I own a DragonFly Red and this video is exactly what I was looking for. Clear, informative, and beautifully presented. You've got a new subscriber. Thanks!

@jinvid

2 жыл бұрын

Same here. I own the Dragonfly Red and because of this video, I impulse bought the Cobalt.

Filming, editing, audio is very well done - in this and in all the other Darko videos I've seen. Good job!

Wonderful review. Nice job John! When it comes to digital you are my favorite reviewer. Thank you for your hard work and professionalism.

LOVE this review! Always wanted to purchase the dragonfly red. Now, my decision to wait seems to be quite timely and fruitful! Love the thoroughness, and explanation Regarding the differences. Thanks again.

I’ve been following you for years Darko, this is your best work yet. Love the video reviews, so much more refreshing than traditional editorials. Love the scenery of your town

Another great video review. I love the way you present & film your reviews. Best channel by far. Keep up the good work.

Had no idea you lived in 'straya, John. Good on ya!👍👍 This is one of the better audio/audiophile channels on YT. 👌 Good job to all of you!

Such a carefully balanced user of language to convey the thoughts, a delicate descriptive hyphenator! Always - - always good videos. Thank you so much.

@RottenMechGaming

5 жыл бұрын

He has a silky tongue and keeps selling me stuff. My wallet hurts! ;)

@shahidyt

5 жыл бұрын

Rottenlead tell me about it. Schiit Modi 3, Allo Digione Signature, chord poly, Audioquest Carbon usb. Now I’m looking at the campfire Polaris v2

Thank you for taking us out with you around in Berlin in your videos! Haven't been there since 1990. What a fun time it was to be there with them wining the world Cup. And the people there were terrific! Thanks!

Hello John, I just wanted to drop you a quick line and a big shout out and thank you!, for your information on the Dragonfly Cobalt . I watched this several times and took the plunge and purchased. I was blown away ! . Your style of delivery and an unbiased view was of great help so thank you. Keep up the great work. Chris UK.

Now that’s an office......great coffee and music. Great channel, I learn something every time I watch it

Thank you John! Before this video I didn't have any idea about my phone audio quality. Now I am contemplating of getting one of these Dragonfly Cobalt. What a great and helpful information you have!

Fantastic review! I finally got one this week, loving it!

Great review John. You answered my main question as a current owner of the Dragonfly Red. Now it’s just a waiting game of when it’s available for purchasing!

@nicktan4530

5 жыл бұрын

what are you going to do with red dragonfly ?

Did not know this was in the works. Great information. Appreciate the comparison to the DragonFly Red. Thank you!

Super cool review with practical usages and adopters

Even if I can't afford the majority of the products that you review, I still enjoy your videos. The scripting and also the direction is well done, I really like listen you

These pieces are so good, just right. Thank you!

great review! Looking forward to getting one.

Subscribed and love your videos and your production quality is amazing

I like your take on this! Brilliant as always.

This really is my son's type of product, I may now have a way to convince him to listen to Hi-fi. I love the fact that you bounce around Berlin. It brings back soooo many great memories of my time in West Berlin (the wall was still up) and I love trying to spot landmarks in the background etc.

Excellent work. The outdoor scenery makes it even more interesting.

my best audio upgrade evva! Thanks for the awesome tip mr.Darko, and keep up the good work. Sub'ed a long time ago

I was very fortunate to get a sneaky listen to the Cobalt and Red at the Munich show. It is a big step up.

Wow! Just bought this dac after looking at this review. Just love it! What a difference compared to the normal sound of my iPhone. Time to rediscover my favorite music. Thanks for this review!

Appreciate the clear no nonsense overview of the Audioquest Cobalt DAC. You clarified the grey area of connectivity for Mac and Android - because when it doesn’t work it can be a PITA to sort out why. I have decided to purchase the Cobalt to improve the output of my iPad Pro! And I hit the subscribe button!

Enjoying getting out and about. Jana, Olaf, & John's work goes from strength to strength.

