AudioQuest DragonFly 2 Channel USB Digital-Audio Converter - Red

A very nice sounding affordable product with a nice feature set

A nice product and in my opinion, well worth its paltry price. Even better when purchased used. I'm using it in my dedicated home audio system exclusively for Tidal Masters MQA unfolding. It does a very nice job, sounds excellent & provides a nice full-bodied but detailed presentation. I use a NOS Dac for other digital processing which does a better job with my 40,000+ ALAC files. I'm also sure it will do a very respectable job with headphones & and in many folks home systems. I know that there are many other bargain-priced Dacs that sound very good but if you want to experiment with MQA the field narrows considerably. This is not an endorsement of MQA but I will say that so far I've enjoyed much of what I've heard. Thanks, Audioquest and Gordon Rankin for this very affordable little marvel.Read full review

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Verified purchase:  Yes • Condition: pre-owned • Sold by: clo47

works well

product arrived much, much later than promised. product did not arrive as pictured with the protective sleeve. At least it is typical Audioquest quality, works as expected. LED light does change color based on the sample rate of the file.Read full review

Verified purchase:  Yes • Condition: pre-owned • Sold by: jacgar2194

Will BLOW your Mind!

I was skeptical and did not like the price, but bit the bullet and figured it was a good step in the direction of HiFi for my Home Audio Setup. I run everything out of my iMac and into my Amp and listen via my Kappa 8.1's. My setup sounded good before I bought this. But NOW it sounds way better! I am re-listening to all of my favorite music and hearing things I NEVER heard before. Thumps, Plucks, background harmonies and chords, even vocals that I did not know were there. It is amazing. It really separates all the different sounds and then emphasizes them, while pushing the noise floor down. I am also running an AudioQuest Golden Gate 3.5mm to RCA 5'm cable from the DragonFly Red to my Amp.Read full review

Verified purchase:  Yes • Condition: new • Sold by: konabona2003

dragonfly red

It clearly makes a diffference in listening so i'd recommend it as a beginer's way into good sound. However, after more than few hours of continous use I heard some noises that most other users described as buzzing and then it stopped working. I unplug/plug it and started working again. I think it was the sign of getting its internal circuit overwhelmed (in terms of electricity) and other posts i've read tell about this event resulting in a total failure. However, not the case for me. So maybe not abuse it with max sound for input and it will work as intended for years. Or don't give its output a hungry device, although my sony xm4 have quite low impedance. Overall though, good experience.Read full review

Verified purchase:  Yes • Condition: pre-owned • Sold by: emelypaz

Worked great for me

Worked exactly as promised in my system. I use it for streaming Tidal, mostly to listen to high rez MQA titles. The improvement in sound was noticeable immediately. Better defined bass and increased image width and depth.

Only drawback is that it seems to draw a fair amount of power from the USB port. I could normally listen for a full evening without plugging in the laptop PC I use for streaming. I was surprised that it went dead about two hours into my first listening session. Of course this is easily remedied by plugging it in. Read full review

