![]() The most noticeable difference was the reduction in noise. So, don’t let the MQA capability be the deciding factor. It’s important to note that the Dragonfly Red and Black are now also able to support MQA with the latest firmware update. But once you move to Tidal Masters (MQA) it will light up purple, indicating 96kHz. So, if you’re streaming Spotify, that’s the color you’ll see. For example, green indicates that you are playing a track at 44.1kHz. Like the Dragonfly Black and Red, the Cobalt has an LED light that glows different colors, depending on which sample rate you are listening to. I was impressed by how much volume this little guy produced even on such a high impedance headphone. So, I decided to pair it with a 250 Ohm headphone (Beyerdynamic DT 1990) to see just how far the Cobalt could push it. Like the Dragonfly Red, the Cobalt is able to produce 2.1 volts of output. T he processor is also 33% faster and has been designed to draw less current through your USB connection. The new DAC boasts a minimum-phase slow roll-off filter, which in theory, should translate to a more natural sound overall. I also tested the Cobalt with some high impedance headphones, which I’ll talk about below.Īudioquest has upgraded its DAC chip since it released the Dragonfly Red. And I hooked the setup to one of my old favorites, the Westone W40. AudioQuest DragonFly Cobalt Reviewįor testing the Dragonfly Cobalt, I used my iPhone with Apple’s Lightning to USB Camera Adapter (which you’ll have to buy separately, since the included OTG cable is USB-C). What improvements have been made since the Dragonfly Red? And what can you expect in terms of sound quality? Let’s take a look in this AudioQuest Dragonfly Cobalt Review. Now, the brand has released its latest DAC/amp combo, the Dragonfly Cobalt. are welcome.If you’ve been looking to optimize your sound on the go, you’ve probably read about AudioQuest’s Dragonfly series. While with high impedance headphones, the AudioQuest Dragonfly Cobalt has acceptable subjective performance, it fails in so many other ways that I cannot recommend it.Īs always, questions, comments, recommendations, etc. Whoever designed the headphone amplifier in this product needs to go back to engineering school or pay attention to what the competitor is shipping. If you want a brand name, get the THX Onyx which washes the floor with it. You can buy plenty of products at one third of its price that way outperform it. Unfortunately it then proceeds to deliver a highly distorting product that has little ability to drive low impedance headphones. At max volume, the output was severely distorted and unusable.Īs the category leader, AudioQuest takes advantage of their market position to price the Dragonfly Cobalt sky high. Turning up the level beyond a whisper would cause the bass notes to distortion. Switching to Ether CX headphone though, was a completely different situation. ![]() There was not much to complain about in the context of a portable dongle. The Cobalt had no trouble driving my Sennheiser HD-650 to good levels of loudness and authority. The Onyx produces 132 milliwatts compared to just 26 for Cobalt and does it at far lower distortion. Compare the 26 milliwatt to recently r eviewed THX Onyx.
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