Question iPhone/iPad + DAC + wired headphones for lossless?

[richwhite08]

Has anyone tried this to listen to hi-res lossless from Apple Music? Essentially as explained in this video, but with headphones -

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOVIfKpbwxg


I'm wondering if it's a cheap and quick way to hear lossless audio while I'm weighing up my choices for a new home audio system

 

[Gray]

I'm wondering if it's a cheap and quick way to hear lossless audio

'Cheap' depends on what you already own / need to buy. But why not?
Some have chosen headphone systems as a permanent alternative to speaker setups - arguing that the same outlay gets them superior quality.

As for high resolution.
If you feel there's a benefit over 16/44.1 then you're in the minority.

(I've never seen anyone who doesn't think that original recording quality is always more important than playback resolution).

 

[richwhite08]

'Cheap' depends on what you already own / need to buy. But why not?
Some have chosen headphone systems as a permanent alternative to speaker setups - arguing that the same outlay gets them superior quality.

As for high resolution.
If you feel there's a benefit over 16/44.1 then you're in the minority.

Cheap is in comparison to buying new home audio equipment to allow streaming (granted, I'm not *only* buying it for the streaming abilities, but it'll be part of the price. Buying a DAC for my phone and tablet would be far cheaper and allow me to put the bigger purchase off for a while)

On the high res front, this would be to listen at Apple's normal lossless (16-bit/48kHz), not necessarily the hi-res lossless which I expect I'd fail a blind (deaf?) test in.

 

[Gray]

Yes and if it's for home listening, with portability not an issue, you will have a massive choice of separate and combined DAC / amps......you just need to set your budget and start the search 👍

I can recommend Topping and Sennheiser and I'm not alone. Others have their favourites.....but they need to suit you.

 

[richwhite08]

Yes and if it's for home listening, with portability not an issue, you will have a massive choice of separate and combined DAC / amps......you just need to set your budget and start the search 👍

I can recommend Topping and Sennheiser and I'm not alone. Others have their favourites.....but they need to suit you.

My understanding is the ones for phones and tablets are small and portable. It’s just for me to plug headphones into. When it comes to the full audio system for the house I’d be looking at a combined DAC and amp I believe

 

[Gray]

My understanding is the ones for phones and tablets are small and portable. It’s just for me to plug headphones into. When it comes to the full audio system for the house I’d be looking at a combined DAC and amp I believe

You can do things any way you want to.
The Dragonfly you saw him using is the right size for portability - but he also plugged the i-pad into the non-portable RME DAC (which feeds his separate amp / speakers).

For home use you could go for separate or combined DAC / headphone amp....up to you 👍

 

[richwhite08]

You can do things any way you want to.
The Dragonfly you saw him using is the right size for portability - but he also plugged the i-pad into the non-portable RME DAC (which feeds his separate amp / speakers).

For home use you could go for separate or combined DAC / headphone amp....up to you 👍

I was thinking of plugging the headphones into the portable DAC directly, so it’s just acting as an intermediary for connecting my headphones to the phone

 

[Noddy]

First choose headphones, then compare each DAC alongside the Apple DAC dongle. I cannot hear any improvement when using my Chord Mojo, apart from reaching higher volumes which I do not need.

Sennheiser are well made, and higher end ones have good sound. Some years ago their more consumer oriented ranges adopted an exaggerated bass to suit fashion. Even an expensive B&W P7 went down that route. So beware unless you like that. I have Sennheiser HD600, nice but a bit lacking in high treble and bass. In my experience it’s worth paying more for headphones.

 

[richwhite08]

First choose headphones, then compare each DAC alongside the Apple DAC dongle. I cannot hear any improvement when using my Chord Mojo, apart from reaching higher volumes which I do not need.

Sennheiser are well made, and higher end ones have good sound. Some years ago their more consumer oriented ranges adopted an exaggerated bass to suit fashion. Even an expensive B&W P7 went down that route. So beware unless you like that. I have Sennheiser HD600, nice but a bit lacking in high treble and bass. In my experience it’s worth paying more for headphones.

Thanks for your input. The thread is outdated now - I bought a Marantz network streamer for home audio. My headphones are Grado 325x and they sound great with the Apple dongles