So I am the designer of all the DragonFly products for AudioQuest. The Processor is used to convert the USB stream (Asynchronous USB Audio Class) fro the HOST to I2S which is the protocol that the DAC chip requires. The Processor also does the MQA conversion and tunes the DAC chip for required output like volume and so forth. Why are you using Spotify??? Really MP3 is not the way to compare, why not download some high res music? The other big difference between Cobalt and Red is that I added a noise filter that is centered around computer/phone noise so Cellular, WIFI, Bluetooth, Switching noise and so forth.
using 200 dollar headphones and listening via Spotify... yeah what a joke. I wonder why people can think they can make reviews on audiophile topics while they clearly have no knowledge at all.
True. But I think you still can hear a difference using a good quality mp3. In particular whit a portable device like the dragonfly that most people will use on the road where there will be a lot of noise and force the most to use closed back headphone. I mostly use mp3 in my car or on the street since it is impossible to get or hear the difference between mp3 and hires whit a lot od noise around you. When i cut the grass I have to use a good noise cancelling headphone like sony xm5 because even whit a closedback headphone, it's is impossible to hear music at like whit the loud motor noise.
Is there really much if difference? I’m torn between buying the Red or the Cobalt I’m leaning towards the Red so far Can you give your personal and objective analysis of the difference homie? Thanks 😃
Nadeem Eltamimi there’s not a huge difference between them and they’re both very good. For me, it came down to one important trait. Even though I loved my Dragonfly Red, it was a little too bright sounding on a lot of music. That was really my only complaint. The Cobalt has a better behaved treble that is less bright and closer to neutral. It also has a wider soundstage, which is just a nice bonus. And it’s also more efficient, so it has less battery consumption than the Red. If none of those things matter to you, then I’d say get the Red and save $100.
Agreed I have both red and colbalt, need very good music source and headphones to hear the difference. Difference between the 2 dragonfly’s is subtle but I hear the difference
For Europeans: Cobalt is selling for 199€ at Auditorium (big german etailer). Free shipping anywhere in the EU! It arrived last week and I’m blown away with my Grado 325X. Think it might even outperform my desktop amp!
My experience is what kind of equipment it is combined with. In some cases, the red one is slightly cheaper than the blue one, somewhat improved in combination with some type of speakers, but with some other speakers, the blue one is slightly more expensive better. Otherwise, it is impossible to say what is the best sound, as people can be extremely different.
The Monolith USB-DAC outperforms the dragonfly Red for half of its price (it is $99. Sometimes cheaper). IMO, it sounds just as good as the Cobalt. I can hear no discernable difference in the sound signature of the Monolith versus the Cobalt, despite the fact that it is a third of the price. Anyone considering the Cobalt should seriously consider the Monolith.
You are a young man and I'm Impressed with your thirst for knowledge . I use my audio system via the headphone jack and mostly use youtube right now .Will I hear any difference from this ? Do I need a HiFi streaming service to get the benefits of the Cobalt or will I hear it on youtube as well . I'm not sure if I will subscribe to any (yet) and wondering am I wasting my money ? Thanks and that was a really great detailed and impressive review !
You described it really well, i have almost the same feelings. But there are reviewers with far more subscriptions who say they don't hear the difference... The difference is obvious, and I don't know how they can't hear it.
I bought both cobalt and red, cause I was gonna send one of them back anyway. I’m keeping the cobalt, I don’t hear any noticeable difference between the two, but I’m keeping the more expensive one because it’s smaller and it fits better in the iPhone camera dongle (the red one sticks out slightly). If you are trying to choose between the two, I recommend the red one if you want to save some money. if you’re a snob, buy the cobalt one ;)
I'm curious if you had updated the Red's firmware prior to making the comparison with the Cobalt? The reason I ask is that when I first tried the Red and compared it to the Cobalt the difference was profound. The Red had very much lower volume and not much power at all. With the Cobalt, of course, it was gold! Once I updated the firmware through the desktop app on my PC the Red was a completely different DAC. I actually am not sure if I can hear much difference between the two now. The Red seemed to be almost equal to the Cobalt. Based on your reactions I'm wondering if you didn't get the chance to really hear what the Red could do. Personally I think I will return the Cobalt because it's not significantly better. I had purchased both so I could do my own comparison.