Verified purchase:  Yes • Condition: new • Sold by: savistore

RED DRAGON--MAJOR AUDIO UPGRADE FOR LAPTOPS

This is a fabulous way to increase the quality of your audio on your computer. I use it not for headphones, but to tap into my powered computer speakers I have. I have an old pair of ALTEC-LANSING computer speakers that are still better than any computer speakers I have heard on the market. It is an original DOLBY COMPUTER SURROUND SOUND SYSTEM. Has a sub-woofer also. The power is about 45 to 50 watts. But now I just use the head phone jack on the RED DRAGON, AND PRESTO, AUDIO BLISS. NO NOISE AT ALL. I ALSO USE IT WITH THE "PC EQUALIZER", WHICH is the best EQ for computer speakers. I have tried about 20 of them. Many of the rest are totally useless. This PC EQUALIZER (SOURCE FORGE EQUALIZER ROOM EQ-APO is set up by downloading 2 simple downloads. GOOGLE IT UP. THEY ARE BOTH ON ONE PAGE, SO 2 EASY DOWNLOADS. One is the program for PC EQUALIZER & THE OTHER IS THE ROOM EQUALIZER. YOU get a 10 band or a choice of a 20 band EQUALIZER. Believe me, this EQ is fabulous. Very low distortion, hardly noticeable. And it has a separate PRE-AMP SO YOU CAN BOOST THE VOLUME. YOU HAVE TO MAKE SURE TO ADJUST TO TWEAK IT SO YOU DON'T OVER -POWER THE PRE-AMP. I have the pre-amp at about 25 and I turned down most of the EQ bands to below ZERO. The Bass is so powerful, you have to. Even with the lowered settings, that is what works wonderfully. THE RED DRAGON WORKS FLAWLESSLY WITH THIS EQ PROGRAM.
REMEMBER TO DOWNLOAD 2 ITEMS. THE 1ST PROGRAM THERE FOR THE EQ & THEN THE ROOM EQ WIZARD, BOTH ON THE SAME PAGE. THEY WORK TOGETHER. AMAZING SOUND. THis is the only EQ THAT EVER WORKED FLAWLESSLY FOR ME. So if you have powered speakers , get the max audio quality with the RED DRAGON.Read full review

Verified purchase:  Yes • Condition: new • Sold by: konabona2003

I am not an audiophile but I love music, this is a must for enjoying songs.

I am not professional but I do love me some music, this DAC is amazing for its form factor, it is so small and feels amazingly heavy-duty. I am very happy with its performance, it has a great boost in volume, as well as all the other frequencies that are simply not juiced up enough on most headphones or earphones! There are many sings where the surround is crazily enhanced, and others where you feel as the sound is expanded in a sense, I do not even know how to explain it, but it is amazing. Lo-Fi is a must on with this!

I use VMODA's Wireless 2, rose-gold version.
I also use 3D Boom on my Macbook Pro, with 3D effect off.Read full review

Verified purchase:  Yes • Condition: new • Sold by: konabona2003

It sounds way better.

This definitely makes a difference. I can go on and on about sound quality, features, etc. but if you're in the market, you probably know that stuff. Bottom line: This sounds much different, and much better, than my laptop's headphone jack. This is not a phony. It is worth the cash.Read full review

Verified purchase:  Yes • Condition: new • Sold by: agc-97

Small, compact and loads itself

I really enjoy my music and now that i listen to it thru my dragon fly the sound is wonderful can't believe how much better it sounds. Just plug it in to your computer or cell phone or i-pad with a lightning to usb 3 camera adapter and be amazed at how it sounds. Thanks MichaelRead full review

Verified purchase:  Yes • Condition: new • Sold by: thinksmartelect...

Using planars or high ohm dynamics drivers?

First, I will say i was skeptical. I have TOTL gear and was struggling how to get good sound when i leave the home. I also subscribe to tidal hifi and was wanting to ( affordably ) try MQA.
My audiophile buddy convinced me to grab a DF red and the results are nothing short of spectacular. The results are very close to 1k plus amps and dacs.
This is my 1st sabre dac and it is on the brighter side, but not in a bad way. As far as MQA, I doubt i will be able to hear the difference btw redbook CD and MQA.. but! It is great to see the color changes on the DF. I could go on for hours about headphones and gear, so i will say this is highly recommended for mobile use or to use as mqa dac with your home gear. Very versatile product. Very nice construction and fits nicely into my apple cck. Now I can travel with my atticus! Look forward to next flight :)Read full review

Verified purchase:  Yes • Condition: pre-owned • Sold by: nightslasherv2

AudioQuest Jitterbug

I was addeing this to my Fiios Olympus II, and having checked that the Jitterbug would "see" Fillo dac, and finding that it would, I proceeded to connect USB end to my pc and the other to the sac, which immediately allowed the Jitterbug/Fiios to completely bypass the pc's sound card. While the Fiios sac did sidestep the pc's soundcard, at times there was a signal overload to my powered speakers. My speakers are a small powered subwoofer. Connected directly to a small pair of high quality but efficiant Boston Accoustics spealers. However, with the addition of the Jitterbug, occasional signal overload disappeared as well as greater detail in the sound if high rez downloads on my pc. Excellent product.Read full review