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Audio Testing Confirms iPhone 6 Not Yet Capable of Direct HD Audio Playback

Earlier this year, Apple was rumored to be adding support (http://www.macrumors.com/2014/05/13/hd-audio-ios-8-new-in-ear-headphones-lightning/) for high-definition audio playback in iOS 8 and shipping new EarPods with the iPhone 6 in order to support this 24bit/96kHz standard. Apple ultimately made no such announcements for iOS 8 or the iPhone 6, and Mashable has now confirmed (http://mashable.com/2014/09/26/iphone-6-hd-audio/) with some testing that Apple's latest iPhone 6 does not currently support high definition audio playback.
 
 (http://cdn.macrumors.com/article-new/2014/09/iphone6-stock-photo.jpg)
 With the help of audio testing expert David Ranada, Mashable tested several sample .wav files encoded at a 96kHz sampling rate with 24 bits per sample. The tracks were played using third-party apps such as Onkyo's HF music player and recordings were made through the headphone jack to determine the quality of the audio output.
 
 The results show that iPhone 6 does not yet support HD audio playback, even though the audio hardware inside the phone may be capable of 24bit/96kHz output. According to teardown analyses (http://www.macrumors.com/2014/09/18/iphone-6-plus-teardown/), Apple's iPhone 6 includes the custom made Cirrus Logic 338S1201 chip, which is likely the successor to the Cirrus Logic CS42L61 chip used in previous iPhone models. Though also a custom build, the older CS42L61 chip is part of Cirrus Logic's CS42L51 family, which supports 24bit/96kHz HD audio.

It's hard to conceive of Apple either creating a custom chip that's less capable than the equivalent off-the-shelf component, let alone downgrading the audio capabilities of the iPhone's DAC in subsequent generations. So it stands to reason the DAC on board the iPhone 6 is capable of sampling 24-bit/96kHz audio.

It's possible, however, that Apple could later update iOS 8 with support for HD audio and enable the playback of hi-res music through the iPhone's headphone jack. Apple is accepting 24bit/96kHz uploads from musicians and is allegedly preparing (http://www.macrumors.com/2014/04/10/high-definition-itunes-music-downloads/) to enable high-definition 24-bit downloads from iTunes.
 
 Customers who want HD audio sooner will have to look at Lightning-equipped audio devices such as the recently announced Fidelio M2L headphones (http://www.macrumors.com/2014/09/10/philips-fidelio-m2l-lightning/) from Philips. The Fidelio M2Ls will connect to an iPhone or iPad via the Lightning port and will support 24-bit audio using an internal DAC and amplifier built into the headphone unit.
 
 
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Source: Audio Testing Confirms iPhone 6 Not Yet Capable of Direct HD Audio Playback (http://www.macrumors.com/2014/09/26/iphone-6-hd-audio/)