AudioQuest DragonFly DAC USB Digital Audio Converter - Cobalt

I’m a satisfied owner of the dragonfly red and was a bit hesitant to buy the cobalt and not without a reason. Opinions online seem to be mixed. Some say that they can’t hear any difference. Some have done extensive technical analyses and trust their graphs more than their ears. Some prefer the red and insist that the cobalt brings a different flavour to music but isn’t necessarily an upgrade. Some disregard it without having heard it first simply due to the fact that it’s made by Audioquest – a company that sells cables for exorbitant prices, as well as other products of a questionable value, which may seem characteristic of a company that sells snake oil products. But I wanted to hear it for myself. If the sceptics were right, my plan was to return it. No loss. I kept it. On to the sound. Wow and meh. Okay, it absolutely sounds better and more fleshed-out than the red. They sound nothing alike. It certainly is tuned to sound differently. Whether you will appreciate the change, in my opinion, will not only depend on whether your headphones are resolving enough to reproduce the extra clarity and separation but also on how you listen to music. When listening to music while I’m answering e-mails or reading an online article, my ears don’t pick up much difference because my brain has to process so many other inputs. The story changes when I lay in my bed and enjoy music with my eyes closed. It’s then when this little thing takes me to another world. I pair the cobalt with Sennheiser HD650 and Beyerdynamic DT150. Both require quite a bit of juice to sound their best and the cobalt drives them sufficiently well, with a lot of headroom to spare. I rarely set the volume above 20 out of 100 for critical listening and usually it’s set on 8-12 on the windows volume slider for background listening. The first difference I noticed is the rolled-off treble and more impactful bass on the cobalt. It employs a minimum phase slow roll off digital filter that promises better impulse response and less artefacts that can muddy up the signal but the price to pay for this is a slight slope downwards in the upper treble region of the frequency response. For a casual listener, the red appears to be having more detail and sparkle in the treble region but the treble is a bit grainy upon more critical observation. The cobalt renders it fluidly and naturally. This quality will tame overly bright headphones and I noticed that the sibilance I experienced with the DT150 on some songs is no longer present. The cobalt goes louder without giving listening fatigue. The bass is another major improvement over the red. It is fuller and richer while being very tight (defined). Instruments and percussion instruments in particular carry more body and realism while on the red they were present and detailed but perhaps their identity was a bit lost in a mix. A drum hit now feels more authoritative. Lower registers of instruments can now be felt and feel less like a mere reproduction. The midrange is excellent on both but the cobalt enhances it by having better detail and separation of various elements in a mix. The red sounds a bit fuzzy in comparison as if the sound has been smeared a bit. Now, the difference isn’t big but it sort of puts you in the territory where artists come alive and stop sounding like a reproduction. One thing that stood out is the superior separation and imaging. Each instrument has a pin-sharp location on the soundstage. It was actually a jarring experience to listen to electronic music or tracks that contain many sound effects and elements that were baked in in audio software. Each element popped out vividly and some heavily edited tracks sounded fragmented. On multiple occasions my brain was imagining a cursor that was moving across the little squares that are placed on the timeline in audio software. Build quality. My unit seems to be rock solid and so far I haven’t experienced the issue of the board inside coming loose. I use my cobalt with the dragontail cable that was provided to minimise wear and tear on the USB plug and, by extension, on the board, as by doing so you don’t subject the board to forces when frequently plugging in and unplugging. I love it!

