Steve Wozniak: "Bluetooth just sounds so flat for the same music." (Apple ditching 3.5mm on iPhone)*

One thing you can do now with the dongle that you couldn't do with just the headphone jack - play hi-res files, assuming you side-load them via Onkyo HF app, or Quboz's streaming service, apparently....

We've tried the Apple Lightning to Headphone Jack adaptor! »

"...As the converter chip is compatible with 24-bit audio at 192kHZ, it is therefore possible to stream Qobuz in Hi-Res mode (if you have the Sublime subscription and you've bought the albums), certain in the knowledge that files up to 24-bit/192kHZ will be decoded properly..."

Note: I'm not affiliated with Apple or Qobuz, but anyone saying the dongle is garbage because it's 9 USD should first understand how cheap the chips are to begin with.

 

And another generally positive assessment of the iPhone 7 Lightning-to-minijack adaptor’s engineering and audio performance:

Inside Apple’s New Audio Adapter »

 

I got my 7 plus earlier in the week and tried out the lightning port with my first gen Dragonfly DAC. It works the same way as it did with the 6sPlus...meaning that it needs a power source or a Plugable hub in between the DAC and the Camera Adapter or you still need the USB3 adapter with the two ports to play while charging. Not a big deal for me, but thought I would mention it.

For those wondering what I am referring to, I have a couple articles on the subject:

Lightning to USB with Dragonfly DAC »

Dragonfly DAC with iPhone - Update »

 

Thanks for the legwork on this...

Curious, would a usb plugged into the plugable dongle charge the phone/power the gen 1 dragonfly..?

 

Seems like I tried that before and it didn't work. If I can track down a USB with the old connectors (everything I use currently has some other connector on one of the ends) I will give it another shot. At this point, I would suggest getting the Apple adapter with the two inputs (lightning and USB) if you want to plug it in.

 

OUR WIRELESS FUTURE: All the tech that’s available today, and what’s coming in the next 10 years »

 

Reminds me of all of the talk about how computers were going to get rid of all the paper. Turned out to be one of the largest reasons for the increase in paper. Among the reasons:

Before computers (including memory typewriters):

• Type something manually
• Upon reviewing the document you find a mistake or two
• Rather than retyping it you just apply a bit of correction fluid to correct the error
• Forward it for approval
• Might have to retype it if there are a large number of changes/revisions but not for a minor correction (which would be corrected with correction fluid)
• Send it out

After computers were introduced:

• Type it and then print it
• Review it and find errors
• Correct the errors and reprint it
• Check it again and find things that you'd could word better
• Correct and and print it again
• Forward it for approval
• Each level of approval makes changes, each requiring another reprint (since it is so easy to reprint).
• After it is in its final form, print the final version and then print more copies for everyone who wants/needs one.

 

We were close to paper free at our workplace. I was never printing anything. We would use email and shared drives for approval. Then Sarbanes-Oxley hit the scene and now we are printing everything for auditors.

 

Err, why not use the edit software before printing?

 

The Woz is the only Apple related guy I really respect. He seems to have a level head on him. Jobs and now Cook are loonies.

 

Well that's the thing. Did I miss the thread where people were previously raving about IPhone sound quality?

 

Sometimes errors are only caught when you see it on paper, plus this was in the days before WYSIWYG and before page preview (with the DOS word processors Wordstar, Wordperfect, and Microsoft Word For DOS) when the only way to see what the document would actually look like is to print it. I used to have to type documents that had to be letter perfect and had to look exactly as approved (including no variations in typefaces, line spacing, margins, spaces between words, and line breaks). The problem was that the document would vary as it traveled from computer system to computer system because of differences of the monitor and of the printer (this was before PDF). So we had to send paper copies around for editing and then they would be returned to me for correction. If I sent the file to someone else and they printed it with their system the resulting document would likely be slightly different than what would print on my system (because at that time the printer had an impact on a document's formatting). That is one of the reasons that PDFs are a benefit to me, a PDF will look the same no matter what system you view it on.

 

I had to write my Maths Honours dissertation in LaTek - sometimes you had no clue what it would look like until you sent it to the printer.

I have a very nice HP printer these days, and it's mostly used to scan receipts to PDF. Not much paper use here and I write a ton of documents for work.

 

Yeah, I rarely print anymore. The ink is all expired in the multifunction printer and I haven't bothered even trying to replace it. Like you, I mostly use it as a scanner for old photos and receipts.

I stopped printing pictures on it years ago. Cheaper and easier to send the images to Walgreens and have them print them up - quality is superior, too.

 

Gah, Tek! Then I got a tombstone Mac and Pagemaker. Bye, bye, Tek.

 

Apple's Beats Debuts Star-Studded Ad for New Wireless Headphones »

 

I was wondering why I haven't seen any of these white, dangling earrings around yet. No Airpods for Christmas because Apple is having a problem getting bluetooth to sync with a separate receiver for each earpiece.

Apple’s Mysterious AirPods Delay Marks Rare Misstep »

Apple having trouble syncing audio between wireless AirPods - report »

Ah, the joys of wireless headsets...

 

Bluetooth 5 will likely resolve most remaining issues regarding connectivity - it looks pretty impressive. However, still no standard for superior audio quality - that won't likely arrive until 2018, although manufacturers could implement their own solutions prior to then (as Apple and Samsung have already done).

 

Will Bluetooth 5 allow a lossless 16/44.1 signal over the air? It looks like it has more data bandwidth, but I haven't seen any comments on how it will handle audio.

 

I think in theory Bluetooth 4 could allow for that - it has a max speed of 25 megabits per second. CD is only 1.411 megabits per second. But that's under ideal conditions I'd imagine. Bluetooth 5 has a max speed of double that - 50 megabits per second - as well as greater range, which by my math should be enough for losslessly compressed high-res audio, even with all the overhead that comes with wireless protocols (error correction, support for multiple devices and all that jazz).