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How can I stream from my iPhone to an external DAC?

w1jim

w1jim

I can fix it but good...
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I thought it would be so easy, but it’s not.
I picked up a Lightning to USB-B cable and thought I could just use it to feed into the USB port on one of my DACs.
But when I go do I get the message below.
Same thing on my iPhone 5 and 8.
Thoughts?

680F2FF1-8B80-49C4-BE13-6B2C9BFD674A.jpeg
 
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That cable will work if you use a dac that has its own power source (the Schiit modi faq page discusses this issue)
 
Well that's a common error message on i-devices, when you try to connect a USB device which requires too much current. The usual solution is to connect the DAC via a USB hub.

w1jim said:
I picked up a Lightning to USB-B cable
Click to expand...
Be aware that USB DAC's are only officially recognised by iOS devices via the Apple Lightning-to-USB Camera Adapter. More information here -
https://www.audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/bypassing-ipad-dac.895088/#post-13316707
There are some third party cables which are Apple-licensed, and may be compatible. But if your DAC is not recognised by the iPhone, you will need the official cable.
 
Well that's just a basic level of recognition, via USB enumeration. The DAC identifies itself to iOS as "Maverick Audio TE7022", but this may not necessarily mean that iOS will recognise "Maverick Audio TE7022" as a USB Audio Class 2 device. Once the error message is gone, w1jim will know for sure.
 
w1jim said:
This is the cable I got:
https://www.amazon.com/Lightning-Electronic-Instrument-Recording-Microphone/dp/B09G2NJBP4
Click to expand...
That cable looks good. In the description I see this - "As the lightning to USB-B midi cable adopts the new original certified chip" and I see this - "Work with ... Recording Audio Interface" - that suggests it works with USB Audio Class 2 devices. You will soon know, once you connect via a USB hub.

w1jim said:
I have a small (old) 2 port USB hub ... I'll need to figure out an adapter to convert it to the USB B my DACs utilize.
Click to expand...
From the iPhone cable to the hub, you need a USB Gender Changer Male A to Female B -
https://www.amazon.com/Your-Cable-Store-Gender-Changer/dp/B003UE7M04
and from the hub to DAC you need an A to B cable (very standard) -
https://www.amazon.com/StarTech-com-3-Feet-USB-Certified-Cable/dp/B001GTW5Z2
 
Maverick Audio dacs all have their own power cords because of the tubes, but I’m wondering if they power the dac circuit separately from the tube section?

if so, then yeah I would get the Apple camera connection kit adapter that uofmtiger and Linuxfan are recommending for the opportunity to add power.

per Apple’s description
“Add even greater capability and versatility to your iPad Pro by powering the Lightning to USB 3 Camera Adapter with a USB Power Adapter. Then you can connect USB peripherals like hubs, Ethernet adapters, audio/MIDI interfaces, and card readers for CompactFlash, SD, microSD, and more.”
 
Here's another tip - even with the powered lightning-to-USB cable, the chip inside the cable needs to validate the presence of an external power supply ... and also needs to validate that the power supply has sufficient power rating - that means you must use an official Apple power supply, and it needs to be the 12W version, not the 5W version!
Reference -
https://thomas.vanhoutte.be/miniblo...essory-requires-too-much-power/#comment-40611
Wow, Apple likes to make things complicated.
 
In fairness, the Apple cable is $39. They aren’t exactly charging a fortune for it. However, I will be happy if they drop lightning and put USBC/thunderbolt in future iPhones that will open it up a bit more like the new iPads.

Back before they had this cable, they only had one that had lightning to USB without power. I used a Pluggable USB device that tricked the phone into thinking it was getting power. For a stand alone DAC I would recommend the $39 cable so you can charge at the same time.
 
What about using an old Apple AirPortExpress ? This little "audio router" might be a better overall solution, and it frees your phone up from a tethered cable.

Signal chain would be:

Music service/internet radio or stored files on phone -> Phone -> WiFi->AirPortExpress->digital out -> DAC

jblnut
 
jblnut said:
What about using an old Apple AirPortExpress ? This little "audio router" might be a better overall solution, and it frees your phone up from a tethered cable.

Signal chain would be:

Music service/internet radio or stored files on phone -> Phone -> WiFi->AirPortExpress->digital out -> DAC

jblnut
Click to expand...
Belkin has a newer AirPlay device out, too. They are both limited to 44.1khz. The Lightning port allows for hi res if the OP cares about that.
 
I stream music from my Iphone, (or computer) via bluetooth to an Auris BluMe Pro. That is connected into my Denafrips Pontus II via a coaxial cable.
Works great.
In another system I stream from my phone/computer into a BluDento BLT-HD into a Maverick Audio TubeMagic D2 via a USB cable.
Works great.
:dunno:
 
Last edited:
Skip the bluetooth, its a fidelity downgrade from a direct cable connection.
If you have an Airport Express already, you've got it made!
Apparently the Maverick DAC has an Optical in!
  • Inputs: Optical (Toslink), Coaxial (RCA), USB, Analog (RCA) and Line-in Jack 3.5 mm
So - you get an Apple-type Optical cable, since the Airport minijack out is also an Optical out!
So - using Airplay, just stream from your phone to the Airport, and then
Airport -> Maverick via optical and Done!

Before I set-up a raspberry Pi4 for streaming, thats exactly how I ran my system.
 
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