I was wondering about this myself. I can use my iPAD as a ROON endpoint and use a lighting plug with a USB end. Plug that into my DAC and it sounds purdy damn good streaming 24/96Khz from Qobuz, Play Youtube video and concerts or stream high rez right from the Qobuz app. The Boulder Phil streamed a live concert the other day and my neighbor ask if I could help them watch it. I knew he had a USB port on his DAC so I just found the concert on his iPAD took over my cord and they watched the concert on the iPAD and listen to it on his main system. You post got me wondering how headphones work that plug into that lighting port and found out that the headphones cord has a DAC in them. Like these https://www.pocket-lint.com/headphones/buyers-guides/136466-best-lightning-headphones-and-earbuds-fo...
Apple Lightning to 3.5mm Adaptor As Your Source
I like simplicity. My audio chain is only as complicated as it needs to be. Right now I’ve got my source, a passive preamp, and an amplifier. About as simple as it comes. Recently I’ve been experimenting with getting my system completely off grid. Just for kicks, I decided to use my iPhone 8 as my source to stream some Tidal and compare it to my CD player’s sound. It doesn’t have a 3.5mm connection, so I had to use a Lightning to 3.5 mm adaptor, along with a hand-made silver 3.5mm to RCA cable which is very transparent. I played some of Brooklyn Duo’s Session V album and was pretty shocked by what I heard. It was not low-end sound like I was expecting. It was very clear sounding, the strings had texture and bite, and piano sounded controlled.
I just learned that the Lightning port is digital out only. I knew it could do digital but I figured it could also do analog because I could hook it directly to headphones with the adaptor. It turns out the adapter itself has a microscopic DAC and headphone amplifier built into it. That means the Lightning to 3.5mm adaptor is actually what’s making the music. The adapter is the source (not the phone) while the phone is like a transport that also provides power to the adapter.
Ken Rockwell measured the Lightning to 3.5 mm adaptor and found that it measures very well. It has a low output impedance of 1 ohm. It’s got a ruler flat frequency response and very low noise. He said, “This tiny Apple device has better performance and more and cleaner output than many fancier "audiophile" devices I've tested.” (I believe he is referring to portable “audiophile” devices, not home audio.)
While this device probably isn’t going to compete with any of your high end gear, I suspect it can compete with most entry level gear and maybe even some questionably designed mid-tier equipment. If you take into account the price ($9), it is jaw-dropping sound for what you paid.
Has anyone else tried this? Curious to hear what you think. I can tell you it has replaced my entry-level CD player. Hard to compare it to my main CD player (haven’t figured out how to battery power that and my AC power seems to be relatively dirty but that’s a story for another post).
I just learned that the Lightning port is digital out only. I knew it could do digital but I figured it could also do analog because I could hook it directly to headphones with the adaptor. It turns out the adapter itself has a microscopic DAC and headphone amplifier built into it. That means the Lightning to 3.5mm adaptor is actually what’s making the music. The adapter is the source (not the phone) while the phone is like a transport that also provides power to the adapter.
Ken Rockwell measured the Lightning to 3.5 mm adaptor and found that it measures very well. It has a low output impedance of 1 ohm. It’s got a ruler flat frequency response and very low noise. He said, “This tiny Apple device has better performance and more and cleaner output than many fancier "audiophile" devices I've tested.” (I believe he is referring to portable “audiophile” devices, not home audio.)
While this device probably isn’t going to compete with any of your high end gear, I suspect it can compete with most entry level gear and maybe even some questionably designed mid-tier equipment. If you take into account the price ($9), it is jaw-dropping sound for what you paid.
Has anyone else tried this? Curious to hear what you think. I can tell you it has replaced my entry-level CD player. Hard to compare it to my main CD player (haven’t figured out how to battery power that and my AC power seems to be relatively dirty but that’s a story for another post).