I think the extra attachment you can get for that LG phone is a JBL speaker of some kind. Not sure about any sort of extra DAC. I will also be very curious what you think of the P9, although it is frankly out of my price range. I don't care how good it is, there must be limits. Smile. I went from an iPhone 6s to a 7+, so I have a size difference in my phone, which might make for some of the differences in sound between the two. The 7+ is certainly louder than the 6S, and I do think it sounds better. The stereo image of course is a joke. I have a Nexus six android device for comparison. The iPhone sounds better. The stereo image if you want to call it that, on the Nexus is actually better, probably because the speakers both face the same direction. But the Nexus is so incredibly lacking in bass, that they might as well not have bothered with the stereo at all. The single iPhone speaker in my 6S sounded better than the Nexus with its dual stereo speakers. Mary
Sent from my iPhone > On Oct 18, 2016, at 12:33 PM, Dane Trethowan <grtd...@internode.on.net> wrote: > > A most interesting read! > > I've always been impressed with the internal speakers on Apple iPhone though > - like you - I've never taken them seriously for music listening but for > speech and Voiceover the internal iPhone speaker is superb. > > Now I have an iPhone 6 because of my Arcam DAC - the same as yours - and I > had an iPhone 6S at one time. > > I think - could be wrong - that the quality of the iPhone 6 speaker isn't > quite as good as that of the 6S but none the less iits an improvement on the > 5S and so its gone on right up through the iPhone series so I'm not at all > surprised to hear that the speakers of the iPhone 7 sound good, that's the > only thing that's tempting me to go out and buy an iPhone 7. > > I'm not at all surprised to at your comments regarding the Lightning Dock to > 3.5MM jack converter but - as Apple have never ever provided high quality > Earbuds with their iPhones anyway - its therefore not surprising that Apple > didn't provide a high quality DAC but - having said that - I think Apple > should have stated this and perhaps sold a higher quality converter - say for > a couple of hundred dollars - so the user would at least have the choice of > an upgrade. > > LG does this with one of their phones, its a modular phone - can't remember > the name of it - but the user has the choice of using what's available or > buying other options to enhance the quality of audio, photos etc. > > I have a set of Philips cans here that plug straight into a Lightning > connector so - if and when I get a chance - I'm looking forward to connecting > these to an iPhone 7 and doing some comparisons with that cheap nasty > lightning to 3.5MM jack converter <smile>. > > I like you have a pair of P7's, love the things and - may as well tell you > now - I'm off to listen to the B&W P9's shortly. > > > >> On 19/10/2016 6:17 AM, John Gurd wrote: >> I got an iPhone 7 a few days ago and had it away with me on a weekend break >> with limited opportunities to play with it. >> >> >> Well, on this list there’s always someone who wants to know what the phone >> speaker sounds like. To dispense with that question quickly, it’s the best >> sounding iPhone (that doesn’t have a Plus in its name) I’ve heard so far. >> Not surprising, as it has two tiny speakers instead of one so Voice Over and >> books on Voice Dream Reader sound very pleasant. I don’t listen to music on >> a phone speaker and am always surprised when people give this aspect of >> audio serious consideration. >> >> >> Of course the iPhone 7 is the infamous one where they got rid of the audio >> jack. So I took my trusty B&w P7 headphones, my ancient and cheap but >> much-loved (for sentimental reasons) Koss Porto Pros and my Bluetooth >> Plantronics BackBeat Pros and the lightening ear pods that ship with the >> device. No DAC except the little lightning to 3.5mm convertor supplied by >> Apple. >> >> >> Here are my first impressions and I have to emphasis they were entirely >> subjective with no attempt at rigor. Imagine my shock when I tried my P7s >> and thought they sounded awful! The mid-range was thin with a hardness I >> never noticed before. The base was there but not particularly extended. The >> music sounded kind of flat with no real involvement. For the first time I >> felt I knew what was meant when components were described as unmusical. When >> I then tried my Koss Porto Pros whose basic design hasn’t changed since the >> 1980’s and which at one point retailed at around £25 I actually thought they >> sounded better but with the qualities described above still present, perhaps >> with more space and a warmer tone. The Bluetooth BackBeat Pros sounded the >> best with musicality restored and a warmth replacing the hard midrange. The >> Apple earpods were what you would expect: a good reason for buying decent >> headphones for your Apple device. >> >> >> The culprit, of course, was the $9 DAC provided by Apple for those folk who >> will insist on owning headphones with a 3.5mm plug. The frustrating thing >> was that as I was away from home I couldn’t try any other lightning to audio >> DAC. I did have my Arcam MusicBoost case but as it is made for the thinner >> iPhone 6 I didn’t fancy having my new iPhone 7 permanently wedged in it. Out >> of desperation I did gingerly try to insert it but gave up when it became >> clear it would end in disaster. >> >> >> What I didn’t do (and still haven’t done) was try the above headphones with >> the audio jack on my old iPhone 6 to see if it really did sound worse on the >> iPhone 7 or if it was just a trick of the mind because I was expecting >> better. Since arriving home I have tried my P7s with the Oppo HA 2 DAC and >> the iPhone 7 and I am glad to say they were back to being absolutely >> stunning. That’s a relief. I then tried them again with the little Apple >> supplied DAC converter and although they weren’t as shockingly bad as my >> first impression they still sounded seriously under par, and that also when >> for my little plastic Porto Pros. Yet I still feel even the Porto Pros >> sounded better with the old audio jack. It mostly came down to that sense of >> hardness and lack of musicality I felt I detected. >> >> >> Well, what do you expect for what amounts to a $9 DAC, I hear you say. Most >> people who have a cheap pair of headphones won’t notice or care and will >> just want them to work. I am quite sure that some headphones will even sound >> better for it. But as I don’t always want to carry a separate and cumbersome >> DAC around with me for casual listening I do wish Apple had spent just a >> little more on their convertor. >> >> >> John Gurd >> >> >> > >
