iPod Touch 7th Generation Headphone Jack
Does the iPod touch 7th generation headphone jack contain a digital to analog converter to play lossless audio
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What is the evidence that the iPod Touch doesn’t play lossless?
Apple acquired Cirrus Logic in 2014, and shortly after phased out the Wolfson DAC (Digital to Analog Converter) chips.
Every Apple-designed Cirrus Logic chip iOS device has technically had the potential to natively render and (assuming a 3.5mm jack) play 24-Bit/48 kHz, which is the highest bitrate and sample rate for Apple Lossless tracks… before you get into Apple High Resolution Lossless tracks.
Although the hardware potential was there, it was capped by the iOS. However, iOS that allows for that resolution arrived earlier this year following the announcement of Apple Lossless.
Literally the only iOS device with a 3.5mm jack in 2021 is the iPod Touch. As it almost certainly has the Apple-designed Cirrus Logic DAC chip, and it runs current iOS which allows for lossless… Why would it not play 24-Bit/48 kHz Apple Lossless tracks?
What is interesting is that for all iOS devices, the audio quality settings (Settings/Music/Audio Quality) state that Apple Lossless (ALAC up to 24-Bit/48 kHz) can be natively played, while Apple High Resolution Lossless (ALAC up to 24-Bit/192 kHz) requires an external DAC.
In fact, any iOS device without a 3.5mm output requires an external DAC for any audio track, regardless of resolution.
Lightning and USB-C are digital outputs, not analog. For a digital signal to be transformed into analog sound you can hear, a DAC must be used. That lightning/USB-C to 3.5mm dongle Apple sells? That contains a DAC chip. The digital signal is converted at the 3.5mm point in the chain… there is no other way to do it.
Since the iPod Touch has a 3.5mm output, it is most likely the only Apple iOS device capable of natively playing Apple Lossless audio tracks, up to 24-Bit/48 kHz.
For Apple High Resolution Lossless audio tracks (24-Bit/96 kHz and 24-Bit/192 kHz) an external DAC connected to the Lightning port would be required.
Even more evidence for the iPod 7th Gen’s ability to natively render and play up to 24-Bit/48 kHz can be found while using the Amazon Music HD app on the device… both with and without an external DAC.
When playing a track in the Amazon Music app, you can select the yellow music quality icon, and a screen will appear listing the track quality, device capability, download quality, and codec. When using the app with an iPod Touch without external DAC, the device capability is listed as 24-Bit/48 kHz. However, when an external DAC is connected, the device capability changes to reflect that of the external DAC.