Thanks for this review. I actually just bought now a dragonfly cobalt and i am really very happy with it. I even can connect it to my squeezebox touch.

This video and the American Made video made me purchase the Dragonfly Cobalt! First off how much you talked about it so passionately and then secondly how much love and care with which it’s made. Btw, I purchased it off the link from your site John, so hope you got a little kickback from it. Love your work!

@AshtonCoolman

8 ай бұрын

How have you liked yours so far?

@g000se99

7 ай бұрын

@@AshtonCoolman i just got one - i think it may be dated as i found it underwhelming. i tried to return it but the shop refused. this alsone tells me they probably dont sell well anymore. old tech.

@jinvid

Ай бұрын

​@@AshtonCoolman I love mine! I have both the Red and the Cobalt now and the sound signature on both are still amazing I think. The Red is a bit smoother while the Cobalt is punchier. I've combined the Cobalt with my Holocenes from Campfire Audio for outdoor listening and the Cobalt with my Sennheiser Drop 6XX for indoor listening. The sound is STELLAR!! So much detail in everything! You'll love it if you get yours.

John great stuff there,thanks for the excellent presentation and making it all easy to understand,you answered my question too on if it would improve the lg v30s sound,keep up the good work!well done fella ☝

I’m definately upgrading from Red to Cobalt. However, the biggest increase in sound quality I recently expercienced, was the upgrade from Spotify to TIDAL. Even with Spotify on best quality, I nearly fell off my chair when I first heard TIDAL Hifi and especially Master quality.... it’s not cheap, mind you, but for me worth every euro!👍

@trevorcrowe7571

4 жыл бұрын

Sjoerd Nieuwland I agree. The master quality is amazing. Tidal has also opened me up to new music genres as well.

@lorenmorgan1931

4 жыл бұрын

As much as I love Tidal, and I have been a member for several years now, something about Qobuz is slightly tighter. Now mind you I have not tested this on anything but the MBP headphone jack as of yet. Even their 16/44 flac seems tighter. Thier titles are limited though, and their interface is worse than Tidal was in 2015. I recommend doing the trial though. As to why I'm here, I am using hd600 and really wanted to know if the opinions on the Red, now I'm looking at the Cobalt since most my streaming is in the office. Since you at least have experience with the Red, do you have any opinions on MQA VS HD FLAC on the Dragonfly?

@johnblack8036

4 жыл бұрын

@@lorenmorgan1931 You're right the sound is amazing. I don't know if it's worth $24.95 a month, I'm still debating that, but the sound is phenomenal. I do have Grado RS1's with a Grado headphone amp. I was able to get those 2 things for under $300. The guy I got it from practically gave them away.

@neilparnell2089

4 жыл бұрын

@@johnblack8036 thats the price of one vinyl album....per month, of course, it's worth it...

@giovannialfano5979

4 жыл бұрын

Well, I don't want to say that Spotify is rubbish, because they democratized the music and changed the game, so I respect them. But Tidal is totally another league.

Hi John. First time to the group. I'm an addict. My name's Martin and I'm a subscriber. I've watched this vid about 10 times...5, before I plumped for the Cobalt (my first Drgonfly), and you're right, it's "bloody fantastic". I've just watched again, and to see you out and about, free to travel with no restrictions is an added joy. Anyhow...When I bought the Cobalt, my daily driver was a Note 9, and found the sound was crisper, clearer, more head(sound)space, and overall a glory to behold. I'm using Camp Fire Comet (again as a result of one of your vids) and I'm delighted with that rig. A few months back I went back to my stable of an iPhone in the shape of a 11 Pro Max, and again the sound reproduction with my Cobalt & Comet is glorious....but....soooooo different in its joy giving. Whereas the Note 9 gave crystal clarity, the 11PM has a more smoother, more creamier delivery. Chocolate and Cheese, of which I love both. But therein lies my problem....which do I rock when I travel? I went down the cobalt route to minimise my gear carrying, but now it all depends on my travel type. When I'm flying, I take the Note 9 with me as a DAP, because the sound is clearer/brighter above the engine drone (the Comets do a great job of sound isolation by the way), but when I'm out and about, walking or trams, my 11PM is just wonderful in it's own right. I just wanted to drop by to say thank you. You're erudite insight has helped guide me to find my happy places...now it's just about where those places are and how I get there. Keep it up fella. Ta muchly.

