Lightning Connector Headphones – First From Phillips – Not Apple

In an impressive “beat to the punch”, Phillips has announced that it will launch high-end headphones that will sport the proprietary-to-Apple-devices Lightning connector on its new line of headphones.

The Fidelio M2L headphones will bypass the DAC (Digital Audio Converter) that is native to the Apple device, and bring in 100% digital audio, where the conversion to analog will be done within the headphones themselves.

You may ask yourself, “why would you need that?”.  Using the Lightning port for more than just data transfer and charging – Apple expanded its “Made for iPhone” program earlier in the year to include devices that connect to the Lightning port, like headphones.

This “Made for iPhone” program could enable headphones to control companion apps, offering controls like volume and track skipping, even the ability to charge devices through the connector.

The Fidelio M2L is expected to launch in December, just in time for the holidays, at an expected price tag of $325 – which would put them in direct competition with the high-end Beats Audio headphones, the same that Apple recently acquired.

Will you be buying these headphones?  At a price point that steep, the market may be quite narrow indeed.