I bought a used RED and the owner said he had not used it in 4 years so when I heard the sound it made my music more enjoyable than the JDS labs ol dac and amp I was using. then last night I download AQ manager and it updated the firmware and I don't think its my ears playing with me but the music even sounded better .BTW I bought the used RED for $80 could not afford a new RED let alone a Blue one.
This is is great! I am still considering and researching about the Cobalt, still super new to audiophile world, therefore you’re super helpful! Also super cute too!! Hehehe. Thanks agian!
Really good review. I've got the Dragonfly Red and plan on upgrading after watching the video. I've got a question for anyone who knows: How much of a difference does it make if I have the cheapest USB C to USB A adapter to connect my Dragonfly Red to my phone (OnePlus 7 Pro)? Is it worth it for me to pay money for a better adapter? What specific difference would it make? Because, when I bought my adapter, I thought it wouldn't matter as long as the signal gets through. Is there more to it than that?
A little more detail and frequency analysis would be really helpful. Thanks though. Great job in the description of the filtering and rollout curves of each. Yeah, the Cobalt will provide a little better bandwidth I suspect and be a little more natural sounding. I'm hoping that the Cobalt doesn't mask any frequencies and disturb flat response. Hey great job though and thank you for your points. Well appreciated!
There is no comparison between the two. The red is basically the same as the black and lacks low end bass response and some highs. Though the red is 25 percent better than the black, the cobalt is 100 percent better than both is where you get the absolute best audio quality and superb low end bass response with great clarity in sound.
Love the enthusiasm BUT this comparison needs to be a double blind test. This mean that someone needs to help make the change from red to cobalt without anyone being aware which was being listened to. Then the results would be more credible. Anyway keep up the good work, but please do double blind evaluations.
I had the Red, and it was wonderful and well worth 199 Euro but 299 Euro is way over the top, for this money you have plenty of Players where you have all in one. I know this product is targeted on the smartphone users, but my iphone in combination with the Sabbat E12 gives me such listening fun , that I can’t imagine the Cobalt can do better, but for this money I won’t even try
That's a fair point. I think everyone has a threshold of what they are willing to spend and not. That said, I think in terms of comparison to the Red, it's worth the increase in price. But it totally makes sense if you're like, "Nope!~ I want the best thing I can get for 199, not get something more expensive."
i feel similarly regarding the price jump. I remember reading one comment / forum post from some guy i think on audiosciencereview saying he reckoned there was a 1% audio difference (subjective experience i guess) between his $200 CD player and a $1000 CD player. To me the price difference on these dragonflies can't justify the difference in sound (at least on paper it can't). Caveat: I've not heard the cobalt. I auditioned the dragonfly red over a period of weeks and actually didn't rate it. Bit more detailed than my samsung S8 but i found the treble sharp or something. The cobalt at current pricing is 80% more than the red!!!! That's a huge jump. However, that's the problem with audio equipment. Diminishing returns IMO can kick in very quickly. You can go from this sucks to ooooohhhh by spending maybe $200-300 (am thinking about some decent budget bookshelf speakers and an amp vs a PC and some shitty logitech micro-speakers). There again, I really liked the mojo. Just it had issues (for me) and i couldn't justify the £400 pricetag (though it's £300 currently). I guess it comes down to whether you can hear a tangible difference and/or you have perhaps significantly improved analogue stuff i.e. say some lovely planars and need something to get the most from them. Audio is so damn subjective.
I look forward to the day when DACs are measured objectively with test equipment, instead of reviewers waving their arms and using meaningless terms like 'expressiveness'. It's just an electrical system, it should be possible to quantify its performance objectively. The current situation is the manufacturer's dream.
@Nick S - Your frustration will only fall on deaf ears when test equipment isn't part of the review. Why complain here? Why complain at all? It appears the vast majority of reviews on YT find the Cobalt to be better than the Red. If you heard both, then state your thoughts. If you haven't heard either, keep watching the arm wavers. That's what I'm doing.
