Introduction

Apple’s iPhone has long been known for offering surprisingly good audio quality from its analog outputs. Older iPhones with a proper headphone jack in particular were perfectly respectable music sources. A simple 3.5mm-to-RCA cable was all it took to hook up an iDevice to a stereo system.

But you can also bypass the iPhone’s internal analog output completely and send digital audio to an external DAC.

That’s what this article is about.

I originally wrote this guide back in 2015, when getting digital audio out of an iPhone involved Camera Connection Kits, USB hubs and quite a bit more cable clutter than it does today. I’ve deliberately kept those older instructions because plenty of Lightning devices are still in use – and because they show how much simpler this has become.

Why Use an External DAC?

My plan was to use my favorite apps including Qobuz, TIDAL and Apple Music with the hope of getting sound quality good enough for my main rig. Of course, being an audiophile, I kept wondering whether I could outperform Apple’s built-in DAC.

I was also getting tired of paying boatloads of cash for specialist audiophile software such as Roon or Audirvana just to get a good digital output signal.

Don’t get me wrong – I really like Roon and have used Audirvana for many years. But if you’re mostly streaming these days, there’s something appealing about simply opening the native Qobuz or Apple Music app and plugging the phone straight into your DAC.

More than 95% of my CD collection is available in the cloud anyway, so why build a complicated music server every time I just want to play an album?

An external DAC also gives you practical advantages. You can use a better headphone amplifier, connect the phone to a full-size stereo system and, with a suitable DAC, play high-resolution material that goes beyond what Apple’s simple analog adapters support.

I wouldn’t automatically assume that every external DAC will produce a dramatic sonic improvement, however. My view on DAC differences has become considerably more cautious over the years. I discuss that in more detail in Cheap DAC vs Expensive DAC.

2026 Update: USB-C Makes This Much Easier

If you have an iPhone 15 or newer with USB-C, most of the adapter juggling described later in this article no longer applies.

A compatible class-compliant USB DAC can normally be connected directly to the USB-C port.

If you’re using a USB-C iPhone:

• Use a USB-C to USB-B cable (advertisement link) if your desktop DAC has the traditional square USB-B input.
• Use a USB-C to USB-C cable with compatible portable DACs and dongles.
• Most small portable DACs can draw the power they need from the iPhone.
• A larger or more power-hungry USB device may still need its own power supply or a powered hub.

Once connected, iOS normally recognizes the external audio device automatically and routes audio through it.

That’s it.

No Camera Connection Kit. No Lightning adapter. No separate USB hub unless your DAC actually needs one.

USB-C is one of those rare technology changes that genuinely made the audiophile setup simpler.

Just make sure your DAC is compatible with standard USB Audio Class operation. Most modern USB DACs are.

Apple Music Lossless and Hi-Res Lossless

Another major change since the original version of this article is Apple Music Lossless.

Apple Music now offers two lossless quality levels:

Lossless: up to 24-bit / 48 kHz
Hi-Res Lossless: up to 24-bit / 192 kHz

To enable it on an iPhone, go to:

Settings → Apps → Music → Audio Quality → Lossless Audio

If you want to play Apple Music at sample rates above 48 kHz, Apple specifies that you need an external DAC capable of handling the higher sample rate.

That makes a USB DAC much more useful with an iPhone than it was when I first wrote this guide.

One small warning: don’t assume that every music app handles output and sample-rate switching in exactly the same way. The iPhone can send high-resolution USB audio, but the actual behavior still depends on the application and DAC you’re using.

What About Apple’s 3.5mm Dongle?

You don’t necessarily need a full-size external DAC just because your iPhone no longer has a headphone jack.

Apple’s Lightning-to-3.5mm Headphone Jack Adapter contains its own tiny DAC and supports lossless audio up to 24-bit / 48 kHz.

The USB-C-to-3.5mm adapter serves the same basic purpose for newer USB-C devices.

For ordinary headphones or a simple analog connection to an amplifier, I’d try the Apple adapter before spending serious money.

A more elaborate DAC makes sense when you need more output power, different connections, a better headphone amplifier or high-resolution playback beyond 48 kHz.

Don’t buy another box just because it’s bigger.

What You Need for Older Lightning and 30-Pin Devices

The rest of this guide is mainly for older iPhones and iPads.

Self-Powered USB DAC With Optional USB Hub

A self-powered USB DAC is the ideal starting point.

Self-powered means that the DAC has its own power supply and doesn’t need to draw significant power from the iPhone or iPad.

This is important because older iOS devices limit the amount of power available to USB accessories. If the DAC requires more power than the iPhone is willing to provide, you’ll get an accessory or power warning.

If your DAC relies on USB power, a powered USB hub (advertisement link) can usually solve the problem.

I personally used a cheap powered USB hub from SIGMA, which unfortunately is no longer available. There is nothing particularly audiophile about the hub – it simply provides the power that the phone doesn’t.

Of course, this means managing yet another little device and a few more cables, but it’s still a minor project compared with building a complete music server.

If your DAC has its own power supply, such as the RME ADI-2 Pro FS R I later used, try connecting it directly first. You may not need a hub at all.

iPhone With 30-Pin Connector

You are going to need Apple’s old 30-pin Camera Connection Kit (CCK) (advertisement link), part number MC531ZM/A, and take the USB output from there to your DAC.

Yes, this is ancient technology now.