Hey man, Excellent review. I'm defintely steppin' up from Red to Cobalt after watching this. You and I listen to exactly the same music. From techno to lo-fi electronica/hip hop. Cool! :)

Excellent video, everything you transmit is very sublime.

@DarkoAudio

3 ай бұрын

Well, not everything. But thank you.

Thanks so much for the great review john, i bought one from richer sounds and paired it with my Imac and harmon kardon soundsticks , with spotify was great , but the cobalt came with a 2 month free Tidal HiFi account , wish it didn't , because WOW , and now its going to cost me £19.99 a month as i cant go back after that sound, its bloody awesome.

Great video John! Nice outdoor offices as well! What's better than great German Coffee and a apple strudel...:) Looking forward to the Cobalt. Had nothing but great experience with the Red. At some point we will have AudioQuest Cortex. :)

Lovely video and a impressive product indeed. Bloody impressed.

The focus pulls are so nice, video is good too!

Great review, going to have to check this out. More Berlin please!

BLOODY AMAZING VIDEO

Thanks John - great review.

DragonFly Cobalt backstory: darko.audio/2019/07/a-short-film-about-the-audioquest-dragonfly-cobalt/ 10 more (technical) thoughts on this USB DAC: darko.audio/2019/07/10-more-thoughts-on-the-audioquest-dragonfly-cobalt/

John, AudioQuest owe you because I bought a Cobalt as a direct result of this brilliantly informatve review. Thanks very much.

Thank you thank you thank you for sharing 🙏🙏🙏 great video ✌

I've ran the red now for two years or so and I'm having one of these too!

I also would appreciate more videos around the city. They're incredibly interesting.

I subscribe to a lot of the audio reviewers. Yours are probably my favorites. Your background music is killer. I have the red dragonfly,love it. When I have some extra money will check out the cobalt. Excellent Review!

@edwardhewer8530

3 жыл бұрын

Yes, the background tracks are excellent.

Thanks for giving me the Best simple alternative to enjoy more in Audiophile IEM. Grateful.. God bless

I have just purchased another cobalt today after my old one gave up after 3 years (the inside jack socket has detached from the ciruit board, likely from carying it in the pocket basically everywhere I go - after soldering it myself few times it finally gave up for good). It's been 4 years since this video was made and there is still no other DAC that would be as good as cobalt at this price range (curently £179 in UK). I stopped liking my dragon red because of it. I use it with my phone but also with my Klipsh bookshelf speakers which have their own DAC built in ( that I'm bypassing by using phono line), but cobalt is much better. What I like the most in terms of sound is the clarity and instrument separation this small thing provides. It is outstanding still after all these years.

@aceventuraaceventura2003

4 ай бұрын

I had this for about a month now and I actually prefer this set up over many others I've had in the past. I am currently using it with a Grado SR325X and using VLC for playback of my music library. It is so satisfying. Sure you can spend thousands on a very serious audiophile set up but the Dragonfly DAC solution is for people who are on the go and want something very portable while still retaining about 90% of the fidelity of the tracks.

@conor_94_

3 ай бұрын

I’m going to purchase the cobalt to use in an iPhone 14 Pro Max. I’m going to use it with my new Bowers and Wilkins PX8’s which aren’t even out the box yet. Am I correct in saying this will be an amazing experience, what headphones are you guys using?

As always, a great perspective. Yes I know what 'rooting' is ..... however I always thought it came from the French as in En Route, but I stand to be corrected. It appears to me that we are being provided with audio excellence at far less cost and that the time taken to achieve this advanced excellence is shortening with each iteration.

