Review: Apple vs Google USB-C Headphone Adapters

[tccalvin]

Actually, (some) Macs and iPads can bypass the EU dongle's volume restriction, making it output 1.0V just like the US dongle.

This worked for me on an iPad Air 5th gen (17.1.1) and an iMac 27" Late 2012 (10.15.7), both purchased in Germany and set to german system language.

Woah, didn’t know that. Well, if that’s the case… since I have that exact model of iPad (mine is on 17.6.1, purchased in Italy and set to English (US)) it’s likely that the limitation is bypassed on mine too.

 

[Ronina77]

Fake? Model A1749
Buy amazon italy

 

[Jimbob54]

Fake? Model A1749
Buy amazon italy

Dont know if its fake but the A1749 is Lightning connector not USB C

 

[Ronina77]

That’s right it’s the lightning version for my iphone 12.
Does anyone know the output voltage A1749 ?

 

[staticV3]

That’s right it’s the lightning version for my iphone 12.
Does anyone know the output voltage A1749 ?

Both the 0.5V Lightning adapter and the 1.0V Lightning adapter are called A1749, in contrast to the USB-C adapters which have distinct model numbers (A2155 vs A2049).

However, there's a second model number printed on your box ("MMX62ZM/A"), which means that this is a 0.5V EU dongle.

The US Lightning adapter has MMX62AM/A printed on there instead.

 

[Ronina77]

Thank’s !

 

[tccalvin]

However, there's a second model number printed on your box ("MMX62ZM/A"), which means that this is a 0.5V EU dongle.

The US Lightning adapter has MMX62AM/A printed on there instead.

Huh. Pretty intuitive if you think about it. There's the American one and the Zeuropean one.

 

[Ronina77]

Hi, will I get lossless or even hi-res lossless sound after connecting the Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro headphones to an Apple dongle?

 

[staticV3]

Hi, will I get lossless or even hi-res lossless sound after connecting the Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro headphones to an Apple dongle?

The Apple headphone adapter is capable of playing up to 48kHz, 24bit audio.

 

[Ronina77]

Will the US version play louder than the EU version on 32 ohm headphones?

 

[staticV3]

Will the US version play louder than the EU version on 32 ohm headphones?

~50% louder, yes.

 

[Merey]

Only other concern is that it’ll break sooner rather than later since the cable is impossibly thin.

Doing so will increase the reliability of the dongle. I've had it on my PC for 3 years, the heat shrink tubing takes the load from the weight of the headphone cable.

Review: Apple vs Google USB-C Headphone Adapters

does anyone know if the pixel v1 dongle can be purchased anywhere?

audiosciencereview.com

I'd like to share my experience. Thanks to this forum I bought this dongle and I am very happy with it. However, as only EU versions are sold in my country (although Kazakhstan is not in Europe), I had to buy it on the American Apple site. Even with shipping, it was 1.5 times cheaper than in the official stores. The dongle worked with half the volume on all the Samsung smartphones I tested (I know the solution with the volume), but I had constant problems with Chinese smartphones: on the Huawei there was a loud crackling sound, and on the Oppo it was not even detected by the system. I think the problem lies with the Chinese smartphone manufacturers themselves. ) On the PC, I use Takstar Pro82 headphones to listen to music and play games - everything is fine.
It should also work with a gaming headset due to the presence of ADC - a cheap solution for those with a cheap motherboard, there is usually very poor sound on both input and output.

 

[Ronina77]

I don't understand something. If the EU version has 0.5 V for 32 ohms, then the power output is 15.5 mW, since for 1 V the US version the power is 31 mW. Is that right?

 

[unpluggged]

I don't understand something. If the EU version has 0.5 V for 32 ohms, then the power output is 15.5 mW, since for 1 V the US version the power is 31 mW. Is that right?

P = V²/R.

 

[palmoyas]

CX31993 or KTO2H20-based dongles, for instance JCally JM7 or JM12. For the most part just as good as the Apple dongle without Android restrictions and regional restrictions.

To your knowledge, any of these available at Best Buy? I have points I need to use.

 

[ch-yu]

Thx 4 sharing and testing.
Also glad to find out that Apple DAC sold in China is also A2049 which is the same as US.

 

[smcc]

Just measured some of these Apple Dongles, all 0dBFS.
Brymen BM869s (pretty decent/accurate DMM).
Audiotools as sine generator on iOS. (Logic Pro on Mac).

EU Lightning on iPhone XS: 0.896v sine at 50Hz (1.25v square wave)
EU Lightning on iPad Mini 2: 0.896v sine at 50Hz (1.25v square wave)

EU USB-C on iPhone 16 Pro Max: 0.515v sine at 50Hz (0.71v square wave)
EU USB-C on iPad Pro M2: 1.023v sine at 50Hz (1.43v square wave)
EU USB-C on Macbook Pro M1: 1.026v sine at 50Hz (1.44v square wave)

Just for fun: iPhone 16 Pro Max -> USB-C to Lightning Adapter -> EU Lightning: 0.896v sine at 50Hz (1.25v square wave). LOL.

The "EU USB-C" 0.5v thing seems to be just iPhones (and Android)...perhaps others can confirm...i.e. people have said "some" devices can bypass this limitation, I wonder if it is in fact all Apple devices except Phones...(I only tested two above).

The "EU Lightning" 0.5v thing could be a myth...or perhaps it applies only to later lightning iPhones than the XS...

Also, I wonder if the limitation on the USB-C dongles is determined by the phone, and not the dongle. Has anyone tested a US dongle on an EU phone and actually measured 1v?

 

[smcc]

Now here's a weird one, after I plugged the USB-C dongle back into the iPhone 16, after being in the Macbook, I now get 0.719v.

Ah, so if I quit Audiotools, and reopen it, back to 0.5v.

Wasn't able to replicate that...

 

[smcc]

I think the janky iPhone 16 Pro Max -> USB-C to Lightning Adapter -> EU Lightning deserves a photo...one way of getting over 0.5v in the EU

 

[Head_Unit]

I don't understand something. If the EU version has 0.5 V for 32 ohms, then the power output is 15.5 mW, since for 1 V the US version the power is 31 mW. Is that right?

P = V²/R.

Hmmm....plugging in to https://www.rapidtables.com/calc/electric/ohms-law-calculator.html then
0.5V@32Ω = 0.007813W or 7.8mW
1.0V@32Ω = 0.03215W or 32 mW
I hate it when they specify mW on headphone amps. Tell me the damn output voltage, that's what matters. Turned out that high voltage headphone amps in any small form factor were nonexistent...eventually I just sold my 600Ω AKG and changed to Apple AirPods Pro which I could use running or at the gym etc.