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What's the lightest-weight way to connect a controller and 3.5mm phone to iPad USB-C
Do I really need a full-on USB hub for this? I know that some of them are tiny, but I like to hold my iPad and move it around, and a dangly dongle is such a pain.
(Also, I got some USB-C to USB-B cable and I love them. Great for the MIDI Fighter and Akai Keyboard.)
Comments
Unfortunately, as soon as you want to connect more than one thing to your headphone-socket-free iPad, you need a USB hub. Or you start looking at wireless alternatives like a CME Widi connector to connect your Akai to the iPad, then run a single cable between iPad and your MIDI Fighter; that'd work fine for the setup you describe, but won't let you add another gadget to your rig later (e.g. headphones).
I've got a dangly dongle USB-C hub that I'm pretty happy with, but like all of them it seems pretty fragile and I worry about the connector snapping off inside my iPad. There's other ones that plug directly into the iPad (i.e. no cable) so they sit flush against the iPad, but I doubt they'll connect properly if you've got any sort of case around your iPad as I do.
I'm just resigned to finding a dongle that works & has enough of the right connectors for me, being as careful as I can with it, then replacing it when it inevitably gets lost or broken.
Depending on what case you use you can get away with the hyperdrive 6in1 for iPad pro, I'm using the following case and hub.. you have to remove the black grips but they just unscrew and it hasn't been an issue for me..
TiMOVO Case for New iPad Air 4th... https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08LYCJ73J?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
Hyper - HyperDrive 6-in-1 USB-C Hub for iPad Pro / Air - 3.5mm Audio Jack, USB-A, SD, Micro SD, USB-C, HDMI - Space Gray https://amzn.eu/d/cxrsLMp
1-2m usb-c extension cable from Amazon?
My favourite dongle is this:
https://www.sitecom.com/lu/usb-c-hub-4-port/cn-386/p/1881
Paired with a USB-C extension cable you can move your iPad around and also power it. For headphones, just use the USB-C adapter that came with your iPad.
If money is no object, the iRig 2 controllers from IK Multimedia solve the issue beautifully, for both iPad and iPhone, by acting as an audio out interface with a headphone socket on the keyboard controller…
Brought a couple of CME WIDI Masters the other day for a keyboard and Polyend Tracker and iPad very impressed with low latency and no more cables.
I’m quite happy with this one. It has a removable magnetic spacer and mine fits on an opened cover if it’s not thicker than 2 mm. However, the quality of the 3.5 out is not sufficient for mastering, which should not go unmentioned.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Baseus-Adapter-Headphone-Charging-Compatible/dp/B07VX46FPK?ref_=ast_sto_dp
I’m looking for something similar. In the US version of Amazon, there are lots of dongle-y things that allow USB-C charging and the 3.5mm audio jack but they all explicitly say “does not pass data”. That is a deal killer, of course.
I strongly recommend against those ones that sit flush on the ipad. I've had two, neither ot which lasted even a year before breaking, and the last one was also suspected of causing problems internally that mean my ipad occasionally won't charge and ai have to leave it dead and plugged in for more than a day til it magically resurrects itself.
Mine is now in its third year and no problems.
I think a simple USB-C splitter should be good.
I have this one which takes MIDI IN from my keyboard and send USB-audio out to my DAC :
https://www.amazon.fr/gp/aw/d/B099NKQ91Q?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title
Others have reported even burning out multiple iPads with 'em. Not a fact, but a very strong coincidence, if not. Two possible causes have been floated: too much twisting torque on the jack when attaching and detaching, and electrostatic transfer due to the conductive nature of some of the metal cases. If care is taken with those to aspects, those issues might be avoided indefinitely.
No proof, but plenty of circumstantial evidence, I believe.
If I am understanding correctly and you don’t need to charge the iPad…
I use a Steinberg UR22 Mk2 with just one cable connected to the iPad which is a right angle USB C to B cable.
No stress on the port, the interface gets it’s own power from a power bank and I get a full day of charge out of the iPad.
All the hubs I tried that did the PD (charged the iPad) were problematic.
I went with this combo:
I like the audio quality of the headphone jack. The USB-C connector is very solid. This does NOT meet your light weight standard but I though someone might appreciate the combination for having there M1 iPad always powered.
This multi-port hub needs a minimum 40W power adapter but I went with a beefy 100W unit to get more life out of it:
It has a metal case.
A 3.5 mm headphone dongle and a Bluetooth controller would probably be the lightest.
True. But the iPad will die when you don't intend it.
Please recommend a Bluetooth keyboard that's current for IOS 15. I bought a couple
Akai's and they sent the USB models. I returned them for the Korg and it didn't have the right firmware and the Mac and windows I could get my hands on didn't work to update the firmware for BLE-MIDI.
I'm surprised there aren't more Bluetooth MIDI controllers. I have a couple Korgs (Microkey Air 49, Nanokey Studio), which I've updated the firmware on and work fine. What I'd really like, however, is a Bluetooth Nanokey -- no pads or knobs, just the 25 note buttons. Every few months I search Amazon and eBay for new Bluetooth controllers, but so far in vain.
The CME Xkey Air 25 sounds like it fits what you're looking for. 25 pad-like keys (probably nicer than Nanokey's), built-in battery, and built in Bluetooth. It's not new, it's been around for several years:
https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/XkeyAir25--cme-xkey-air-25-key-bluetooth-midi-controller
True! It's just twice what I want to pay.