WEBVTT 00:00:00.240 --> 00:00:09.360 We find ourselves in the midst of a revolution, an audio revolution. Well, 00:00:06.560 --> 00:00:15.759 more of a controversy really. So, in light then of the rumors about Apple's 00:00:12.440 --> 00:00:19.520 abandonment of the de facto standard 3 00:00:15.759 --> 00:00:21.720 and 1/2 mm audio jack in favor of their 00:00:19.520 --> 00:00:28.240 proprietary reversible USB implementation. Here is my review of the 00:00:24.560 --> 00:00:31.599 Odyssey Sign, one of the first Lightning 00:00:28.240 --> 00:00:34.399 headphones on the market. And woven into 00:00:31.599 --> 00:00:39.280 my thoughts on this product are going to be my thoughts on the shift towards 00:00:36.559 --> 00:00:44.879 lightning and I guess USB type-C for that matter as an audio jack. Because in 00:00:42.399 --> 00:00:52.330 some ways, the advantages and drawbacks of this product will be a look into the 00:00:47.280 --> 00:00:59.359 future of mobile audio in general. 00:00:59.359 --> 00:01:06.080 Tunnel Bear is the simple VPN app that makes it easy to browse privately and 00:01:03.920 --> 00:01:09.080 enjoy a more open internet. To try Tunnel Bear for free, check out the link 00:01:07.840 --> 00:01:12.880 in the video description. All right, so if you've 00:01:10.880 --> 00:01:17.520 seen a pair of headphones before, you've seen something that's functionally, you 00:01:15.040 --> 00:01:22.000 know, pretty much like this, but probably with less BMW Design Works 00:01:20.000 --> 00:01:27.040 influence. Those guys really get around, hey, not that I'm criticizing BMW 00:01:24.400 --> 00:01:32.960 group's offshoot industrial design and consultancy houses efforts here. The 00:01:29.360 --> 00:01:36.560 signs are a rare audio file headset that 00:01:32.960 --> 00:01:38.479 just oozes style. Starting from the top, 00:01:36.560 --> 00:01:43.200 the shiny stitched natural leather headband contrasts wonderfully with the 00:01:40.720 --> 00:01:47.680 matte aluminum end caps that house the smooth stepless frictional size 00:01:45.439 --> 00:01:52.000 adjustment mechanism. I wish it had a bit more padding, but since the strong 00:01:49.759 --> 00:01:56.240 clamping pressure of the ear cups is most of what keeps it on your head, I 00:01:53.920 --> 00:02:00.960 won't take off any marks here. On that subject though, the same mix of leather 00:01:58.640 --> 00:02:06.159 and aluminum is present in the ear cups and makes the signs a little heavier 00:02:03.439 --> 00:02:10.160 than your typical out andabout one-ear headphone like the Sennheiser Momentum 00:02:07.920 --> 00:02:15.200 Onear. But thanks to the way the load is distributed, I never felt like they were 00:02:12.400 --> 00:02:19.520 at risk of falling off. With that said, the clamping force out of the box is 00:02:17.599 --> 00:02:23.800 stronger than I'd like, causing my ears to get sore after about an hour of 00:02:21.520 --> 00:02:29.040 listening, even with my earrings removed. Okay, then the next big 00:02:26.160 --> 00:02:34.360 question is, is it worth it then for these shockingly compact planer magnetic 00:02:31.920 --> 00:02:39.120 cans? This is a technology that sacrifices some weight, design 00:02:37.200 --> 00:02:44.959 complexity, and sometimes treble performance to deliver a sound with 00:02:41.519 --> 00:02:47.360 minimal distortion and rich, smooth, 00:02:44.959 --> 00:02:52.959 accurate bass. And that only a few short years ago was basically only found in 00:02:50.120 --> 00:02:58.560 expensive, difficult to power products or from obscure brands like, well, 00:02:56.319 --> 00:03:02.400 Odyssey. Though I guess the way that they've stormed into the mainstream is a 00:03:00.640 --> 00:03:06.879 testament to what they've done with a technology that was introduced to North 00:03:04.000 --> 00:03:13.440 America by Yamaha back in the 70s then basically faded into obscurity. The 00:03:09.680 --> 00:03:15.920 short answer then is maybe. After some 00:03:13.440 --> 00:03:21.000 break-in the ear pressure was much more tolerable for me, although I still don't 00:03:18.159 --> 00:03:27.040 prefer onar headphones. And the signs sound great. They don't isolate ambient 00:03:24.480 --> 00:03:32.080 noise particularly well, but they image astonishingly well and sound very 00:03:29.280 --> 00:03:38.080 natural for a closedback design. It's safe to say these are the best on ears 00:03:34.640 --> 00:03:40.560 