Pops/Clicks in audio when using an external Lightning DAC with iPhone 7

Thank you very much for some of the best info i've seen online after weeks of research on this issue. Glad to know this is actually a hardware/software issue with the phone and not an invasion of the gremlins. All jokes aside, my question is this: would it be wise to purchase a different brand dac such as the oppo ha-2se? I was about to give up completely on the sound blaster e5. It seems from your info though that the issue may affect every external dac in some way or another. I'm somewhat glad to report that after iOS 10.1.1 i can at least listen to a song without the constant skipping noise so it seems the wheels of progress are turning somewhere. Anyway thanks again.

I have the same issue with a Dragonfly Red, works fine on my 6S+ but clicks every 5 or so secs on the 7+. AudioQuest advised that the USB3 cable will work, it irks me massively that I should have to fork out for another cable and put up with a larger cable to boot! Music is so important to me if I could I would get a refund and go back to a 6S+. I will go to Regent Apple Store at lunch and have a chat about it. If its an Apple fault I would hope to have some redress especially as the 7 is only Bluetooth or digital out. I wonder if other wired headphone companies may face the same issue.

I'm not sure what a DAC is, but I've noticed continuous clicks/pops and snaps when playing music through standard analog headphones using the dongle that shipped with my iPhone 7Plus. Those vanish when playing music through bluetooth devices (my car's SYNC, Cambridge Oontz, Altec-Lansing earbuds).