1 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:09,360 We find ourselves in the midst of a revolution, an audio revolution. Well, 2 00:00:06,560 --> 00:00:15,759 more of a controversy really. So, in light then of the rumors about Apple's 3 00:00:12,440 --> 00:00:19,520 abandonment of the de facto standard 3 4 00:00:15,759 --> 00:00:21,720 and 1/2 mm audio jack in favor of their 5 00:00:19,520 --> 00:00:28,240 proprietary reversible USB implementation. Here is my review of the 6 00:00:24,560 --> 00:00:31,599 Odyssey Sign, one of the first Lightning 7 00:00:28,240 --> 00:00:34,399 headphones on the market. And woven into 8 00:00:31,599 --> 00:00:39,280 my thoughts on this product are going to be my thoughts on the shift towards 9 00:00:36,559 --> 00:00:44,879 lightning and I guess USB type-C for that matter as an audio jack. Because in 10 00:00:42,399 --> 00:00:52,330 some ways, the advantages and drawbacks of this product will be a look into the 11 00:00:47,280 --> 00:00:59,359 future of mobile audio in general. 12 00:00:59,359 --> 00:01:06,080 Tunnel Bear is the simple VPN app that makes it easy to browse privately and 13 00:01:03,920 --> 00:01:09,080 enjoy a more open internet. To try Tunnel Bear for free, check out the link 14 00:01:07,840 --> 00:01:12,880 in the video description. All right, so if you've 15 00:01:10,880 --> 00:01:17,520 seen a pair of headphones before, you've seen something that's functionally, you 16 00:01:15,040 --> 00:01:22,000 know, pretty much like this, but probably with less BMW Design Works 17 00:01:20,000 --> 00:01:27,040 influence. Those guys really get around, hey, not that I'm criticizing BMW 18 00:01:24,400 --> 00:01:32,960 group's offshoot industrial design and consultancy houses efforts here. The 19 00:01:29,360 --> 00:01:36,560 signs are a rare audio file headset that 20 00:01:32,960 --> 00:01:38,479 just oozes style. Starting from the top, 21 00:01:36,560 --> 00:01:43,200 the shiny stitched natural leather headband contrasts wonderfully with the 22 00:01:40,720 --> 00:01:47,680 matte aluminum end caps that house the smooth stepless frictional size 23 00:01:45,439 --> 00:01:52,000 adjustment mechanism. I wish it had a bit more padding, but since the strong 24 00:01:49,759 --> 00:01:56,240 clamping pressure of the ear cups is most of what keeps it on your head, I 25 00:01:53,920 --> 00:02:00,960 won't take off any marks here. On that subject though, the same mix of leather 26 00:01:58,640 --> 00:02:06,159 and aluminum is present in the ear cups and makes the signs a little heavier 27 00:02:03,439 --> 00:02:10,160 than your typical out andabout one-ear headphone like the Sennheiser Momentum 28 00:02:07,920 --> 00:02:15,200 Onear. But thanks to the way the load is distributed, I never felt like they were 29 00:02:12,400 --> 00:02:19,520 at risk of falling off. With that said, the clamping force out of the box is 30 00:02:17,599 --> 00:02:23,800 stronger than I'd like, causing my ears to get sore after about an hour of 31 00:02:21,520 --> 00:02:29,040 listening, even with my earrings removed. Okay, then the next big 32 00:02:26,160 --> 00:02:34,360 question is, is it worth it then for these shockingly compact planer magnetic 33 00:02:31,920 --> 00:02:39,120 cans? This is a technology that sacrifices some weight, design 34 00:02:37,200 --> 00:02:44,959 complexity, and sometimes treble performance to deliver a sound with 35 00:02:41,519 --> 00:02:47,360 minimal distortion and rich, smooth, 36 00:02:44,959 --> 00:02:52,959 accurate bass. And that only a few short years ago was basically only found in 37 00:02:50,120 --> 00:02:58,560 expensive, difficult to power products or from obscure brands like, well, 38 00:02:56,319 --> 00:03:02,400 Odyssey. Though I guess the way that they've stormed into the mainstream is a 39 00:03:00,640 --> 00:03:06,879 testament to what they've done with a technology that was introduced to North 40 00:03:04,000 --> 00:03:13,440 America by Yamaha back in the 70s then basically faded into obscurity. The 41 00:03:09,680 --> 00:03:15,920 short answer then is maybe. After some 42 00:03:13,440 --> 00:03:21,000 break-in the ear pressure was much more tolerable for me, although I still don't 43 00:03:18,159 --> 00:03:27,040 prefer onar headphones. And the signs sound great. They don't isolate ambient 44 00:03:24,480 --> 00:03:32,080 noise particularly well, but they image astonishingly well and sound very 45 00:03:29,280 --> 00:03:38,080 natural for a closedback design. It's safe to say these are the best on ears 46 00:03:34,640 --> 00:03:40,560 I've ever heard. And in my opinion, this 47 00:03:38,080 --> 00:03:46,400 is, how do I describe it? It's beats generation sound done right. Listening 48 