I've ever heard. And in my opinion, this 00:03:38.080 --> 00:03:46.400 is, how do I describe it? It's beats generation sound done right. Listening 00:03:43.840 --> 00:03:50.640 to my usual mix of trashy popular songs on Apple Music, the impressions I came 00:03:48.560 --> 00:03:55.120 away with are that the highs are detailed enough without being fatiguing 00:03:52.720 --> 00:03:59.400 to listen to. A common complaint for me personally with audio file grade 00:03:56.720 --> 00:04:04.480 headphones, and bass performance is fantastic as long as you don't mind the 00:04:02.159 --> 00:04:09.920 somewhat heavy-handed approach. It's tight, dynamic, and just a blast to 00:04:07.680 --> 00:04:14.000 listen to, but without doing anything to obscure the crystal clear mids that let 00:04:11.840 --> 00:04:21.600 vocalists, guitar solos, and the like really pop. But why do they sound good? 00:04:18.320 --> 00:04:24.400 Is it the planer magnetic drivers, or is 00:04:21.600 --> 00:04:30.080 it the fancy lightning connector at the other end? Let's talk about the cipher 00:04:27.840 --> 00:04:34.000 cable because on some of the more mainstream sites and blogs that I've 00:04:32.080 --> 00:04:41.360 read, there seems to be some confusion about it. For starters, while it's true 00:04:37.199 --> 00:04:44.240 that you cannot play back 24-bit 96 kHz 00:04:41.360 --> 00:04:48.479 HD audio files, which Apple is allegedly planning to make available shortly on 00:04:45.880 --> 00:04:54.160 iTunes, out of the headphone jack on your iPhone today, the mini stereo 00:04:51.280 --> 00:04:59.280 connector itself has nothing to do with that limitation. It actually has to do 00:04:56.800 --> 00:05:04.960 with the audio processing electronics, the DAC or digital to analog converter, 00:05:02.000 --> 00:05:11.360 the DSP or digital sound processor, and to a lesser degree, the amplifier that 00:05:07.680 --> 00:05:13.600 are inside the iPhone. That is what's 00:05:11.360 --> 00:05:17.199 not able to process files encoded in this manner. Something that isn't 00:05:15.440 --> 00:05:22.160 actually the case even with other competing smartphones. So, sorry, 00:05:20.160 --> 00:05:27.440 there's no such thing as digital headphones, and the conversion to an 00:05:24.560 --> 00:05:32.000 analog signal is still taking place. It's just doing so at a later stage in 00:05:29.840 --> 00:05:36.560 the chain with more advanced hardware than Apple pre-installed in their phone. 00:05:34.560 --> 00:05:42.000 So, the bump right here that contains the microphone and the inline controls 00:05:39.600 --> 00:05:46.880 is what's so special about the cable because it has all of that hardware. So, 00:05:44.560 --> 00:05:51.840 then the advantages to this approach are as follows. 00:05:48.639 --> 00:05:53.919 One, removing the jack saves some space 00:05:51.840 --> 00:06:00.000 inside the chassis of the phone. This image from iFixit shows you about how 00:05:56.160 --> 00:06:02.240 much. Two, isolating audio gear from 00:06:00.000 --> 00:06:07.919 processors and wireless antennas is widely regarded as a good thing. Three, 00:06:05.680 --> 00:06:12.080 functionality like volume control, track skipping, etc. can work more 00:06:09.840 --> 00:06:16.960 consistently or even be enhanced in the future. Leading to number four, the 00:06:14.160 --> 00:06:20.400 ability to update the firmware or store settings within your headphones 00:06:18.560 --> 00:06:24.080 themselves. Something that we're already seeing with the Cipher, including the 00:06:22.080 --> 00:06:30.240 ability to set EQ settings with their app. Five, being able to power your 00:06:27.199 --> 00:06:32.960 headphones off the phone could mean RGB 00:06:30.240 --> 00:06:38.080 lighting, active noise cancellation, or other features without the need for 00:06:35.039 --> 00:06:41.360 batteries. And six, back to where we 00:06:38.080 --> 00:06:44.000 started, the ability to bypass Apple's 00:06:41.360 --> 00:06:49.160 decidedly mediocre audio implementation in favor of something that's hopefully 00:06:46.199 --> 00:06:54.319 better. But all of this comes with some disadvantages, too. Number one, 00:06:52.240 --> 00:06:58.639 headphones with this functionality will be more complex to design and 00:06:56.319 --> 00:07:03.680 manufacture, which contributes directly to the price you can expect to find on 00:07:00.720 --> 00:07:07.759 the sticker. Two, the