Lightning Cable: Distortion or Volume Issues

We’ve seen some Lightning connector problems with Apple’s recent iOS updates. Please check on the following:

- Clean the Lightning port on your iDevice using a clean soft rag or pipe cleaner and a little electronics contact cleaner or rubbing alcohol. This will help remove any debris or oxidization that can create an intermittent connection.

- Be sure you have the latest firmware version installed by tapping the gear in the upper right of the Audeze app when the cable is plugged in. Tap "Update Firmware" if it's not greyed out and the firmware will update automatically.

- When you first plug in the Lightning cable, does your iOS device give you any warning such as "Cannot recognize device?’ If so, try turning the Lightning cable connector 180 degrees and plug it in again. If it still gives you a warning, it is possible the Apple chip in the Lightning cable is faulty, and we'll replace the cable ASAP.

- If you do not get any warning when you plug in the Lightning cable, you should have sound, but make certain you turn up the volume control. If you still don't have any sound, then please try to make certain you have plugged the connectors at the earcups all the way in. Be aware the cable connector has “one last click” to seat properly and make a good connection. So sometimes it may feel as though you’ve got it plugged in all the way, but you still need to go just a little further. This would also be the cause of any intermittent sounds you might have.

- Update to the latest version of iOS. The current OS revision has some problems with Lightning connections, so the next revision should fix them, and this includes volume levels and "handshaking errors" (not recognizing other Lightning products like our cable). Note that these issues are Apple-related and we have no control over them.

- If you hear distortion, then please check the EQ settings in BOTH your iDevice and our EQ application. Boosting any frequencies too much will cause the amplifier to clip (because the voltage is limited by Apple’s specifications).

- If you have volume issues, there can be many things that affect the volume. Our Lighting cable uses Apple Lightning Audio Module (LAM) chips, and it has to meet the Apple specs for amount of voltage and current used via the Lighting port. Therefore, there is not much that we have control over. This would also apply to streaming services like Tidal and YouTube. Please check if you have the same volume problems when you use the 3.5mm analog headphone cable. Here are some other things that may affect the volume level:

- iOS volume limiter is ON. This will limit maximum volume output and we recommend it be turned OFF for use with our Cipher cable. You can change this in the Settings menu under MUSIC.

- Make certain iOS device volume level is at MAX before you plug in the Lightning cable if you want the loudest volume possible. Or set it lower if you need less volume. Then use the controls on our Lightning cable to set the volume.

- We have seen some differences in minimum and maximum volume levels with different versions/models of iPhone/iPod/iPad.

- iOS device EQ settings. It is usually best to have these set to Flat or OFF in the Settings menu under MUSIC. Then use OUR EQ app to change the EQ. You can use EQ to help raise or lower overall volume levels, but it's not perfect, although it may solve your problem. Warning: increasing EQ too much will cause distortion.

- If you are listening to downloaded tracks, like from iTunes, please note that not all tracks/songs are recorded at the same level. You'll find some are recorded louder than others.

If you still believe there is a problem with your Lightning cable, then we definitely want to know about it and get it back to our engineers for troubleshooting. And of course we'll send you a replacement cable. In that case please send us a message via the “Contact Us” form here: https://www.audeze.com/support  or email us at [e-mail] and we’ll take care of you.