AudioQuest DragonFly DAC USB Digital Audio Converter - Red

Customer Reviews

• S.

  Good for the purpose!

  This item was bought some two years ago, via AV Online on the Bolo Marketplace. Before I comment on the product itself, I would first like to commend AV Online for excellent customer service, following an issue that I will explain in a moment. The product needed to be returned for a replacement, and it was done quickly and conveniently...one extremely helpful aspect was the arrangement of a collection of the faulty item. In the current Covid climate, coupled with the diificulties experienced actually getting to a post office (in my case this is due to disability), to have this offered to me was a godsend. Well done AV Online!Okay, so onto the reason for the return. I own three Dragonflies, the Black, the Red, and the Cobalt. I experienced no problem with the Red during the first year of use. (I switched to the Cobalt after one year). I used the Cobalt or nearly a year, and it developed a fault in the headphone socket. This is another story, but that was purchased through another Bolo Marketplace seller, and that was also successfully replaced. While awaiting the return of the Cobalt, I switched back to the Red, when after a couple of weeks, that too developed the same headphone socket fault. When you consider that I'd already had the best part of a year's use out of the Red, it seemed that there was pattern here occuring after aprox one year's use. Luckily, all the Dragonflies have a 2 year warranty for people in the EU, and as they had both been purchased while the UK was still within the EU, the two years warranty was extremely useful. Okay, now this is important. I'm not saying that these Dragonflies are prone to faults, but what I am saying that, if you are considering buying one, then consider at least using the short USB extension lead that comes in the box, but better still, consider purchasing a far longer USB extension lead to use in place of the supplied short one. In addition, consider keeping the resting place of the DAC free of restriction, so that you minimise the continual strain of the 3.5mm jack plug inside the socket on the DAC. Doing this, I think, will prolong the life of your DAC beyond the warranty period. I would definitely avoid plugging the DAC directly into your device/laptop, because the DAC will be rigid, held in place by the device's USB socket, and expecially if you are using a heavier duty headphone cable, there will be too much tugging on both the DAC's 3.5 mm socket, and the device's USB socket. Better to spend a few quid on an extension cable, than to have a faulty USB socket that needs repair, or to lose £180 worth of DAC!Finally, a word about the quality of the product itself. First, don't let the above return situation put you off...with any device like this extremely portable DAC, the above extemsion lead advice would be the same. If you use the device as I do, 24/7, then strain will occur, and eventually any such device will fail in some way. The fact that I use these 24/7 should speak volumes about how I feel about them. They are a quick and efficient way of improving the sound on your device, in my case a laptop. One thing I will warn against is using Dragonfly Black with higher quality more thirsty HiFi headphones. The Red and Cobalt do this just fine. I feel the products are a tad overpriced for what they offer, but if making DAC's this small, while retaining the power to drive more thirsty headphones, then so be it. To be able to simply add this between your computer and your headphones, without requiring extra power, thus being extremely portable, makes these an excellent upgrade over the soundcard that comes with your computer, and those external but more bulky soundcards sold by a certain creativity laboratory, a good investment. If you are undecided between the Red and the Cobalt, then decide this...do you want a more accurate soundscape, drier accoustics, and perhaps less chance of listening fatigue?...then choose the Red. If you want a slightly wider soundstage, a little extra resonance, giving what some people might consider a prettier sound, then choose the Cobalt, but consdier it is almost £100 more. My own personal preference is for the Red...I think!...smiles.

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• P. A. P.

  Great DAC and headphone amp

  I use this with my iPad, iPhone, and iMac connected to the Focal Clear. Having tried the Dragonfly Black, the Helm, the AudioEngine DACs and this the DragonFly red is the first one that I could actually hear the difference in sound. On tracks like Patricia Barber's "This town" the bass is clear, the cymbals sizzle and the vocals are clear. Switching to Chantal Chamberlain's Temptation album truly fantastic. Switching to Tool's "Chocolate Chip Trip" the sound is so deep and clear. Vlaerie June and the queen of audiophile sound Sara K. sound fantastic. Overall highly recommended.

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• M. P. C.

  Brings your music to life

  I've been using this for a few months now, it does take a bit of "running in" to get the best out of it. Initially I wasn't overwhelmed with it, but the more I listened the better it got. I use it to listen to Spotify through my laptop when I'm working (plugged into my Sennheiser headphones), the laptop's sound card is pretty basic and music sounds very 'flat' through it. The DragonFly changes all that, breathing life into the sound and bringing out little details I hadn't noticed before. Thoroughly recommended.

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• M. T.

  Literally a game changer!

  Now I'm north of fifty I realised that when listening to my tracks on my iPhone my volume level was just about maxed-out. I read soooo many reviews for headphone amps but I didn't want to lump around a bit of kit that was nearly the size of my phone. I bit the bullet and went for this. Blooming-eck! The bass is back! The detail is back! The volume level is now 75%! (instead of 99%). I know with amplifiers that once you go beyond 90% volume the detail starts getting 'mushy' so the inbuilt iPhone amp must have been maxing-out. This absolute gem has brought back what I thought I'd lost, my music as I remembered it years ago. I know it's quite a few quid but to me it's now priceless. I really assumed these things were snake oil but the reviewers are spot-on. I haven't tried my big cans on it yet but I'm just so happy re-listening to my music again on my commute. I'm chuffed to bits! By the way, the manual that comes with it says that the Apple USB to lightning (camera) adaptor to buy is the one that supports charging as apparently it 'sounds better' (according to the manual). This standard Apple one cost me nearly thirty quid but if I'd known that before I brought both together I may have spanked the extra tenner for the charging version, (which I didn't know existed until I read the manual) I'll leave that decision to you...EDIT: After nearly a month of use the Dragonfly is still as great as the original 'wow' factor when I first plugged it in. ONE CAVEAT: The headphone controls (volume/play/pause) on my (2016) Sennheiser Momentum 2.0 In-Ear Headphones do not function with the Dragonfly while in use. I've no idea if that's the case with all headphones, especially with a mic so do a bit of research or contact AudioQuest themselves to check first. I'm still not dropping a star, because the sound is so good...

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