Possible iOS-13 and Audioquest Dragonfly Red compatibility issue

Now I did some experimentation. My chain was: iPhone lightning jack -> lightning/female USB cable -> Dragonfly

Then after app. 80 seconds the iPhone-accessory-not-supported-message appears.

When I modify/expand the chain to iPhone lightning jack -> lightning/female USB cable -> powered USB hub -> Dragonfly, then nothing changes with the after-80-seconds-interruption.

But what is strange: with this latter chain
1. when the message appears, the Dragonfly’s light remains green,
2. when I then unplug the lightning/female USB cable -> USB hub connection, then still the Dragonfly’s green light remains, but after reconnecting again still no sound comes. Only when I disconnect the iPhone -> lightning/female USB cable connection and reconnect again, i.e. doing that immediately after the iPhone lightning output, then I can continue playing music.

So again in other words: Disconnecting the chain immediately after the iPhone’s lightning output (and reconnecting again) gives me the music back. When disconnecting the chain one stage later, i.e. after the lightning/female USB cable and before the USB hub, then the music doesn’t come back.

I hope that I’ve described this in an understandable way.

Any idea what I can do?

Fkeubler,
There are two different issues here:

1) In my postings, I conjectured that the first release of the new iOS (10.13) apparently did not supply enough power to the Lightening port to run (in series) the Audioquest Jitterbug and DragonFly Red I was using with my Etymotic Research ER-4 SR earphones. In subsequent OS updates, Apple seems to have rectified this issue since it now works for me. You can see the test steps I followed to arrive at my conclusion in my earlier posts. My guess (and it is only a guess) is that initial iterations of Apple’s software were restricting power to accessories in order to prolong the phone battery run-time: always a big-deal for mobile phone manufacturers.

2). "Legacy" devices will appear on iOS with the alert, as you noted: "This accessory is not supported by this iPhone." That’s presumably not due to your iPhone 6S itself (it’s the last version Apple supports with the new OS 10.13.x), but rather to the new OS. I’ve frequently encountered this problem with my phone when it’s plugged into a genuinely ancient Bose portable speaker, but the device continues to function properly once the warning has been displayed. Based on what I understand you to have written, that’s also your situation: a warning appears, but then the phone/DAC continue functioning, correct? If so, simply ignore it.


The fact that the DragonFly logo lights up indicates it’s receiving power through the port. The specific color indicates the DAC’s processing state (MQA, 16/44, etc).


As for the apparent degradation in sound quality, I don’t know of any reason why 10.13.x would have any bearing. As I understand the matter, the DragonFly DACs are built to bypass the (reportedly) inferior internal hardware in the phone: that’s their purpose. It’s possible (but I think it’s very unlikely since Audioquest continues to sell the Black and Red along with the new Cobalt) that there is some sort of processor/software conflict. When I called Audioquest and spoke directly to an IT rep a couple of months ago, he was unaware of any power problems and asserted their devices will perform properly with the new iOS. That didn’t seem correct (given subsequent developments) but maybe a phone call to the company might be revealing.

Having noted all that, it may be the case that your headphones themselves are drawing too much power. If the sound quality is bad now and good before, that seems like a logical conclusion.

Finally, you can test all of that by un-installing iOS 13.x and downgrading to the latest iteration of 10.12. That’s essentially the same as previous versions, but Apple updated security settings. So, it should operate for you as before, you just can’t be hacked as easily (or so Apple states).


Disclaimer: I’m not a software engineer, so take this analysis for what it’s worth (not too much)

First of all: thank you for your significant effort to write this. But...

Based on what I understand you to have written, that’s also your situation: a warning appears, but then the phone/DAC continue functioning, correct? If so, simply ignore it.

...very unfortunately this is a misunderstanding: Immediately when the iPhone’s message appears, then the music stops. Also in

"the little triangle ball thingy. That should present you with a list of audio output targets"

the "AudioQuest Dragonfly" output marked as connected disappears and is substituted by an "iPhone" output marked as connected. And indeed I can get the music now through the iPhone’s speaker. Disconnecting the lightning/female USB cable and connecting again brings me back the "AudioQuest Dragonfly" output marked as connected, but only for app. 80 seconds... :-(

You may want to read my posting as of 10:54pm noting, that expanding the chain with a powered USB hub didn't help.

I think our posts crossed in-transit, but here are my quick thoughts:

1) If I understood your posting correctly (I’m reading this on a portable device so I may have overlooked/misunderstood some detail), you obtain good quality sound when the **powered** USB hub is in the chain: is that correct?

2) If so, that’s precisely what I encountered when my phone’s Lightening port was hooked into an Apple branded connector-->Jitterbug-->DragonFly-->Etymotic and when this device chain was run from iPhone (11) battery power. However, when the phone was plugged into a wall socket, all this worked properly. That was my first clue that this was a power issue.

3) If it’s the case that the DragonFly powered up properly but no sound without a powered USB hub, to me that suggests your earphones are drawing too much power for the port to supply.

4) If I’m wrong and your earphones work after an initial run-through with the powered hub and they continue to work *after* the powered USB hub has been removed and the rest of the set-up is plugged into the Lightening port, it may be the case that iOS is somehow re-setting. If that’s what’s happening, it’s a possibly a new security feature: iOS 10.13.x has a built-in setting used to defeat snooping hardware (e.g., Cellebrite’s famed/infamous hacking device). With the phone powered on but if the user doesn’t permit access, the Cellebrite gizmo can mirror the contents when plugged into the Lightening port. Apple blocks that attack once the phone has not been accessed for some (arbitrarily chosen) time: about an hour, last I read, but that may have been revised.
KAC

If I understood your posting correctly, you obtain good quality sound when the **powered** USB hub is in the chain: is that correct? 

The sound quality is independent (and good) from whether I have the powered USB hub in the chain or not. But it lasts only for 80 seconds before it switches itself down, respectively is switched down by my IOS 13.3. BTW: I tried to downgrade to IOS 12, but Apple does no longer allow that.

...it may be the case that iOS is somehow re-setting. If that’s what’s happening, it’s a possibly a new security feature: iOS 13.x has a built-in setting used to defeat snooping hardware...

Something like this may be happening after 80 seconds, but I have no clue.

As a matter of last resort I have ordered the original (expensive) Apple camera adaptor, i.e. a lightning to USB plus lightning adaptor. Will get it on Saturday and will report.

After I have experienced within these repeated 80 seconds how audibly (and I'm sure not an audiophile guy!) the sound quality to my Sennheiser IE800 ist improved by a good DAC like the Dragonfly, I'm really somewhat desperate to enjoy this for more than 80 seconds...

Am I right to assume, that a reasonably priced Bluetooth adapter does not match the sound quality of a physically connected DAC? Otherwise I might try to circumvent the experienced problems by using a BT connector. If so, are there any recommendations?