Sorry I should have done a bit more research before posting ... yes it appears that the official line on lightning is that it's digital only, but there are conf

Sorry I should have done a bit more research before posting ... yes it appears that the official line on lightning is that it's digital only, but there are conflicting empirical accounts [0] Since my 5s still has a headphones jack there is certainly still a DAC there. It could well be down to the fact that my car stereo has a better DAC on the USB line than it does on the bluetooth line. Or simply an older bluetooth audio standard as you suggest. Actually this is probably the most likely suspect! Which I think all serves to underline how digital output is not "open and shut" when it comes to sound quality. Thanks for the additional technical context on why they might be eliminating analogue signal altogether. I'd felt a similar rationale informed their refusal to include a FM receiver from the beginning. It does make sense from many different perspectives for apple to make this "not their problem". I kind of feel it's a pity from a customer/functional perspective though. [0] https://www.innerfidelity.com/content/apples-lightning-headphone-adapter-analog-or-digital https://www.innerfidelity.com/content/apples-lightning-headp...