iPhone is one of the best smartphones on the market, especially when it comes to audio. However, it's still a mystery why Apple smartphones don't natively support hi-res audio. Even some mid-range Android smartphones come with high-quality DACs and support native high-resolution audio.
This can be very frustrating as an iPhone user if you want to listen to high-res music. However, you don't have to wait for Apple to fix this problem. There are several steps you can follow to solve this problem and listen to high resolution music on your iPhone. So, if you are wondering how to play high-res music on iPhone, then read the following review.
What is Hi-Res Music?
Short for high resolution, hi-res audio is the term used for playback of audio higher than 44.1kHz or 16-bit. This is also commonly referred to as CD quality and requires a capable DAC to play smoothly.
High-resolution music offers higher audio quality than standard music formats, with richer tone and detail. This provides an immersive listening experience, given that you are listening with a very good pair of headphones.
What Audio Formats Can iPhone Play?
Immediately, iPhone can play MP3, WAV, AAC, AIFF, and ALAC using the Apple Music app and iTunes. However, there is no native support for FLAC and DSD files, even through the Files app.
The iPhone hardware can play high-resolution audio, but the software on the phone doesn't allow it. Meanwhile, if you play music via the Lightning to 3.5mm converter, your audio quality is limited to 48kHz.
So how do you solve this problem? Well, if you listen to music on headphones using the Lighting connector, it will bypass your iPhone's DAC. This allows you to use an external DAC coupled with the right apps, allowing you to seamlessly play high-resolution audio on your iPhone.
How to Play High Resolution Music on iPhone
To successfully play high-resolution audio on your iOS smartphone, you will need to purchase a USB-to-Lightning connector and an external DAC unit such as Dragonfly Red by AudioQuest. From then on, the process was quite simple.
1. Transfer high-resolution audio files to your iPhone from your computer via iTunes, or download them directly on your iPhone from trusted websites.
2. Connect your headphones to the DAC unit via the 3.5mm jack. You can use any headphones, but high-res audio sounds better on high-end headphones that have better audio drivers.
3. Next, plug the DAC into the USB port of the USB-to-Lightning adapter. 4. Plug the Lightning side of this adapter into your iPhone.
5. Now you can start playing high-resolution music on your iPhone with an app that supports high-resolution audio. You can use Qobuz, Tidal, Deezer, Vox or any other app you like.
How to Transfer High-Resolution Audio to iPhone?
You can download high-resolution music files on your computer and put them on your iPhone using iTunes.
1. Connect your iPhone to your computer and open iTunes (make sure you have the latest version).
2. At the top left, a small iPhone icon will appear. Click on it.
3. Next, go to the File Sharing tab and select any application that allows you to transfer files.
4. Open the app and drag all your high resolution audio files and drop them in the folder. Click Done and the new file will now appear in your music player app.
Making a High-Resolution Music Kit for Your iPhone
If you're going to be listening to hi-res music regularly on your iPhone, it's a good idea to invest in a kit that lets you squeeze the best quality out of your hi-res files.
First, you need to buy a good pair of headphones like the Grado SR80e, Sony WH-1000XM4, Sennheiser Momentum 2.0, or AKG Y50. Then, you need a good DAC like Chord Mojo, Cyrus SoundKey, or the Audioquest DragonFly Red we mentioned earlier.
If you don't mind a bigger kit that looks bigger, then you can get higher sound quality with headphones like the Beyerdynamic T1 (Generation 2) and DACs like the Chord Hugo 2. This might be overkill for some, but it's worth it. invest if you are an audiophile. Finally, make sure you have a good USB-to-Lightning adapter.