lightning cable combined with the circuitry for audio 00:07:05.440 --> 00:07:12.880 processing will make the cable and/or the headphone itself bulkier and 00:07:10.360 --> 00:07:17.440 heavier. Three, and this is such a killer for me, you will require an 00:07:15.599 --> 00:07:23.080 adapter. Apple is rumored to be providing one in the box if you just 00:07:19.599 --> 00:07:25.840 want to use your onboard audio. And 00:07:23.080 --> 00:07:30.800 four, you will require a separate, likely more expensive adapter if you 00:07:28.160 --> 00:07:36.319 want to charge your iPhone and use your lightning headphones at the same time. A 00:07:34.080 --> 00:07:40.240 common occurrence for mobile gamers. I think this commenter on 9to5 Mac 00:07:38.639 --> 00:07:45.759 probably put it better than I ever could. Because what this really boils 00:07:42.720 --> 00:07:48.000 down to for me, while I understand the 00:07:45.759 --> 00:07:53.360 desire to eliminate a potential opening for water, dirt, and pocket lint, unless 00:07:51.280 --> 00:07:57.520 Apple and other manufacturers for this matter, because Type-C audio is 00:07:55.680 --> 00:08:03.000 functionally similar, though it's a bit more of a quagmire in terms of the spec, 00:08:00.240 --> 00:08:08.400 unless Apple uses this opportunity to introduce industry-leading water 00:08:05.520 --> 00:08:11.440 resistance to their products or anything else that people are actually asking 00:08:10.400 --> 00:08:18.639 them for, They'll have sacrificed functionality 00:08:13.919 --> 00:08:21.440 for perceived elegance yet again. Just 00:08:18.639 --> 00:08:28.160 like with the 2013 Mac Pro and the 2015 MacBook whose dimminitive size and few 00:08:25.120 --> 00:08:30.720 ugly ports look beautiful until you have 00:08:28.160 --> 00:08:34.719 to attach an octopus of adapters just to plug in the you need to get anything 00:08:33.200 --> 00:08:38.560 done. Back to the conclusion for the sign 00:08:36.320 --> 00:08:43.760 headphones, though. With the Cipher Lightning cable and some EQ fine-tuning, 00:08:40.880 --> 00:08:48.160 I'm confident anyone would love their sound. And quite frankly, they sound 00:08:45.600 --> 00:08:52.959 pretty damn good even without it. Even better with a higher quality source file 00:08:50.560 --> 00:08:56.720 and better upstream gear. This is a very solid product as long as your ears 00:08:54.959 --> 00:09:00.760 tolerate on your headphones a little better than mine do. Speaking of solid 00:08:59.279 --> 00:09:06.640 products, i ifixit.com is not a product, it's a 00:09:03.959 --> 00:09:11.360 website, but they sell products. So, to go along with their 19,000 step-by-step 00:09:09.839 --> 00:09:16.480 repair guides, they have a huge inventory of replacement parts as well 00:09:14.080 --> 00:09:20.640 as tools with lifetime warranties on them so that you can repair your stuff 00:09:18.800 --> 00:09:24.880 instead of junking it and replacing it or paying someone, often as much as it 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 00:09:27.360 --> 00:09:33.839 for you. The big one that we're featuring today is the ProTek Toolkit, 00:09:31.519 --> 00:09:38.959 which includes the new 64-bit driver kit, which has 10 more bits than the 00:09:35.839 --> 00:09:41.440 former 54-bit driver kit, as well as 00:09:38.959 --> 00:09:46.240 their magnetic casing, their newly designed swivel top precision driver, 00:09:43.600 --> 00:09:51.040 their precision ESD safe tweezers, their wider variety of plastic opening tools 00:09:48.560 --> 00:09:54.880 and picks, their suction cup for display removal, their ESD safety strap to make 00:09:53.279 --> 00:09:58.560 sure you don't destroy your stuff with static shock while you're working on it, 00:09:56.320 --> 00:10:02.560 and the best part of it is that it's only 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 00:10:04.640 --> 00:10:10.480 purchase of $10 or more over at 00:10:08.680 --> 00:10:14.800 ifixit.com/inus. We'll have that linked in the video description. So, thanks for watching, 00:10:13.440 --> 00:10:18.079 guys. If this video sucked, you know what to do. But if it was awesome, get 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 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 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 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 00:10:33.200 --> 00:10:37.040 over on Channel Super Fun.