Thanks for your honest opinion! Is the Dragonfly Cobalt as powerful as the ifi Nano iDSD Black Label? Would be great if someone owns these two portable amp/DACs and makes a comparison review. Cheers!
i have a big question... im bying dragonfly red.... if i use my portable laptop and usb.. i cant see, its possible to connect dragonfly to audiocast via miniusb or usb....audiocast in amplifier ... a friend told me audiocast has jackoutput and its also digital optical output,, so i should buy a dac with digital optical output and connect it to audiocast... i use for spotify streaming wireless... how can i stream spotify or youtube sound and have analog wiresignal from red dragonfly... i feel stupid...
Partially lack of resources, partially because I think that's how A LOT of folks will be listening. And even with the resolution of Spotify, I noticed a BIG difference between these two! Would love to hear your thoughts though, if you are using a different source and what differences you hear :)
@@MajorHiFi I would seriously recommend you try out the Tidal app, mqa(master on tidal) is where these things really shine. You will never use spotify again. As a student its only like 10 bucks a month...well worth it.
Hi. Your comment about the dragontail usb cable at 6m52s. I think you need to be careful in stating it helps reduce jitter. It almost sounded like it has specific circuitry which does that. I know you didn't say that specifically but it's just an extension cable, as far as i can see: www.audioquest.com/accessories/usb-extension/dragontail-usb-c I believe any/all jitter control is onboard in cobalt itself. Audioquest make their cable sound great but I'm cynical about the differences that cables (in general) make. Is there honestly a audible difference between a suitable Amazon basics usb to usbC cable and the audioquest one? If a cable meets cable design standards, it should perform to a certain level e.g. speed throughout. Might be an interesting test. Do an blind AB test with the cables perhaps? As a parallel, look at Ethernet cables (cat 5, 5e, 6, 6a, shielded vs unshielded) design and specific construction to reduce crosstalk in proximity to power cables and other noise sources (just as an example). That i can potentially buy into.
No, there is no difference. Audioquest sells you snake oil with its overpriced cables. Their DACs are very good, but there are cheaper DACs that outperform them. For example, the Monolith USB DAC is $99, but it has better specifications and sounds better than the Dragonfly Red. It also supports higher sample rates and DSD. According to tests, the Monolith has the EXACT same sound as the Dragonfly Cobalt for a third of its price.
Dante Tzimboukakis well the Mojo is definitely far more powerful, but if you don’t need that extra power to properly drive your headphones, I prefer the Cobalt. The one gripe I have with the Mojo is that it doesn’t cast a very large soundstage. But a wider soundstage seems to be the bread and butter of the Cobalt. It even makes the soundstage of my hd800S sound larger, even though it isn’t even giving them enough power to drive them properly.
Personally, I think the Mojo is quite a different animal. Much more power like John said, but also has a really beautiful sound to it, particularly in high frequency and mid frequency harmonics.
@@irondad007 while i think the mojo sounds very good i returned it because the soundstage was just too small on my hd600. almost claustrofobic. big difference with the cobalt and even my red at the time.
i have a Sony MP3/Flac play that only has the regular headphone input.. if i got a USB to 3.5mm Audio Jack (this one: www.amazon.com/dp/B07J3XS7DQ/?coliid=I1DGFTOXQAP6FH&colid=3FQIJX5U31TUE&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it Would i be able to us that with the Dragonfly Red? or does the Dragonfly Red require a source that will power it up. & if it does would that converter that i linked above do the job???? i'm looking to get a headphone amp, & i like that the Dragonfly gives you audiophile sound quality, is small, & won't need bands to attach it to the player.
I’m more than happy with my red so I’ll not be upgrading, my red dragonfly sounds incredible! I’ve also ditched Spotify & now use AmazonMusic HD Wowsah just an extra fiver a month to hear music that you would hear like it sounds in a recording studio, an extra hundred quid for the blue stick nah I’m good
For basically the same price of the cobalt, one can get the new fiio q5s with much much more features. The q5s has optical and coaxial inputs, high quality Bluetooth, balanced outputs.
