Today we will talk about this mysterious little device and the controversy it caused in the audiophile community. For those who don’t know this is an Apple USB-C to 3.5 mm Headphone Adapter, a portable DAC/AMP that comes at $9.99.
For years iPhone users have had no other choice but to use different solutions, including the Apple dongle to run wired headphones with their phones. This is due to the lack of 3.5mm headphone output that the company decided to ditch after the iPhone 6S Plus.
But there is another opinion out there!
Some say that this little dongle is all you need to enjoy your full-size high-impedance headphones on your iPhone or Android in 2024. While the latter is a very bold statement, there are 2 important things that you need to know before you buy it and judge its performance.
🛒 Apple USB-C to 3.5 mm Headphone Adapter on Amazon
First, there are two versions of the dongle available: the US one and the EU one. The catch here is that the US version is twice as powerful as the EU one. All due to the EU regulation that all personal music players sold in Europe after February 2013 should have a volume limit set at 85 dB.
Talking about specs, the US version has 1 Vrms output, while the EU version has 0.5 Vrms output. Both versions are capable of decoding PCM up to 48Khz/24 bits and there is neither DSD nor MQA capability. To easily distinguish between the models, here are the part numbers for both versions.
The US version model number is A2049 and the P/N is MU7E2AM/A
While the EU version model number A2155 and the P/N MU7E2ZM/A
Software-level volume limitation
The second important thing to consider is a software-level volume limitation when you connect this dongle to an Android device. To bypass this limitation you need to use any application that can override the driver settings (for example UAPP). In this case, you will be able to fully utilize the power of this dongle.
For my tests, I bought the US version and ran it with my Samsung Galaxy S10. In addition, all the tests have been performed with UAPP.
Apple USB-C to 3.5 mm Headphone Adapter pairings
The dongle had no problems providing enough power to most of my IEMs so there are no questions here. But in my full-size headphone collection, some pairs are hard to drive and are very source-picky too. Before we proceed to the results I need to make a very important point. I didn’t expect this dongle to drive these pairs, but I wanted to see where it could get us.
With Sennheiser HD 6XX rated at 300 ohms even with loud mastered recordings and volume set on maximum, it was obvious that the dongle was struggling. There was no headroom left and the presentation was lacking. So this dongle just can’t drive the 6XX properly. Synergy-wise it wasn’t my cup of tea either as 6XX became way too loose and relaxed.
Next, we move on to Beyerdynamic DT 990 Edition rated at 250 ohms. Synergy-wise it pairs surprisingly well, making DT 990 a bit softer and its treble tamed. But there was just not enough power and I had to set the volume to maximum even with loud recordings, which left me with zero headroom.
The 3rd headphone was the HIFIMAN Ananda Nano rated at 14 ohms of impedance, but 94 dB of sensitivity. While it’s not the most demanding planar headphones out there, it still requires some current to open up and shine. With Ananda Nano, I had to turn the volume up to maximum again which left me with zero headroom. Still, the dongle was lacking and didn’t have enough power to drive this pair. However, I need to mention that the synergy was quite interesting.
With the less demanding full-size headphones, the performance was much better and I’d say this dongle can power most of the full-size headphones in the 16-120 Ohm range. Though with a few exceptions like Fostex T50RPMK3, AKG K612, and AKG K712 PRO. During my tests, I also found out that this dongle pairs very well with bright and neutral-bright IEMs and headphones.
All-in-all Apple USB-C dongle is a fantastic little device, no matter if you are an iPhone or Android user. And if you are just starting your DAC/AMP journey and you don’t own any hard-to-drive headphones – this is your best bet and probably the best $10 you will ever spend on our hobby.
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🛒 Apple USB-C to 3.5 mm Headphone Adapter on Amazon
And that concludes my review for today. If you want to see more content like this, consider subscribing to my YouTube channel for future updates. Thank you for joining me, and until next time, goodbye!
