Best closed headphone for iPhone and Qobuz use?

[davide256]

Since Qobuz dropped their price for high res streaming subscription I've really been enjoying the combination of Qobuz and Audeze iSine10

with its Cipher DAC using an iPhone, I can listen to high quality music everywhere. But the open back nature of the iSine doesn't work well with noisy environments.

Anyone seen a better closed back headphone that  offers the wired connection of the iSine's with 24 bit playback?

[kumakuma]

One easy solution would be to just add a headphone jack to your phone using this:

 

https://www.apple.com/shop/product/MMX62AM/A/lightning-to-35-mm-headphone-jack-adapter 

 

This would allow the use of almost any IEM.

 

My Shures with Comply foam tips are great for noisy environments.

[rando]

Agree he should investigate one of the mini-DAC for phones that terminate in a 3.5mm connection.  

 

There are any number of good closed back headphones that wouldn't require an(other) adapter in this scenario.  Willingness to go out in public with a $K set of headphones is one aspect worth considering not related directly to sound.  

 

This was my choice even before I read the article below.  Replacement cost is minimal and the single sided cord works well in transit.  Which they are designed for, but also work quite well at home too.  They even come with a microphonic iPhone cord if you need to use your phone while listening.  

 

 

[davide256]

Have ordered the Apple 3.5  adaptor but suspect that its not going to perform as well as the cipher DAC. I have a  (Cipher-less) Sine DX that I used to enjoy  with iPhone 6

before a phone upgrade. In general I don't enjoy voice coil driven headphones because of distracting driver colorations /resonances.

[kumakuma]

11 minutes ago, davide256 said:

Have ordered the Apple 3.5  adaptor but suspect that its not going to perform as well as the cipher DAC. I have a  (Cipher-less) Sine DX that I used to enjoy  with iPhone 6

before a phone upgrade. In general I don't enjoy voice coil driven headphones because of distracting driver colorations /resonances.

 

How about something like this?

 

https://www.fiio.com/i1

 

More options listed here:

 

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/ultra-portable-dac-amp-solutions-for-new-phones-no-headphone-jack.885531/

[davide256]

20 minutes ago, kumakuma said:

 

How about something like this?

 

https://www.fiio.com/i1

 

More options listed here:

 

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/ultra-portable-dac-amp-solutions-for-new-phones-no-headphone-jack.885531/

great thread, thanks for suggesting it. A small inline DAC I find ideal, one that doesn't require additional cables or double your "brick" size. i1 is on there, will do some reading.  I hear

you on rocking expensive headphones, wear and tear gets accelerated once you take them out of the home environment. I try to keep "on the go" headphones cost below $500 so that its not too dear to replace them every 2 years

[gmgraves]

On 11/29/2019 at 6:38 PM, davide256 said:

Have ordered the Apple 3.5  adaptor but suspect that its not going to perform as well as the cipher DAC. I have a  (Cipher-less) Sine DX that I used to enjoy  with iPhone 6

before a phone upgrade. In general I don't enjoy voice coil driven headphones because of distracting driver colorations /resonances.

I use a generic “camera” adapter for IOS and connect an AudioQuest DragonFly “Cobalt” to it. Using a pair of HiFiMan Ananda phones, the sound I get from my iPhone and iPad with this setup is excellent!

 

[davide256]

Got the Apple adaptor, can use the Sine ( its the closed back, not DX) with iPhone again so thank you @kumakuma. Not a complete answer as Sine wants more current for best sound but the closed back SIne meets my "walking" needs, no intrusive wind noise against the headphone back and shuts out fan noise at work,

so objectives met.

@gmgraves, I hear you on the Ananda's, I'm sure they dig deep into the music and the BT version is a highly rated performer at its price point.  I'm researching

to buy a new headphone for home use at the $1k price point, so far HifiMan Ananda BT and the Audeze LCDi3's are my top contenders for sound quality

and source flexibility