Love this channel so informative 😊👍

I’m rooting for the Aussies ;) and thanks for a useful and enjoyable product reco, John!

I literally have the exact same earbuds as you, did not expect to see them being used and they match so nicely.

@RickZepp

2 жыл бұрын

Can you kindly give me the name and model # of those earbuds? Thank you Jo-E

Great video John. As a DF Red owner i believe that a more valuable step up would be if they include a 2.5 balanced autput beside the 3.5, i think it's about time. Greetings from Argentina!

Great video, as always very informative and fun to watch. I hope that a review of a bit more mainstream product will bring you more viewers, because you deserve bigger stage! High quality work and excellent timing - might be actually the first on KZread! BTW, any chance to get a comparison with Chord Mojo since you have listened to both of these devices now. :)

I love watching your very informative videos. Keep up the great work!

Just ordered one, pretty excited :D

I just preordered Cobalt based on your review. I own DragonFly black and Grado GH1 headphones.

Delicious review

i wholeheartedly concur...... been using it for years.

Great news! I didn’t know this existed. I love my Dragonfly Red so I’m curious how this one will perform.

@RamisDad

5 жыл бұрын

I just got my Audioquest Cobalt. It has what I percieve to be slightly less treble but better instrument separation. It has what is to my ear, a less fun sound. I like my Red better, the cobalt is going back. I would recommend comparing the two for yourself and then deciding.

Your content is BLOODY FANTASTIC. I clicked the Like button 9 times and its still as blue as the Cobalt!

Thank you for not being a snobby audiophile my man, I can’t wait to use this with Spotify and an lcd 4z!😄👌🏻

@yoramdiamand

5 жыл бұрын

Yep I saw the Dave lcd 4z video. I guess planars do like the power of a larger amp at home like the Dave even when they are easy to drive?! What headphones would one use with USB audioquest dac-amps. Easy to drive planars did not sound that great with my dragonfly red.

The Berlin beauty shots are a wonderful bonus to your audio reports.

The huge takeaway of course is that "night and day" differences are rare in the audio world. Almost word for word.

I am using a red as the DAC out of my streamer in to my Rega Brio amp with B&W 606 speakers. It's sounds really good and the dynamics seem fine, it is musical. Great little DACs. I've heard the Cobalt trades warmth for insight.

@fazraailmukadrin

3 жыл бұрын

what connector do you use from the AQDF dac to the amp?

Excellent and genuine / personal review 👌👑🎶

Thank for this review I've been looking for something to make my galaxy 9s sound a little better I'm gonna give this try!! Thank you again

Great video!

A lot of work must have gone into making this video. Kudos to the cameraman and the editor! Ofcourse, the content was quality, as always...

Took the plunge - wow - what a difference in the sound - iPad or iPhone 7 no problem - using my Pioneer HDJ 2000 headphones at home but will add the campfire IEM’s when I start commuting again ..great video and super DAC this - highly recommended

Hey JD, you like the Cobalt. Good oh! The thing about this guy is size as well as sound quality. It’s a win, win! Can’t lose! Am I missing any euphemisms? Doubt it, but I was hoping you would like it. Since the Jitterbug is internal, I won’t be needing that as a go between. At least that is what I am gleaning from this vid. I think I would like to try it first and see if it will freak the Cobalt out. It shouldn’t, but I just need to see if it matters. It definitely does coming out of the laptop and going into the Meridian dac. I enjoyed this video JD!👍🏻

Great review. I might have to get one of these. No info on the cobalt yet on AQ’s website.

Lovely review as usual. I enjoy the Cobalt as well. The colour display on the resolution of Audio is a brilliant convenience. And one of the few portable DACs that can unfold MQA. But I guess that last bit of MQA decoding is still wanting isn’t it ? But that’s nitpicking really on a portable device which is as good as many desktop DACs really. Cheers.

I have the Audioquest DragonFly Black, and I swear by it. Got it paired with my Sennheiser Momentum headphones and it’s an excellent combo. Best $130 I have ever spent!

