AirPods Max lightning to 3.5 mm cable alternatives

[Daguerratype]

I have the official Apple cable and it's... fine. I'm hoping to find something a little thicker and preferably braided for better durability. All the Lightning to 3.5 mm cables I've found on Amazon or elsewhere either make no mention of the AirPods Max or specifically say they don't work. They're designed for plugging iPhones into speakers or cars.

Has anyone found a more durable version that actually works with the AirPods Max?

 

[soulreaver99]

I have the official Apple cable and it's... fine. I'm hoping to find something a little thicker and preferably braided for better durability. All the Lightning to 3.5 mm cables I've found on Amazon or elsewhere either make no mention of the AirPods Max or specifically say they don't work. They're designed for plugging iPhones into speakers or cars.

Has anyone found a more durable version that actually works with the AirPods Max?

Does the lightning to 3.5 adaptor (the ones they used to include with the iPhones when they got rid of the headphone jack) work? You can use that adaptor and then use any 3.5 male to male. I don't have the AirPods Max but that's something I want to know for myself too.

 

[nrvna76]

If there was a way to transmit the microphone too that would be fantastic. I’m guessing that’s not possible though..

 

[artfossil]

Everything I know about the APM cable (from reading at head-fi.org and elsewhere) is summed up here by this post by @Julien:

It is important to know what is required of the cable and why others don't work. The Max's require a cable with an Analog to Digital Converter (ADC). Also it must convert the analog signal to AAC for the AirPods.

Cables that come with the iPhone (or 3ed party) are just the opposite and have a Digital to Analog Converter (DAC).

This built in electronics are actually a large part of the high price. Also any use use of a cable thinking they are bypassing the DAC to pass a hi res signal to the Max's is false. The only technical advantage is lower latency and less chance of dropouts than using BT.

forums.macrumors.com/threads/airpods-max-with-third-party-lightning-3-5mm-cable.2275822/post-29445522

I would add "using where no BT (e.g. on an airplane)" to the list of advantages. The possible issues with thicker cables are also discussed in that thread.

(For me, it's all academic as I don't expect to travel with my APM and don't care about reducing latency.)

 

[JasonHB]

Does the lightning to 3.5 adaptor (the ones they used to include with the iPhones when they got rid of the headphone jack) work? You can use that adaptor and then use any 3.5 male to male. I don't have the AirPods Max but that's something I want to know for myself too.

Nope, does not work. That adaptor works in the wrong direction.

Jason

 

[nrvna76]

So, is there no way to get sound and microphone to work through a cable for meetings?

 

[haralds]

All cables connecting via Lightning must use MFI, which implies the Apple Lightning module incorporating the DAC. The third-party opportunities are limited to the physical packaging and cable. Since the Max are high priced, it is not clear how large that market is. I suspect we will not see a third-party solution.
I did order the AirPod Max but am a little concerned they might have the same short lifecycle the HomePds had.

 

[Daguerratype]

I did order the AirPod Max but am a little concerned they might have the same short lifecycle the HomePds had.

This isn’t based on anything other that how hard it is to get a hold of a pair of AirPods Max, but I’m guessing they proving more popular than the HomePod. Also the HomePod did get a solid few years of support, and it’s not like it stops working, they just not going to make an updated modal.

 

[Daguerratype]

Everything I know about the APM cable (from reading at head-fi.org and elsewhere) is summed up here by this post by @Julien:


forums.macrumors.com/threads/airpods-max-with-third-party-lightning-3-5mm-cable.2275822/post-29445522

I would add "using where no BT (e.g. on an airplane)" to the list of advantages. The possible issues with thicker cables are also discussed in that thread.

(For me, it's all academic as I don't expect to travel with my APM and don't care about reducing latency.)

This is super helpful. Thank you!

 

[radieschen]

Edit: Replaced by the next post. Had some issues with quoting.

 

[radieschen]

Everything I know about the APM cable (from reading at head-fi.org and elsewhere) is summed up here by this post by @Julien:


forums.macrumors.com/threads/airpods-max-with-third-party-lightning-3-5mm-cable.2275822/post-29445522

I would add "using where no BT (e.g. on an airplane)" to the list of advantages. The possible issues with thicker cables are also discussed in that thread.

(For me, it's all academic as I don't expect to travel with my APM and don't care about reducing latency.)

That the cable includes an (probably pretty good) ADC was clear to me. And the price is no wonder either, since it is a longer caple and produced in much lower quantities, compared to the DAC adapters. But I wondered why it does not support USB audio, so that you can connect it to a computer via USB to lightning cable. But this is probably a shortcoming of the H1, which was designed for bluetooth audio with AAC specifically and cannot decode PCM delivered via USB Audio. Definitly a missed opportunity, since the APMs could've been charged simultaniously.

 

[nrvna76]

This isn’t based on anything other that how hard it is to get a hold of a pair of AirPods Max, but I’m guessing they proving more popular than the HomePod. Also the HomePod did get a solid few years of support, and it’s not like it stops working, they just not going to make an updated modal.

I hope this is true, but Apple is the king of hype. One of the ways they do that is ensuring they are not able to fill demand immediately.

 

[wolva]

Sorry to revive this topic but has anybody found an alternative cable other than apple originals?