I purchased from Amazon prime but from Peter Tyson (who I recommend for good customer service, they replaced a mojo that became faulty for me with no hassle), the cobalt blue. It is fairly powerful and will power 300 ohm and vintage headphones like my Sennheiser HD 540 & 580 quite well, also AKG 240 professional (version 1) very cheap headphones but can be hard to power. Will not power the AKD 240 vintage df 600 ohms headphones though. It seems to use very little battery on the phone (iphone with camera connection adapter). I am over 50 so my ears I guess are not the greatest, but means I can use most of my vintage headphones via my phone without having to worry about keeping something else charged (I also still have the ifi idsd micro battery powered amp/dac but it is not small despite the micro in the name but will power the AKD 240 df 600 ohm) and it increases the soundstage and instrument separation really nicely, I am a bit of a headphone out of the head person (do not like the sound to close) and this does it nicely. I have had the dragonfly red, mojo and still also have the idsd and a geek out, and this and the idsd I find the best, would place the idsd maybe higher but only for the extra power it has. Audioquest do sell some crazy stuff (expensive as in very cables), but this especially if you have hard to drive headphones does provide a better listening experience via the phone.... but have to say I think it is overpriced, not sure if it will be reduced in price later (I doubt by much), fairer price would be 75 for black, 125 for red (the red is just as powerful, but slightly larger, and not as smooth sounding to me and less soundstage, from recent memory I no longer have the red) and 175 for the blue (cobalt). Oh one thing that seems to be common (see thread on head-fi) is that the usb seems loose and wiggles, mine does this but apparently is by design? it does not affect the working of mine (no cutting out etc.) so maybe that is true. I believe it was designed by Gordon Rankin like the black and red, but obviously a new updated design, with the latest mobile ess sabre dac. One way I justified the high price is that it saved me buying easier to drive headphones for using with my phone like the new Sennheiser HD660S, but not sure it (the price) is really justified, but I am kind of hooked on mobile audio (I have also tried the much cheaper usb dac sticks by smsl, sabaj, fiio but none of these are as powerful, smooth sounding or large soundstage, but they are a lot cheaper). Sorry turned into a bit of a ramble, but someone may find it slightly useful.

I actually had the Dragonfly Black that ceased working properly (sound from only one side and I know the speakers were both working). I read all the reviews for the Cobalt - most of which were glowing. It was going to be used on an iMac (2020) and connected to Harmon Kardon Soundsticks. It was a lot more money than I wanted to pay - but, stone me, it did the trick and my music (all through iTune or Apple Music) sounded *better* than it did before ! I like it !!!

I confess I was skeptical about the dragonfly cobalt, even though I’d read reviews by respected audio journalists. No more! Using either my iPhone (11) or my laptop, this little DAC and headphone amp has completely lit up my listening experience. I can’t understand some of the criticism I read here. The build is solid. Quite heavy metal casing and feels very robust. Even using this on MP3 320k compressed music, the soundstage is beautiful. I had the ugreen converter for the iPhone to enable connection of 3.5mm headphones and music sounded lacklustre and flat. Plugging the cobalt in totally transformed things. The separation, detail and ambiance revealed blew me away. Pair this with a semi decent set of headphones, and you won’t be disappointed. I use sennheiser HD25 studio monitors- as I like the flat and accurate response - without any ‘audiophile’ tweaking. I want it how it sounded when recorded; warts and all. HD25’s work really well with this DAC as it’s wonderfully detailed, and the high sound pressure of the HD25s really complement the soundstage. TBH, I think it’s reasonably priced. Pair it with the apple adapter at £34 and £150 for some headphones and for £450 you have a listening experience that will blow away hifi costing many thousands. This DAC may be highly portable, but tbh you need to really be in a quiet environment to truly appreciate it. Just like any quality music player. Immersion is everything. Can’t recommend this DAC enough for nighttime listening in bed. Total sensory immersion.

Audioquest cobalt is a nice DAC. I did not have any issues with build quality that other reviews mention. Although bare in mind I have this DAC only for few days at the time of writing this review. Sound: I have previous Red version of this DAC and in comparison, cobalt indeed sounds better. Difference is not big and I had to listen many songs to fully understand there is any difference at all. But despite difference not being small, once you hear it, you kind of don’t want to go back to red version. My favourite aspect of the sound is instrument separation, you can really distinguish between separate instruments. What I like the least and at the same time I still like it is reduced highs. By reducing trebles sound feels less fatiguing but at the same time a bit less crisp and alive in comparison to red. But this is very small reduction so don’t worry to much thinking that treble are not there, they are still there but just more balanced I would think. If you listen carefully your music then go for cobalt. If you listen at work where music is something secondary in the background then go for red version, you will not notice the difference and save yourself a bit of buck so you can pay for that tidal subscription ;) My headphones are Beyerdynamic T5p 2nd generation. They are quite good headphones, catching many details. I think if you have lower end headphones then going for red is better because you might potentially not hear any difference between these two DACs.