Love the video John! If I have the Audeze i3s, do you recommend I use a usb C-lighting adaptor to make use of the cipher dac OR should I give the dragonfly a shot if I’m using a MacBook Pro like yours?

Buy my cobalt for a moth ago and its bang on the money! What a product in a tiny packaging. Sounds stunning and drive my B&W PX in a great way...

6:46 and the bass is entrancing from my Dragonfly Red on 20 EUR sony earphones. At home I plug it in to a 40y old aplifier, there it can show off it's potential to a much higher extent. Dragonfly Red has changed the way I listen to digitaly acquired music. Very curious about the Cobalt model, but if you did not use a good DAC before, let alone the Red will be a shock for you.

You've got a new subscriber. Thanks!

I was a Red user for a couple of years and loved it. Recently, got the EarStudio ES100, which to me is leaps and bounds better than the Red and much more feature packed and versatile. And, the killer is that it’s at a price point that doesn’t make sense given its sound and build quality. It’s a must have!!

@leisureavidgentleman8901

5 жыл бұрын

Ali Shafai I just looked it up online and it’s a very interesting product. How well is the mic and it’s functionality when receiving and taking calls?

More spare time, ... I wanted better quality music to listen to. My knowledge level starting was pretty low. You have helped me immensely. Sincere thanks. I have 57-year-old years so I have been trying to find a sweet spot. I think I will try: my iPhone 11, to Dragonfly Cobalt, and I have an offer in on some used Campfire Vega. Very excited.

Largely based on this review, plus some other KZread and written reviews, I purchased the Dragonfly Cobalt, and it arrived last night. So, I spent several hours testing it out with my iPhone X (via the Apple Lightning-USB-A camera adapter). My headphones are a set of Bose QC35s (sorry, Bose-haters) operating unpowered, via a wired connection. My test music was Apple Music, Lossless as well as Hi Res Lossless. And I compared the sound of the Cobalt DAC with the internal DAC, using the Apple Lightning-3.5mm adapter). And I did my best to set the output volume of either option to be as equal as I could make it. There was a clear and obvious difference between the Apple interface DAC and the Cobalt DAC. While the Apple Lossless music sounded good, it sounded two-dimensional. I’m not sure how to best describe it, but I visualized it as seeing all of the instruments and voices spaced around in the same flat plane, so there was clear left-right spacing, but that’s it. But switching to the Cobalt DAC and listening to the same tracks, the music opened up. Now, in addition to clearer and cleaner sounds from the voices and instruments, and the left-right spacing, there was now more dimension to the sound, the instruments and voices sounded more open and…real. A lot depends on the quality of the recording. I listened to some old albums that are now available in Hi Res audio (Pink Floyd Dark Side of the Moon, for example), and while the sound is very good, the quality of the recording pales in comparison to more modern recordings. So, I guess you can’t make a modern Hi Res recording sound better than the best original master recording. I like how the Cobalt DAC will automatically switch, track by track, to the correct coding rate for the track, and how the Dragonfly backlight will show the difference: Green - 44.1Khz Blue - 48Khz Yellow - 88Khz Light Blue - 96Khz One thing I DID notice about MacOS is when I started testing the Cobalt DAC with my 2016 MacBook Pro. In order to get it to work properly, I had to make some setting changes to the MIDI app. And, unlike my iPhone X, apparently my MacBook doesn’t have the ability to detect the rate of a track and automatically switch the MIDI app to use that rate, so whatever it gets set to in the MIDI app is what it will remain, unless I change it manually. And the Dragonfly light on the Cobalt will change colors to reflect the rate that the MIDI app is set for. In any case, so far I am totally pleased with this Cobalt DAC, and it has finally let me hear the amazing quality of Lossless and Hi Res Lossless music.

@chefkoch7342

Жыл бұрын

I'm about to buy a used dragonfly cobalt over eBay and you confirmed me in doing that. Thanks!

