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Comment by karmakaze | Hacker News Reader

I've owned so many iPods from the very first and loved each one. Now I don't care for ~iTunes~/Apple Music and the dumbed-down walled garden that it lives it. It's not even because I carry a smartphone. Just the other day I was researching non-Apple music players.

To me the iPod died with the introduction of the Touch which was a cheap iPhone, that had lower quality standards even in the area of sound quality. iPhones have no headphone jack so they're not suitable listening devices if you care about audio quality (or are willing to carry an external DAC). Apple Music makes nothing about managing music on any Apple device great.

M1 Macs are doing well, and still waiting to see what happens with iPadOS and if it can live up the the 'OS' name in terms of creation not consumption apps.

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> iPhones have no headphone jack so they're not suitable listening devices if you care about audio quality (or are willing to carry an external DAC).

The $9 official headphone dongle is a superior DAC to most audiophile products and has a bigger R&D budget than that entire industry. Same goes for Google’s USBC dongle.

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/r...

You can still carry around an amp if you have very power hungry headphones though. Personally, I don’t think I could ABX lossy audio while outside dodging cars in the crosswalk.

The concept of using dongles while walking around seems like it wouldn't be without inconvenience. What is your setup like and does it disconnect sometimes while walking?

Agreed. Using a dongle is a terrible experience. I had to buy a few cause they kept breaking for me. The primary way I listen to music on my phone is while walking around with my phone in my pocket. In addition, the lightning port can get dust in it so sometimes it is difficult to maintain a good connection. The connection kept coming loose and causing the music to stop for me. I even had my phone’s lightning port cleaned at an Apple authorized repair center, but the problem came back after around a month. Never had that problem with a 3.5mm audio jack in my life.

I ended up having to buy Bluetooth headphones just to listen to music on my iPhone which has its own problems because they have to be charged all the time.

Damn, ain't that a shame. I had suspected the dongle would be susceptible to that, which is why I was curious initially. What bluetooth headphones are you on?

I am currently looking around for a standalone digital player, no market, no apps, no fancy anything, with a wired headphone (currently looking at KZ EDX Pros, despite the crinacle drama). Might end up getting another sandisk and doing a mod on it to hold 1TB. Those things are damn near bullet proof but their secret weakness is my washing machine

I mainly use AirPods, but my problems with cables have been microphonics (it transmits sounds from rubbing on your clothes) and being too long and not having anywhere to put the length. Disconnection has never been an issue, putting the phone downwards in your pocket is fine.

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