00:03:43,840 --> 00:03:50,640 to my usual mix of trashy popular songs on Apple Music, the impressions I came 49 00:03:48,560 --> 00:03:55,120 away with are that the highs are detailed enough without being fatiguing 50 00:03:52,720 --> 00:03:59,400 to listen to. A common complaint for me personally with audio file grade 51 00:03:56,720 --> 00:04:04,480 headphones, and bass performance is fantastic as long as you don't mind the 52 00:04:02,159 --> 00:04:09,920 somewhat heavy-handed approach. It's tight, dynamic, and just a blast to 53 00:04:07,680 --> 00:04:14,000 listen to, but without doing anything to obscure the crystal clear mids that let 54 00:04:11,840 --> 00:04:21,600 vocalists, guitar solos, and the like really pop. But why do they sound good? 55 00:04:18,320 --> 00:04:24,400 Is it the planer magnetic drivers, or is 56 00:04:21,600 --> 00:04:30,080 it the fancy lightning connector at the other end? Let's talk about the cipher 57 00:04:27,840 --> 00:04:34,000 cable because on some of the more mainstream sites and blogs that I've 58 00:04:32,080 --> 00:04:41,360 read, there seems to be some confusion about it. For starters, while it's true 59 00:04:37,199 --> 00:04:44,240 that you cannot play back 24-bit 96 kHz 60 00:04:41,360 --> 00:04:48,479 HD audio files, which Apple is allegedly planning to make available shortly on 61 00:04:45,880 --> 00:04:54,160 iTunes, out of the headphone jack on your iPhone today, the mini stereo 62 00:04:51,280 --> 00:04:59,280 connector itself has nothing to do with that limitation. It actually has to do 63 00:04:56,800 --> 00:05:04,960 with the audio processing electronics, the DAC or digital to analog converter, 64 00:05:02,000 --> 00:05:11,360 the DSP or digital sound processor, and to a lesser degree, the amplifier that 65 00:05:07,680 --> 00:05:13,600 are inside the iPhone. That is what's 66 00:05:11,360 --> 00:05:17,199 not able to process files encoded in this manner. Something that isn't 67 00:05:15,440 --> 00:05:22,160 actually the case even with other competing smartphones. So, sorry, 68 00:05:20,160 --> 00:05:27,440 there's no such thing as digital headphones, and the conversion to an 69 00:05:24,560 --> 00:05:32,000 analog signal is still taking place. It's just doing so at a later stage in 70 00:05:29,840 --> 00:05:36,560 the chain with more advanced hardware than Apple pre-installed in their phone. 71 00:05:34,560 --> 00:05:42,000 So, the bump right here that contains the microphone and the inline controls 72 00:05:39,600 --> 00:05:46,880 is what's so special about the cable because it has all of that hardware. So, 73 00:05:44,560 --> 00:05:51,840 then the advantages to this approach are as follows. 74 00:05:48,639 --> 00:05:53,919 One, removing the jack saves some space 75 00:05:51,840 --> 00:06:00,000 inside the chassis of the phone. This image from iFixit shows you about how 76 00:05:56,160 --> 00:06:02,240 much. Two, isolating audio gear from 77 00:06:00,000 --> 00:06:07,919 processors and wireless antennas is widely regarded as a good thing. Three, 78 00:06:05,680 --> 00:06:12,080 functionality like volume control, track skipping, etc. can work more 79 00:06:09,840 --> 00:06:16,960 consistently or even be enhanced in the future. Leading to number four, the 80 00:06:14,160 --> 00:06:20,400 ability to update the firmware or store settings within your headphones 81 00:06:18,560 --> 00:06:24,080 themselves. Something that we're already seeing with the Cipher, including the 82 00:06:22,080 --> 00:06:30,240 ability to set EQ settings with their app. Five, being able to power your 83 00:06:27,199 --> 00:06:32,960 headphones off the phone could mean RGB 84 00:06:30,240 --> 00:06:38,080 lighting, active noise cancellation, or other features without the need for 85 00:06:35,039 --> 00:06:41,360 batteries. And six, back to where we 86 00:06:38,080 --> 00:06:44,000 started, the ability to bypass Apple's 87 00:06:41,360 --> 00:06:49,160 decidedly mediocre audio implementation in favor of something that's hopefully 88 00:06:46,199 --> 00:06:54,319 better. But all of this comes with some disadvantages, too. Number one, 89 00:06:52,240 --> 00:06:58,639 headphones with this functionality will be more complex to design and 90 00:06:56,319 --> 00:07:03,680 manufacture, which contributes directly to the price you can expect to find on 91 00:07:00,720 --> 00:07:07,759 the sticker. Two, the lightning cable combined with the circuitry for audio 92 00:07:05,440 --> 00:07:12,880 processing will make the cable and/or the headphone itself bulkier and 93 00:07:10,360 --> 00:07:17,440 heavier. Three, and this is such a killer for me, you will require an 94 00:07:15,599 --> 00:07:23,080 adapter. Apple is rumored to be providing