Thank you. This video was very helpful. Have you had an opportunity to test the iFi GO Blu? I'm interested to know how its 'wired' performance compares with the Cobalt.

The Cobalt is a cracking product. I used the red daily for about 3 years, and I was quite satisfied, but the Cobalt is noticeably superior.

@georgipartsalev6193

3 жыл бұрын

Not a small difference either. Layering and imaging are miles apart. It’s honestly like comparing the output from my iPhone to the DFR.

I'm considering running one of these off of my iPhone 6s Plus into a stock automobile head unit via aux input. I know the whole thing is non-audiophile silly but I just want to get outside the iPhone DAC and see what it will do. I am in my vehicle, (which is a Dodge Caravan Wheelchair Conversion Van with the upgraded stock stereo), for up to 14 hours a day. It's a rear loader Caravan conversion for Non Emergency Medical Transport. Delivering high quality music for my customers is a feature which we enjoy together while traveling to appointments when the conversation wanes thin. I know they appreciate any amount of improved fidelity I can give them, so you see there is a service aspect to them for the sake of the business. I run the cleanest van in the fleet and my company outperforms all of our competitors in service and attentiveness to our customers needs. It's important to me to make the most of this opportunity and offer the best non emergency medical transportation in our area. If you had a grandparent or loved one that needed this service, you would want me and my company working for you ! I stream Spotify premium for music and Stitcher for podcasts through the auto's head unit which is surprisingly robust. The stock stereo has at least 7 speakers in it and I'm sure they hid a subwoofer in the back somewhere because it seriously kicks bass. I can't really alter the soundsystem because its a company vehicle ... so I am trying to get the most out of it. Right now I am using 2 alternating methods of getting the iPhones signal to the head unit. Firstly I'm using one of those bluetooth FM transmitters you get off of Amazon from china to convert the Spotify to FM signal. [ I know, in the audiophile world this must be a cardinal of sins, but that's why I'm here ... I need advice !] Secondarily, I sometimes set up a Fiio A3 running direct from the iPhones headphone jack (using a 3.5mm TRRS to TRS breakout dongle direct to the A3 then to the head units aux input on the dash). The A3 is just a preamp with separate bass boost circuit which boosts the headphone signal so I can drive the pre-amp stage of the head unit as high as I dare before it starts to overdrive. It offers some slight improvement in audio quality, but not much because in order to use the A3 I have to power it separately from the iPhone with an external Li-ion battery pack in order to not get ground loop noise. The ground loop noise is very noticeable if I try to run the iPhone and A3 off of the same usb power circuit, i.e. the vehicle's circuit. Running the iPhone with just the bluetooth FM converter, there is no ground loop electrical noise from the vehicle because of the digital conversion and I have the added benefit of not having to run the extra wires for signal and power, and don't have to lug the extra gear of external battery pack and A3 ; hiding them in the glove box. So its a trade off, the cheap bluetooth FM transmitter is convenient and noise free but the A3 setup involves more gear, separate power of both units ... and still there is a pickup of signal noise floor from all the extra direct signal cables that have to run from headphone jack, to A3 preamp and then to Aux input. I know this isn't an audiophile setup, but do you think the Cobalt Dragonfly with the Apple Lightning to USB 3 Camera Adapter kit would improve the fidelity of my system over the bluetooth fm transmitter solution now employed ? I could easily power the iPhone separately, if need be to help isolate interference. Any advice you guys could give would be appreciated, thanks !

What a nice life John Darko must have. Breezing round the cafes of Berlin in the summertime listening to high quality audio. Easy Street has never looked so effortless 😄

@DarkoAudio

5 жыл бұрын

Yeah, because you only see the finished video. Not the hours and hours of preparation, or the full day spent location scouting or the hours discussing edits and vfx with Jana.

@moronicorbit8092

5 жыл бұрын

@@DarkoAudio like the graceful ease of a swan with all the hard work going on underneath. Genuinely appreciated 👍

@lorcro2000

5 жыл бұрын

If you think it's that easy, KZread has made it possible for literally anyone to produce and publish video. Set up your own channel, get a few million subscribers and retire rich.

