Philips announces first headphones with lightning connector

Philips has announced the Fidelio M2L, a pair of headphones equipped with a lightning connector. This connection has been available on Apple portable equipment since the iPhone 5. According to Philips, the digital connection provides better audio quality.

Most headsets offer a 3.5mm analog mini-jack connection, but Philips is targeting owners of recent Apple hardware with the Fidelio M2L by equipping its new headphones with a proprietary lightning connector. In addition, Philips says that it has integrated a 24-bit dac in the headphones. It is still unclear whether the iPhone 6 announced this week is suitable for forwarding 24bit audio files; Apple hasn’t released anything about that yet. The headphones also have an integrated amplifier.

Philips claims that the audio quality is better thanks to the lightning connection, because the wearer of the headphones is not bothered by disturbing factors such as noise and crosstalk. The Fidelio M2L, which closely resembles its predecessor Fidelio M1, also offers two 40mm neodymium speaker drivers, with the ‘breathable’ ear cushions wrapped in leather-wrapped memory foam. According to Philips, the closed design leads to a ‘controlled and dynamic bass reproduction’. The Philips Fidelio M2L headphones cost 249.99 euros and will be in stores from December.

The Fidelio M2L is one of the first headphones to conform to the new lightning profiles Apple unveiled at its Worldwide Developer Conference in June. The specifications make it possible to control headsets via apps and vice versa by placing buttons on a headset. Headsets can also get their power from the smartphone or tablet to which they are connected, so that they can be made lighter.