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Finally, the Red’s overall balance is on the lean side.ĭespite these few small dings, it’s obvious why the DragonFly Red has been such a winner in the market. Similarly, as can be heard on George Harrison’s introductory guitar picking on “Here Comes the Sun” from the newly-mixed Abbey Road, the Red’s transients are a bit soft.

“Whispering Pines” reveals that, while the Red’s bass is full, it could use more definition. Yet when given a nice, clear classical piece like the Harmonia Mundi recording of Stravinsky’s L’Histoire du soldat, the Red conjures an orchestra and vocalist who are right there. And when asked to rock out, as on Led Zeppelin’s “Black Dog,” the Red does not disappoint, delivering plenty of energy and head-bobbing drive. Turning to jazz, the ever-informative Ah Um by Charles Mingus (also via Qobuz at 96/24, as are all the musical references in this review) illustrates just how realistically the Red can render tonal colors. The subtle dynamics make the song as moving as it’s meant to be. Detail is manifestly present, but it’s never in your face, and it’s easy to follow separate musical lines.

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On this track, the Red DAC’s smooth and eminently listenable presentation is on full display. I chose the Band’s “Whispering Pines” (from The Band at 96/24 on Qobuz) to encapsulate the Red’s virtues and minor limitations. First, a review of the already-outstanding Red. So much for the tech talk let’s get to the sound. Through this process, the Cobalt ’Fly can support files of up to 192/24 resolution. When streaming these files via Tidal, Cobalt, along with the Tidal software, will unfold them to their original higher resolution.

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(The original Red and Black didn’t, but thanks to a firmware upgrade they, too, now support MQA.) This means that the Cobalt can play higher-res files that have been folded into losslessly compressed versions via the MQA process. So if you’re streaming from Qobuz, that’s the top resolution you’ll get. Although the Cobalt features an upgraded USB receiver chip, its maximum PCM sample rate remains 96/24.

Here, a word about the Cobalt’s maximum sample rate is in order.

The Cobalt also incorporates elements of AudioQuest’s stand-alone JitterBug jitter reducer, better filtering and isolation in the power supply, and a new slow roll-off digital filter that better maintains proper phase than the Red’s fast roll-off filter. AudioQuest says these components result in a 33% processing power boost. The new ’Fly includes the latest ESS ES9038Q2M DAC chip, as well as a new Microchip PIC32MX274 USB receiver. Now comes the fetchingly hued Cobalt model. Voilà: an easy, inexpensive way to replace the crappy audio bits found in smartphones and tablets.

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With those models, AudioQuest reduced power requirements so substantially that the devices could be driven by Android or iOS devices. The real breakthrough came with the introduction in 2016 of the DragonFly Black ($99) and DragonFly Red ($199). The original DragonFly was wildly successful based on these merits alone, even though it was only compatible with Macs and PCs. Inside this diminutive, plug-and-play package resided both a high-res DAC (up to 96/24) and a surprisingly good headphone amp. AudioQuest’s thumb-drive-sized DragonFly bowed in 2012 to immediate acclaim-and for good reason. A new year, a new DragonFly color! But first l et’s go back to the beginning.