Began using the Cobalt today with my office laptop. It's everything Mr. Darko says. It removes the 'fog' from your audio that you never knew existed until it was gone.

I like to try this. I have every DF ever made. It's a fantastic product.

Boss review. Cheers la.

Great video, as always! Could you do a video with it connected to an integrated amp at home? I'm curious as to how the Cobalt would sound in a good stereo.

Excellent channel - informative and entartaining at the same time. Would you please also comment on the Audioquest's jitterbug? Would it be a reasonable extention to a dragonfly red? As I understood from the video, the cobalt version includes already a relevant technology...

Hi John, I absolutely concur with all the good things said about the Cobalt. It even improved the sound when I used it with my LG V30. However, when I attach the cobalt to an iphone 7 via apple lightning to USB, the sound still comes out of iphone speaker and not the cobalt. What might be the issue here? Petrit, Kosovo

I love the views of Berlin!

Thank you for this fantastic presentation! I have a question though: I have headphones like PXC550 or QC15. Does the DAC make differences?

These dragonflies are awesome. Would be nice to hear what you think of the dragonfly for home use with speakers compared to non portable dacs like the Modi 3.

@DarkoAudio

5 жыл бұрын

Yeah, it would.

@TheEldestBoyTV

5 жыл бұрын

John Darko I hope John’s reply here means that he’s working on a video comparing the Cobalt to other DACs for home hi fi set-ups. I too am wondering how the Cobalt compares to the Modi 3. We’ll see...

Hey great review man. I was kinda shocked that it can only play up to 98kHz because I'm pretty sure the DAC chip in it can do up to 32 bit 768kHz which is insane. I know there is a newer dongle DAC that has the same chip and its a lot less so I would love you do a review of it with your appreciations and maybe mention how does the price difference feels. It's the Hidizs S9 Pro dongle DAC. Again thanks for your amazing reviews and I'll keep watching your channel

@michaelbracken9585

2 жыл бұрын

I heard the reason they limit it to 24bit 98khz is to keep the power consumption low

@trocadero1965

7 ай бұрын

E1da 9038S only 2.5 mm balanced DACis to be considered ,i purchased the Cobalt open box at 200$ .I don’t know which is better e1Da 9038Sumusu 3generation is very clean and 400mW +@ 32 ohms .Quality is great,no volume just play and play ad a dedicated filter app Tweak9038 Russian made .The DC it’s on my way in next few days ,then I can tell.Otherwise the dragonfly “eater”the Earmen Sparrow unbalanced and balanced great sound ,really nice natural

I learned about "Router" vs "Rooter" when I worked with NZ and Auz folk...

For iPhone users, I would recommend the video adapter which permits charging the phone while listening to it. I find the DF is draining the battery of my iPhone X rather quickly. On intercontinental flights that becomes important. However, the apple adapters when bent over in pocket will wear out in about 6-12 months. Be prepared for that. For those wondering how much better the red/cobalt is to Mac DAC, if Mac DAC to DF red is 100% better, then the Cobalt adds another 25% or so. It is pretty easy to hear the differences, I have never heard any interconnect cable differences, and VTA on my VPI TT with Zephyr MIMC* cartridge makes zero difference. But those DACs really change the sound. I use them with Etymotics ER4XR and SR with FLAC files (Flacbox on iPhone, Audirvana and PureMusic on laptop).

Oh nice. Glad to see that it works with the apple lightning adapter. And you're right. I've heard many ppl critique these portable dacs as lacking transparency and separation during critical listening sessions. But that's not the point of these devices. They are literal on-the-go devices. And on the go, these are enough to present a sense of quality which one might be hard pressed to find in a phone.

@EnnTomi1

5 жыл бұрын

Rei Ayanami yep, it is almost impossible to completely isolate the surrounding noise on the go thus really no point of talking about those critical listening