The reason why this obvious option isn't part of the discussion is because thinness is just the smokescreen. The real reason Apple et. al. want to move towards

The reason why this obvious option isn't part of the discussion is because thinness is just the smokescreen. The real reason Apple et. al. want to move towards digital connections for headphones is DRM. They want to control the entire signal chain of their valuable (Beats = $3b) music content.