of the iphone 7 in favour of its own proprietary lightning connector which now has to serve as the audio, data and charge port.
Some people applaud Apple’s decision to embrace ‘‘digital’’ sound, but that’s meaningless – responsibility for the sound quality has merely been offloaded to the Digital to Analogue Converter (DAC) built into the cable of your lightning accessories.
Apple includes a tiny lightningto-3.5mm audio adaptor in the box with the new iphone 7 and 7 Plus, so you can plug in your old analogue headphones – which is handy if you’ve invested good money in top-shelf headphones with a 3.5mm plug.
There’s always the option of upgrading to wireless headphones, if you’re prepared to leap into the Bluetooth ecosystem.
Replacement lightning adapters from Apple cost $15, which doesn’t bode well in terms of the quality of the DAC, but the good news for audiophiles is Apple has confirmed this adaptor relies on the same DAC as used by the iphone 6S’ headphone jack. This means there should be no drop in sound quality when you plug in your old analogue headphones.
Put to the test I can confirm this, using the earbuds from an iphone 6 as well as high-end headphones from Sony, Sennheiser and Audio-technica – the sound from the iphone 7 using Apple’s Lightning to 3.5mm adaptor is as good as the sound from the headphone jack on older iphones.
Plugging your old Apple earbuds into the iphone 7, using the Lightning adaptor, sounds much better than the budget 3SIXT Lightning earbuds.
You don’t need golden ears and a taste for high-end audio formats to appreciate the difference, even if you’re streaming compressed music from a subscription music service you can hear the marked improvement when switching from the disappointing 3SIXT Lightning earbuds to Apple’s Lightning earbuds or the Lightning adaptor.
The fact Apple only charges $15 for its adaptor will put a damper on the budget third-party lightning adaptor market – but if you see someone selling a non-apple Lightning to 3.5mm adaptor for less than $15 it’s likely to sound appalling.
Apple’s adaptor also works with older iphones, but you can’t get audio from the headphone jack and the lightning port simultaneously. Priority goes to whichever was plugged in last.
You might not be thrilled at the idea of carrying around Apple’s tiny adaptor – which is just one more accessory to lose.
I misplaced it several times just while testing it. You might want to tape the adaptor to your headphones’ plug, or tie a piece of string around each end to ensure they stay together even when disconnected.
It’s not an elegant solution, but if you’re upgrading to lightning headphones simply for the convenience then shop with care if you value sound quality. SMH