@@humanbass That is true. But the dragonfly uses usb-a which is more convenient because of the myriad of third-party dongles/accessories. You don't see any third-party usb-c to micro or lightning to micro around much. Also, the dragonfly does not need to be charged since power is being used from the device. Sound preference is also a factor.
Def a fair point, although like David is saying, I think the two are sort of apples and oranges and for two different listeners. Someone looking at this unit definitely will have portability as a big priority. I would try to compare it to another unit of a similar size, ya know?
ASR just did a testing on the cobalt, way outperformed by most nowadays $100 DAC dongles, the chip inside is fine but the amp sucks, high distortion and clipping specially in low impedance cans, if you use mid-high impedance cans you may not noticed the shortcomings, but asking $300 when performs around $50, is a shame; audioquest scam as usual.
@@gregoryreid8106 HidizsS9, little dongle with stellar performance, capable to drive most headphones , even the ones that typically need stand alone headphone amplifiers to sound good.
lol! Partially lack of resources, partially because I think that's how A LOT of folks will be listening. And even with the resolution of Spotify, I noticed a BIG difference between these two! Would love to hear your thoughts though, if you are using a different source and what differences you hear :) And well, lol it was a hair dye job gone wrong that I ended up keeping!
@@MajorHiFi I'm willing to bet that majority of users who are interested in the AQ Cobalt have access to high-res audio. I stream from Tidal using my Macbook Pro and use the Shure SE846, or Audeze Sine, or a pair of Adam A7XGB studio monitors. All methods provide a superb audio experience, so I'm not sure if the AQ Cobalt will be an improvement. I tried the AQ Dragonfly Red, and found the audio signature to be unacceptable.
IMO - The source file is the single most important aspect of the audio chain. It doesn't matter if you have expensive headphones, speakers, cables, or DAC if the source file is 256kbps.
@@knate22 Regardless of the source file many reviewers including MajorHiFi have said the Cobalt makes Spotify sound better. Why dismiss MajorHiFi's response to your question so hastily when it is perfectly legit. If anything, your comment should be dismissed considering you haven't even tried the Cobalt. Why do you find it necessary to draw attention to yourself and the toys you own when you and they are not part of the conversation? Become informed and then comment.
I have had the Red and the Black. Nothing special. They have an OK sound. They both broke within 2-3 years from purchase. Plus, paint flakes off all too easily. Will not buy again.
@@MajorHiFi Thanks! i got it for myself, oh man its a real ear candy... tried it first in the store and could instantly feel the difference especaily when listened to tidal MQA format
Is Audioquest Dragonfly Cobalt compatible with Grado Labs SR80e? Just making sure before I make a purchase because other people complain about hearing lots of hiss, pops and clicks.
Hi, everyone writes that red plays very loudly, but in my case it plays somewhere 15% louder than the adapter from iPhone. (Definitely better but, not much louder) it ist normal or its something wrong with my Unit?
I have a serious issue with the cobalt and that is in usb audio player pro after i connect the cobalt with the dragontail or i start the app when its allready connected i would have the volume on a normal listening level but increasing or decreasing the volume by 1 step makes it play at MAX volume. Another click either way makes it go back to normal. This is a major thing cause i was listening with my er4xrs and it nearly blew out my eardrums!!! I was soo mad about it. I wonder if other people have this issue aswell. I contacted the seller and they told me they would check it out aswell. It happens with other phones and differend versions of the app btw and on my pc there is no issue.
Yikes! That sounds like a defective unit for sure! I didn't have this issue with mine. But thanks for sharing! Would love to hear if others had the same issue.
@@markmolenaar4479 its fixed allright. I hope aq will also update the firmware because apparently there is clipping when using line out at max volume. When i connect it to my magni 3 i have to set windows volume to 98 to avoid that.
Can you use the headphone jack to plug in the DF ? By using a headphone to usb adapter instead of using the lighting cable or the android usb charing port ?
