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I don't want to deny that, when picking up the two & due to some trickery of your own brain, you prefer the iPhone 8, but I do doubt is that it is because of a

by hug 4y ago

I don't want to deny that, when picking up the two & due to some trickery of your own brain, you prefer the iPhone 8, but I do doubt is that it is because of a measurable difference in audio quality.

inferiorhuman 4y ago
Perhaps, but I was comparing Apple ear buds with the 3.5mm jack vs lightning ones. Presumably the drivers and whatnot would be similar. In general I don't think audio quality has ever been particularly important to Apple. The iPhone (and all smartphones really) is a jack of all trades gizmo not a device for high quality audio playback. I remember when I had a first gen iPhone and the call quality was atrocious with AT&T compared to my RAZR on Verizon. You get used to it over time but back to back it was pretty dramatic.
- erwincoumans 4y ago
  If you have an iPhone and you care about its audio quality there are some DAC dongles, see also https://www.whathifi.com/advice/how-to-play-hi-res-music-your-iphone-0 https://www.whathifi.com/advice/how-to-play-hi-res-music-you... Quoting the article: "Next, you need a decent DAC such as the Audioquest DragonFly Cobalt, Cyrus soundKey or Chord Mojo 2 and a good pair of headphones, such as the Grado SR325x, Shure Aonic 3 or Austrian Audio Hi-X55. This is just a starting point, of course. Don’t be afraid to build up to a more revealing system. You could combine the Chord Hugo 2 DAC with a pair of Beyerdynamic T1 (3rd Generation) headphones for a more premium set-up. That might be a touch overkill and punishingly transparent for an iPhone, but these are hi-res files, after all."
  - inferiorhuman 4y ago
    Oh I don't particularly care about audio quality from the iPhone, most of the time I'm using it in a noisy environment. I've a decent pair of proper headphones but there's no way I'd wear them in public. More to the point I don't want dongles for my phone either. These are all solutions for Apple cheapening the product.
  - jensgk 4y ago
    The Audioquest DragonFly Cobalt is not very good: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/audioquest-dragonfly-cobalt-review-portable-headphone-adapter.23015/ https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/a... The Apple USB-C dongle is better: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/review-apple-vs-google-usb-c-headphone-adapters.5541/ https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/r...
- iasay 4y ago
  Not so sure about that. I’ve got a decent quality pro audio interface and monitor headphones. I’ve also got airpod pros. The AirPods sound much much better and I prefer listening to anything with them. It’s all subjective.
  - drw85 4y ago
    That's most likely due to monitor headphones not being made for an enjoyable listening experience, but for transparency while mixing/mastering.

by hug 4y ago

I don't want to deny that, when picking up the two & due to some trickery of your own brain, you prefer the iPhone 8, but I do doubt is that it is because of a measurable difference in audio quality.

inferiorhuman 4y ago

Perhaps, but I was comparing Apple ear buds with the 3.5mm jack vs lightning ones. Presumably the drivers and whatnot would be similar. In general I don't think audio quality has ever been particularly important to Apple. The iPhone (and all smartphones really) is a jack of all trades gizmo not a device for high quality audio playback. I remember when I had a first gen iPhone and the call quality was atrocious with AT&T compared to my RAZR on Verizon. You get used to it over time but back to back it was pretty dramatic.

erwincoumans 4y ago
If you have an iPhone and you care about its audio quality there are some DAC dongles, see also https://www.whathifi.com/advice/how-to-play-hi-res-music-your-iphone-0 https://www.whathifi.com/advice/how-to-play-hi-res-music-you... Quoting the article: "Next, you need a decent DAC such as the Audioquest DragonFly Cobalt, Cyrus soundKey or Chord Mojo 2 and a good pair of headphones, such as the Grado SR325x, Shure Aonic 3 or Austrian Audio Hi-X55. This is just a starting point, of course. Don’t be afraid to build up to a more revealing system. You could combine the Chord Hugo 2 DAC with a pair of Beyerdynamic T1 (3rd Generation) headphones for a more premium set-up. That might be a touch overkill and punishingly transparent for an iPhone, but these are hi-res files, after all."
- inferiorhuman 4y ago
  Oh I don't particularly care about audio quality from the iPhone, most of the time I'm using it in a noisy environment. I've a decent pair of proper headphones but there's no way I'd wear them in public. More to the point I don't want dongles for my phone either. These are all solutions for Apple cheapening the product.
- jensgk 4y ago
  The Audioquest DragonFly Cobalt is not very good: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/audioquest-dragonfly-cobalt-review-portable-headphone-adapter.23015/ https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/a... The Apple USB-C dongle is better: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/review-apple-vs-google-usb-c-headphone-adapters.5541/ https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/r...
iasay 4y ago
Not so sure about that. I’ve got a decent quality pro audio interface and monitor headphones. I’ve also got airpod pros. The AirPods sound much much better and I prefer listening to anything with them. It’s all subjective.
- drw85 4y ago
  That's most likely due to monitor headphones not being made for an enjoyable listening experience, but for transparency while mixing/mastering.