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

I use iPhone 7, and I also experience the same pops/clicks problem with the 2.0 usb connector, Onkyo HF Player, and Audioquest Dragonfly Red.
Usually happen with 44.1kHz songs

I've read from Audioquest site that I have to spend another $39.00 for the USB 3.0 connector to solve it.

Is there now any better method to solve this?

I also experience the same pops/clicks issue with the 2.0 USB connector.

I've tried the USB 3.0 connector, it works without pops/clicks with Dragonfly Red but music will sounds like distortion effected and played 0.5x speed.

I have it with an audiolab mdac, hooked up to an iPhone 7, using the apple usb2 to lightning camera adapter. It sounds like Apple aren't bothered about resolving it, as they'll claim we need to buy a usb3 connector. I'm holding out for a friendly software update. Thought it was my kit, so thanks for bringing this up.

I can't suggest other methods.

I use my Dragonfly red with the lightning/USB 3 adapter on my iPhone 5s iOS 9 and it works perfectly (even with hi-res files 96kHz - the max bitrate supported by this DAC).

This adapter is quite expensive but it works.

Have to check the performance while charging the phone same time while playing music.

Same problem here with iPhone 7 and Dragonfly RED and Apple usb camera cable 3... Clicks and annoying sounds, I had to return the DAC.

I did not try with the macmini, to be honest, so I wonder if anybody could give me his/her feedback about noises in this other configuration?!?

Thanks, Fabio

Same Thing here, iPhone 6s and Teac HA P50 do have crackles during playback, but ONLY when screen is turned Off. As soon i leave it on at minimum brightness crackles are gone completely, Maybe iOS has a Power saving Problem...

found this product with a warning note (at the bottom of the page)...

http://www.box-designs.com/main.php?prod=dacboxds&cat=dsline&lang=en

Q: DAC Box DS will not be recognized by Mac OSX and is not available under Audio. What can I do?

A: Turn off your Computer and press at start alt+cmd+p+r until another starting sound appears. With this command the USB bus will be reset and the USB Box will be recognized new.

Q: DAC Box DS will not be recognized by Mac OSX (El Capitan) or does not output sound.

A: There are many forum reports about that issue. It is a widely spread error affecting a wide array of USB DACs, unfortunately there is no current fix for this problem, since it lies in the Core Audio of Apple's OSX. We advice not to use our USB DACs with OSX El Capitan.

I have the Audioquest Dragonfly Red (latest firmware as of now, 1.0.6). The clicking was barely noticeable with my iPhone 7 Plus but now with the iPhone X it has become really bad. I can't enjoy my music anymore.

Works absolutely flawlessly on my Mac.

Any new insight?

I have the exact same issue running the Dragonfly Black DAC, random pops, clicks and bangs. Audio format doesn't make any difference, neither does the file being streamed of downloaded. The same DAC works just fine with a MacBook Pro running macOS Sierra.

I am having this same exact issue when using the iPhone 7 with the Creative Labs E5 dac/headphone amp. I have also used this device with the iPad pro 9.7 and the iPhone 6 with no issue. The other devices are also running updated versions of iOS 10. About to contact apple support about the problem as playing music is a significant portion of my usage. At first thought it may be corrupt ALAC files on my PC. However, after some testing it is without question isolated to the iPhone 7. Sounds as though there is something wrong with the bitstream from the lightning port on this phone. I see a lot of other issues with people having audio problems with various cars. Sounds like these issues are likely related because if you connect your phone to a car audio system via USB, it should be sending digital audio to the system for decoding just like the portable dacs discussed here. Either way this is something that needs fixing. Would like to know if this is a software issue or a situation where I have a defective phone and need replacement. Certainly don't want to ditch iPhone after having them since 2009.

I'm using the Dragonfly 1.5 DAC. Audioquest confirmed they are aware of the issue and stated the problem is Apple's and specific to iPhone7. The issue doesn't manifest itself with Apple's USB3 Camera adaptor and the lightning Ear Pods but does with their USB2 version and directly connected 3rd party DACs. I too want to know if this is a hardware issue since so far none of the 10.1 betas have solved it. I would hate to have to ditch iPhone and move to Android but my music collection is more important to me than the phone.

Tried the USB 3 camera kit and USB cable to connect the Sound Blaster E5 to iPhone 7. The Sound Blaster E5 won't work with this combination. Does anyone know if Apple is aware of this issue and any info on whether or not its software or hardware related. Would like to go ahead and send my phone in for repair/replace if the phone has some sort of defect.

Im so glad I found this, I am having the same issue using my Fiio K1. It worked great with my iPhone 6 Plus but now every so often I get what sounds like a skip in the music. Seems to only happen while the screen is off.

I have this problem, too. There is horrible feedback of skipping and hissing noises on every song when using an external dac.

iPhone 7 Plus - Onkyo HF Player - Lightning to USB Camera Connector - Parasound Zdac v.2 - Hifiman HE-400i.

Never had this problem on previous iPhone 6.

Silicon Labs has filed this bug under report ticket number 26607934.

Look up 'Lightning Audio Bug in Newer iPhones' for a PDF in a search engine.

I don't have developer access to know if they are actually fixing it.

This is exactly what is going on with my phone playback.