one in the box if you just 95 00:07:19,599 --> 00:07:25,840 want to use your onboard audio. And 96 00:07:23,080 --> 00:07:30,800 four, you will require a separate, likely more expensive adapter if you 97 00:07:28,160 --> 00:07:36,319 want to charge your iPhone and use your lightning headphones at the same time. A 98 00:07:34,080 --> 00:07:40,240 common occurrence for mobile gamers. I think this commenter on 9to5 Mac 99 00:07:38,639 --> 00:07:45,759 probably put it better than I ever could. Because what this really boils 100 00:07:42,720 --> 00:07:48,000 down to for me, while I understand the 101 00:07:45,759 --> 00:07:53,360 desire to eliminate a potential opening for water, dirt, and pocket lint, unless 102 00:07:51,280 --> 00:07:57,520 Apple and other manufacturers for this matter, because Type-C audio is 103 00:07:55,680 --> 00:08:03,000 functionally similar, though it's a bit more of a quagmire in terms of the spec, 104 00:08:00,240 --> 00:08:08,400 unless Apple uses this opportunity to introduce industry-leading water 105 00:08:05,520 --> 00:08:11,440 resistance to their products or anything else that people are actually asking 106 00:08:10,400 --> 00:08:18,639 them for, They'll have sacrificed functionality 107 00:08:13,919 --> 00:08:21,440 for perceived elegance yet again. Just 108 00:08:18,639 --> 00:08:28,160 like with the 2013 Mac Pro and the 2015 MacBook whose dimminitive size and few 109 00:08:25,120 --> 00:08:30,720 ugly ports look beautiful until you have 110 00:08:28,160 --> 00:08:34,719 to attach an octopus of adapters just to plug in the you need to get anything 111 00:08:33,200 --> 00:08:38,560 done. Back to the conclusion for the sign 112 00:08:36,320 --> 00:08:43,760 headphones, though. With the Cipher Lightning cable and some EQ fine-tuning, 113 00:08:40,880 --> 00:08:48,160 I'm confident anyone would love their sound. And quite frankly, they sound 114 00:08:45,600 --> 00:08:52,959 pretty damn good even without it. Even better with a higher quality source file 115 00:08:50,560 --> 00:08:56,720 and better upstream gear. This is a very solid product as long as your ears 116 00:08:54,959 --> 00:09:00,760 tolerate on your headphones a little better than mine do. Speaking of solid 117 00:08:59,279 --> 00:09:06,640 products, i ifixit.com is not a product, it's a 118 00:09:03,959 --> 00:09:11,360 website, but they sell products. So, to go along with their 19,000 step-by-step 119 00:09:09,839 --> 00:09:16,480 repair guides, they have a huge inventory of replacement parts as well 120 00:09:14,080 --> 00:09:20,640 as tools with lifetime warranties on them so that you can repair your stuff 121 00:09:18,800 --> 00:09:24,880 instead of junking it and replacing it or paying someone, often as much as it 122 00:09:23,040 --> 00:09:29,200 would have cost to get all the parts and tools that you needed in order to do it 123 00:09:27,360 --> 00:09:33,839 for you. The big one that we're featuring today is the ProTek Toolkit, 124 00:09:31,519 --> 00:09:38,959 which includes the new 64-bit driver kit, which has 10 more bits than the 125 00:09:35,839 --> 00:09:41,440 former 54-bit driver kit, as well as 126 00:09:38,959 --> 00:09:46,240 their magnetic casing, their newly designed swivel top precision driver, 127 00:09:43,600 --> 00:09:51,040 their precision ESD safe tweezers, their wider variety of plastic opening tools 128 00:09:48,560 --> 00:09:54,880 and picks, their suction cup for display removal, their ESD safety strap to make 129 00:09:53,279 --> 00:09:58,560 sure you don't destroy your stuff with static shock while you're working on it, 130 00:09:56,320 --> 00:10:02,560 and the best part of it is that it's only 131 00:09:59,959 --> 00:10:08,680 $69.95. And what's even better than that is you guys can save five bucks on any 132 00:10:04,640 --> 00:10:10,480 purchase of $10 or more over at 133 00:10:08,680 --> 00:10:14,800 ifixit.com/inus. We'll have that linked in the video description. So, thanks for watching, 134 00:10:13,440 --> 00:10:18,079 guys. If this video sucked, you know what to do. But if it was awesome, get 135 00:10:16,640 --> 00:10:22,880 subscribed, hit that like button, or check out the link to where to buy the stuff we featured at Amazon in the video 136 00:10:21,200 --> 00:10:26,720 description. Also linked in the description is our merch store, which has cool shirts like this one, and our 137 00:10:25,600 --> 00:10:30,560 community forum, which you should totally join. Now that you're done doing all that stuff, you're probably 138 00:10:29,200 --> 00:10:37,040 wondering what to watch next. So, click that little button in the top right corner to check out our latest video 139 00:10:33,200 --> 00:10:37,040 over on Channel Super Fun.