Dear Rabid Giant

Mike writes:
With the news that Deezer is introducing a premium Hi-Def audio streaming service (probably with approval of Neil Young...or not), audiophiles like myself finally have some streaming music that satisfies our audio-elitist tendencies.  There are some caveats like the need to purchase new equipment, and having headphones/stereo with high enough impedance to be able to deliver a superior audio experience.  And, once you do that, it's still $20/month for the privilege of streaming some radical tunes...which brings us to our first reader mail.

"Dear Rabid Giant,

 

Ok audiophile, thoughts on these? On this connection method?

First headphones to use Lightning port announced – and they’re not from Beats!

Dear Mike,

 

With iOS8, listening to music through the lightning port has a lot of promise.  It will allow for a high-def feed vs. the low-tech audio solution we've been using since the walkman: the 1/8 headphone jack.  

 

That said, Philips isn't my first choice in audio equipment.  I find their low and mid level stuff to feel cheap...and if I'm spending between $50 and $100 I'd much sooner buy Sony or Panasonic.  I still beleive that any DAC is better than no DAC at all, and there aren't many options for lightning DAC these days unless you own a 30-pin to lightning converter...because for some reason, there are DACs that use the old tech. 

As this seems to be the first to take advantage of the lightning connector, I'd likely wait until others (re: Beats) get on board.  Also, it would be interesting to know if Apple has denied MFi licenses to makers of stand-alone DAC companies in hopes of drumming up their own business this way.  Not sure how Philips made the cut.

I still think that the best audio you can get for high impedance headphones (over 50 ohms) is through a small portable amp and FiiO makes a bunch that can get you that result. 

Still, I'd probably prefer a lightning DAC/AMP combo, and hope that this, and the iOS8 software will make that a reality in the near future.

Thanks for the letter!