When Apple decided to remove the headphone jack from the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus, it wasn’t surprising that many people reacted negatively to it as it essentially rendered many headphones incompatible out of the box, and the adapter also meant that users had to carry one additional accessory around which could be easily lost.Now you would think headphone companies would be just as upset as well, but interestingly enough quite a few big names in the industry don’t appear to be too fussed. This is according to a report from The Verge in which they reached out to several headphone/audio companies to get their feedback, and surprisingly many are quite OK with Apple’s decision.
For example Sennheiser’s co-CEOs Daniel and Andreas Sennheiser said, “Digital outputs, such as Apple’s Lightning connector, will offer new opportunities to take a step forward and to further enhance the sound experience for the customer. For example, 3D audio technology using digital signals is just one possibility.”
Audio-Technica’s Marketing Director Robert Morgan-Males was quoted as saying, “The fact that Apple are providing the adapter with new iPhone 7 means that, although people have something else now to lose, no one will miss out and can still enjoy their own choice of quality wired headphones.” He adds, “Pushing the edge of wireless headphone technology has been and remains an important pillar of our headphone development and you can expect to see exciting developments from Audio-Technica.”
Grado, a brand that audiophiles are familiar with, appears to be indifferent about the change. According to Jonathan Grado, the company’s VP of Marketing, “To be honest, we don’t care much one way or another. We really just care that we can keep a sound that we’re proud of. We just want whatever connection is used to keep the sound that our family’s worked 63 years for.” Basically it sounds like quite a few of the big hitters in audio out there are either indifferent or supportive of Apple’s decision which like we said, is surprising, but what do you guys think?
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