I’ve enjoyed the sound from this DAC, and it’s powerful enough to drive all the headphones and IEMs I’ve thrown at it, but sadly it has developed an intermittent fault, where it turns off randomly and just restarts. This looks to be a common issue. It’s a good portable DAC, but too expensive, given that it’s lasted less than 2 years. Other reports similar to mine have been shared by others in different forums. Some say it sounds similar to the Dragonfly Black, but I can’t comment as I don’t own one. If it wasn’t for the the less that great build quality, I’d give it a good score, but as it is, I wont. There are plenty of portable DACs available nowadays, so don’t settle for something with flimsy build quality.

I love the whole concept of the Audioquest Dragonfly's - small, cool looking, and totally functional offering amazing depth of sound. All true. I use them with my Shure Se846's with TIDAL, and it really is an experience I recommend to anyone that really loves music. For perfect, balanced sound quality and performance - five bold stars, easily. However, on both my Red and Cobalt, the same fault - 'wiggly' jack plugs, and no sound in the right ear. It happens suddenly too, not a gradual thing. One minute, glory, the next, gone. You check all connections, buy new Apple leads, check the headphones. No, its always the Dragonfly, and its exactly the same on both products (I cant speak for the Black). Same time span, too - four months. Im glad I have both now, as I can use one while the other gets sent back. Thankfully, the supplier, Sevenoaks Sound & Vision, are absolutely superb. I had a new one in three days, and so far, no issues. It may well be that the issue has been resolved, in which case, I'll likely come back here with a 5* review in a years time. So be aware. This IS an amazing product, for sure - but reliability issues need to be addressed. Once the two I have go out of warranty, and break again, I will not be buying another Audioquest product. EDIT/UPDATE - it is August 2021...out of g/tee period, and sure enough, the cobalt has given out too. This is the last straw with Dragonfly. I've switched to Earman - so lets so how much better they are.

Build quality is ok. It didn't fall apart after 3 years of active use on the go, but it did start to rattle inside its case relatively early. It has great sound quality but should cost below £90 in 2025. There are plenty of options available that sound as good and are either under 90 or have way more functionality.

My go to so far was a Helm Audio, which I much preferred over Ifi Hip DAC 2 despite bringing less depth and clarity to the sound, as it was warmer and more natural and pleasant. The Dragonfly Cobalt takes the best of the two. Depth in the sound, details, clarity, while remaining somewhat on the warmer side and providing a very natural sound. Love it! My new go to DAC for good sound on the go.

Was looking for a tiny DAC that I could take anywhere with me. There were a few key features that were absolutely non-negotiable for me: - It HAD to be from a reputable brand that makes quality products. - It had to do what it claims to do (strangely enough I’ve bought cables and accessories that claimed to me ‘Apple certified’ that didn’t last a week, so this is a big deal. - It had to be truly portable. Something the size of a hip flask wasn’t going to cut it for me. I need my pockets for other stuff. - Had to be usable with a phone, a computer or laptop (all Apple products in my case), or home stereo. - Great sound quality. This unit hits all the marks, and it’s no wonder it’s so highly recommended all over the internet by audiophile reviews. The unit comes with a USB C adapter as well (the dragontail), and a small pleather pouch. It is very portable, and it sounds great. I bought it on sale on Amazon, so it was less than the Dragonfly Red’s price. I was leaning towards this unit prior to seeing that price. I’d also considered other brand DACs. My main concern with electronics is quality. There is a lot of poorly built stuff out there that may do exactly what it says but basically fails after a few months or years. This unit not having an internal battery is a good step, as it is less to go wrong. Besides, anything with a rechargeable battery that’s not replaceable has already booked its landfill space the moment you bought it. This unit is powered by your phone or computer/amplifier. It really just lightly sips the power. My phone is an older iPhone 11 Pro, so if it lasts perfectly fine through my work day, it should last well for most phones. Highly recommend this product.

apport non négligeable et belle finition .

Works as expected, although a little pricey

I hooked this dragonfly up to my high-end computer speakers. I noticed a slight enhancement to the detail and crispiness to the sound. Definately less flat and more exciting. I liked the easy plug-and-play approach to the Dragonfly, with no need to think about an external power source.