But if you still have an old iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch around, the basic setup remains useful.

iPhone With Apple Lightning Connector

Lightning-generation devices require a Lightning-to-USB Camera Adapter.

The simple older adapter works fine with many self-powered DACs. If your USB device needs additional power, Apple’s Lightning-to-USB 3 Camera Adapter (advertisement link) is more convenient because it also provides a Lightning power connection.

I also experimented with cheaper third-party adapters over the years and some worked perfectly well for USB audio. Compatibility can vary after iOS updates, though, so Apple’s own adapter is still the safest choice if you’re troubleshooting an older Lightning setup.

USB Cable

Just about any properly made standard USB cable will do the job.

Nothing fancy is needed here.

Use what you already have unless you need a different connector or cable length.

How To Set It Up

For an older Lightning or 30-pin setup, first connect Apple’s adapter to your iDevice and plug the USB cable into the adapter’s USB port.

If your DAC is self-powered, connect the other end directly to the DAC.

If the DAC requires more USB power than the iPhone can provide, connect the adapter to a powered USB hub and then connect the DAC to one of the hub’s USB ports.

You should now be able to play music from the iPhone or iPad through the external DAC.

Here I’m demonstrating how you can use an iOS device with a USB DAC. I later used my RME ADI-2 this way as well, which made a surprisingly simple alternative to a dedicated music streamer for direct app playback. The video at the top of this article shows the basic idea.

My Personal Setup in the Past (2017)

I used my company’s iPhone 4S hooked up to a JDS Labs ODAC (advertisement link) for experimenting purposes.

As you can see, Apple’s CCK output went straight into my USB hub’s input port. My external DAC did not have its own power source, so the wiring was a bit messy.

Figure 1: iPhone 4S using CCK hooked up to my external DAC (not shown in picture)

My Personal Setup in 2021/2022

Later I used my trusty 2018 iPad as a streaming source.

With the Lightning-to-USB adapter in place, I simply connected a short USB cable to the DAC’s USB input.

Done.

All audio was automatically routed through the external DAC.

I was surprised by how capable such a simple setup had become. With compatible playback software, I could send high-resolution material including 24/192 tracks to the external DAC and also experimented with DSD playback.

It was a long way from the cable mess of my original iPhone 4S experiment.

Listening Results

I can hear a small audible improvement with lossless tracks, maybe a bit more air around the instruments.

It’s difficult to be categorical about this because volume levels need to be matched precisely. At the end of the day, audio is subjective, and while your external DAC may be technically superior to the little converter inside an Apple adapter or an older iPhone, you may or may not hear a meaningful difference in your system.

That’s why I’d simply try it.

If you already own a DAC with USB input, getting digital audio from an iPhone costs very little.

One thing I worried much more about when I first started experimenting with USB audio was jitter and computer noise.

I wouldn’t make nearly as much of that today.

Modern asynchronous USB DACs handle timing and buffering far better than many early USB implementations. If your DAC works correctly, there is no reason to automatically add USB filters, reclockers or exotic cables between the phone and DAC.

Solve a real problem if you have one. Don’t create a problem because an audiophile forum tells you that USB is broken.

What About Bluetooth?

Bluetooth is obviously much easier than connecting cables, and for casual listening I use wireless audio without worrying about it.

But Bluetooth itself is not lossless on the iPhone.

If your goal is to send Apple Music Lossless or Hi-Res Lossless to an external DAC without Bluetooth compression in between, use a wired USB connection.

Is This Still Worth Doing in 2026?

Definitely – although for slightly different reasons than when I wrote the original article.

Back then, getting digital audio out of an iPhone felt like a clever way to build a tiny audiophile music server.

Today, modern streamers such as WiiM and my Eversolo DMP-A8 make dedicated network playback much easier. If I’m building a permanent home system, I personally prefer a proper streamer that sits in the rack and doesn’t depend on my phone being connected by cable.

But the iPhone remains an excellent portable digital source.

For travelling, headphone listening, testing a DAC or simply playing Apple Music directly into a system, USB-C makes the whole setup almost ridiculously easy.

And with an older Lightning iPhone or iPad, the Camera Connection Kit still gets the job done.

I wouldn’t buy an expensive streamer just because somebody tells me that an iPhone cannot be a serious digital source.

It can.

Whether a dedicated streamer is more convenient is a completely different question.

Looking Back in 2026

When I first wrote this guide in 2015, getting digital audio out of an iPhone required considerably more adapter juggling than it does today.

That’s why I’ve deliberately kept the old Camera Connection Kit, iPhone 4S and powered-hub sections instead of deleting them and pretending this article was written yesterday.

They were part of how I actually used digital audio at the time.

USB-C has now made the basic job almost boring: connect a compatible DAC and start playing music.

My opinion about the sound-quality side has changed more than the connection itself. I used to assume that bypassing the internal DAC and adding a serious external converter must produce better sound. After many more years of comparing DACs, I’m much less certain that the difference will always be important.

What hasn’t changed is the usefulness of the idea.

An iPhone or iPad can be a perfectly capable digital transport. Use an external DAC when it gives you something you actually need – better connectivity, more headphone power or high-resolution playback – not simply because the DAC is external.

For current DAC recommendations, see my DAC Buyer’s Guide.

Last updated: August 2026. This article was originally published in 2015. I’ve deliberately retained the older Camera Connection Kit and Lightning setups while updating the guide for USB-C iPhones, Apple Music Lossless and my current view of external DACs.

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