How do I connect my new iPhone 15 Pro to DAC?

Thanks for the reply Art64. I’ve tried that adapter, but only get analog out. Are you able to use your DAC or just as an amp? I can use my DAC/Amp and hear sound, but the iPhone is not putting out hi-res signal. Do you see a headphone icon on your phone, and can you control volume from phone? If so, I think the SMSL is only amplifying and not using the DAC.

I need to make a correction on my post. The USB C to USB (full size) connector is not Apple. I bought it from Amazon years ago. I have 2 of them and I have them connected to my Mac Mini’s USB C ports.

I do believe it’s not just amplification because on Tidal, it’ll show if the music is MQA, HI RES, or 44k or Dolby. On Apple Music the bit rate changes too. But I have to verify. The Apple Music and Tidal are both set to their max.

They are made by Synthec and sold in pairs. The cables have braided covers. I use the SMSL on the stereo. When I change the filters on dac setting, the audio changes as well. Works exactly as like the previous iphone models. I also have an iphone 6 that I use from time to time. No streaming on this one only music files and video files.

I finally got this to work, but there is definitely some inconsistency with the USB-C port of iPhone 15 and the Apple Adapters.

First, I didn’t actually do anything other than to unplug and replug the adapter a few times for DAC to be recognized. This rears its head when I stop the music for more than a minute or so and then try to resume play. I’d have to start unplugging and repluggjng the adapter before the DAC is recognized.

Second, because I had turned on the “Automatic Dolby Atmos” setting, the phone was always outputting in 44k, so I mistakenly thought that hi-res wasn’t working. Turning Atmos off subsequently output hi-res stream.

Third, in iOS 17, unlike iOS 16, the volume rocker component lets you move the volume setting, but it doesn’t actually affect the output volume. This was throwing me off too, because I was expecting iOS 16 behavior where volume is set to max and you couldn’t change it.

Fourth, I have one DAC that has a dedicated iOS setting and didn’t require the Apple Camera Adapter. That used to work and made the phone go into that fixed volume mode in iOS, but now it doesn’t happen, and both the iPhone and DAC/Amp volumes are functional. I think this means the output is not hi-res digital. I’m working with the manufacturer on that one.

It only shows up in settings if it recognizes something that is potentially not headphones. Mine will work for 5 seconds and then stops. I tried different cables and then one final worked which is weird as the are the exact same cable.

These are some good tips.

How can you tell what the output resolution of your phone is? I'm running to the USB-C input of my Beats studio pro headphones. They have a built in DAC if you use the USB cable.

I just remembered my Chord Hugo 2 had a Bluetooth input option and using that after a bit of fiddling about to get the Chord and my iPhone-SE3 to pair, I have at least got the phone outputting digital to my DAC. The quality is not startling and not I think as good as I was getting via the PCM stream to the Lightning socket. I don't think the Hugo 2 uses a very up to date Bluetooth Codec although it claims APTx.

I’ve gone through the steps mentioned about - my iPhone recognises I haven’t got headphones connected (I selected the “other” option when I inserted the Ian cable that goes to my DAC) but it’s still limiting the output to 16 bit / 44.1 kHz. I’ve tried going through the steps several times and no success. The dac I’ve got is a Chord Hugo 2; I don’t know if this is a factor? Any ideas anyone?

Go to Sounds and Haptics and scroll down to Headphone Safety at the bottom under Headphone Audio. Click on that and then click on USB Audio Accessories. Click on Forget All Audio Accessories and you should be good to go.

However, I’m also trying to connect a Hugo 2 and I can’t get anything better than 16 bit / 44 kHz.

Looks like my Hugo 2 is destined to be a very expensive door stop!

I had two really short USB C to 3.5mm audio cables that were different one was an Apple branded one the other I got with my Samsung galaxy note 10 My iPhone 15 pro max recognized one of them as head phones and the other one as a USB accessory but I had to use that one one when connecting it to my Akai MPC one

I recently purchased Focal Bathys headphones, which has a built-in DAC mode switch. I can't get it to work with my iPhone 13 Pro. Focal Support said to use the QITEK converter to iPhone ---> USB-C to USB-C cable ---> Bathys headphones. When I have it all set up and set the Bathys to DAC mode, and play music, the music comes out of the iPhone speakers. It basically ignores that the cable is connected. I did follow some the comments suggestion of turning off "Forget All USB Audio Accessories", but nothing changes. Are there any other settings on the iPhone to tell it to use the cable output for sound?

Thanks, but I don’t even have that option under Headphone Safety, so may it never recognized the DAC as a headphone.

m-thomas, thanks for this info, but where is this setting? I can’t find it anywhere in Settings app. I tried googling it too with no luck. I could only find the USB setting on Lock Screen.

Where do I find the USB audio accessories settings on my iPhone? I want to configure it to pass digital music files to my Chord Hugo 2. Many thanks in advance.