Audioquest DragonFly Red

Audioquest DragonFly Red

While the original DragonFly defined the market for micro-DACs, its USB power draw made it compatible with computers only.

Music lovers have craved a more portable version—one that could be reliably used with Apple and Android smartphones and tablets.

Audioquest have now given us two new options that do just that:

DragonFly Black and DragonFly Red.

Convenience and performance are no longer mutually exclusive.

With DragonFly Black & Red, any computer, laptop, tablet, or smartphone can be used as a true high-fidelity music player, allowing music lovers to enjoy beautiful sound wherever they go, whenever they please.

AudioQuest, Gordon Rankin, and Microchip: A Beautiful Partnership

AudioQuest and DragonFly designer Gordon Rankin worked alongside Microchip Technology to develop a new high-performance, full-speed USB microcontroller solution that delivers improved signal-to-noise ratio and significantly lower power consumption.

Drawing 77% less current than the previous microcontroller, the new Microchip PIC32MX microcontroller enables true compatibility with Apple and Android smartphones and tablets.

Audioquest DragonFly Red includes the latest ESS headphone amp and a bit-perfect digital volume control that resides on the 9016 DAC chip itself—a sophisticated implementation that ensures maximum fidelity, dynamic contrast, and signal-to-noise ratio.

The Black will output 1.2 volts—enough power to successfully drive all preamplifier input circuits and a wide range of today’s efficient headphones.

Meanwhile, with its higher 2.1-volt output, The Red will be compatible with a wider range of headphones, including power-hungry, low-efficiency models.

Improved 32-Bit Digital Performance

For greater overall performance, the new models also incorporate improved 32-bit ESS Sabre DAC chips—the 9010 in Black and the higher-performance 9016 in Red—both of which employ minimum-phase filtering for naturally detailed, more authentic sound.

While DragonFly Black uses the same high-quality headphone amp and analog volume control found in v1.2,

USB Stick-Sized Digital-to-Analog Converter
Plays all music files: MP3 to high-res
Compatible with Apple and Windows PCs, as well as iOS and Android mobile devices (requires Apple Camera Adapter or Made for Android/OTG adaptor)
Drives headphones directly
Fixed output feeds preamp or AV receiver
Asynchronous transfer ensures digital timing integrity
High output (2.1 volts) drives almost all headphones, including power-hungry models
32-bit ESS 9016 DAC with minimum-phase filter
Bit-perfect digital volume control

Supplied with a neat Leather Pouch