AudioQuest DragonFly DAC USB Digital Audio Converter - Black

Product Information

are designed to work with computers and laptops only; they are not designed for use with iOS and Android mobile devices. Black mainly as a solution for transit and working on-the-go, and noticed an appreciable difference in quality immediately when using DT770 (80 ohm) and Zero Audio Carbo Tenores. Some mention that it is top quality, an excellent quality compact DAC / Headphone Amp, and totally reliable, while others say that it's quite expensive and has some build quality issues.

I own the Beyerdynamic 880 pro and 770 pro and have to agree with you - the synergy (dragonfly black + LG V30/V40 + Qobuz through UAPP + beyers) is unbelievable. To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average.Yet the results are articulate and fast, with detail levels remaining high and excellent transient performance. As a fully functional MQA renderer, your DragonFly is ready to unfold and play MQA files through the Tidal music-streaming service. MQA’s “Origami” folding technology creates a single, compact, efficient distribution file with no playback restrictions. For most digital devices, delivering audio is just one of numerous functionalities, all of which are compromised to some extent. The 45 ohm impedance of the Etymotics helps mitigate this even with noisier sources, but at normal volume levels, even with no music playing, there’s no audible hiss here at all.

Contrary to common belief, making beautiful music out of 1s and 0s isn’t a case of simply getting all of the audio data from Point A to Point B. When used in this manner, DragonFly functions in fixed output mode, which allows the overall volume level to be adjusted with the audio/video system’s master volume control. It might the right amount of energy for my favorite Metal tracks, but I’m now 29yo and thus don’t need all that anger: there and then the trebles will feel a bit out of place. The HD660S are marginally easier to drive, with only a slight increase in sensitivity - but having half the impedance of the HD6XX/HD650 means the Dragonfly Black can push further before running out of voltage; this is immediately apparent when they’re compared back-to-back.

You can run things usefully louder than you’re likely to want to listen before their presentation starts to come unglued. While repeatedly plugging and unplugging DragonFly will not affect its lifespan or reliability, in general we have found that DACs measure and sound better after being left on for at least 24 hours. With exceedingly low power consumption and extremely low-noise power supplies, the Microchip microcontrollers achieve unprecedented levels of efficiency and signal-to-noise ratio, regardless of bit- or sample rate. JRiver is a complete audio and video media player, offering both USB and Network (airplay and DLNA) connectivity.

One of the nice things with USB-powered DAC/amps is that as long as the device you’re connecting it to, e.But in most travel scenarios I find that trade-off more than worth it, as it is one less device to have to remember to charge. Used in a “dual mode”, as a DAC/amp on the go and perhaps as a pure DAC feeding an external amp for a desktop setup, you get “the best of both worlds”. What music-playback applications are capable of handling the decode process so that I can play MQA files through DragonFly? Using the computer’s main (operating system) volume control, adjust the volume to the desired level.