The HiFiMans are the most resolving headphones of the trio, and with about two-thirds volume level from the Cobalt they were a sonic delight. It also drove the HiFiMans loud enough for the most serious at-home listening, though the bottom end at extreme levels got a little tubby, presumably due to headphone-amp "sag." On a really noisy public conveyance this combo might not quite cut it for critical listeners-but I'd think twice about wearing my eminently snatch-able HFMs on the subway, anyway. The Cobalt had enough oomph to drive both the Sony and the Viso cans far louder than I'd ever ask, even, I think, on a noisy subway. I rotated among my three headphones: a fairly low-output, medium-impedance HiFiMan planar set a moderately higher-output, somewhat lower-impedance NAD/Viso set and my ancient Sony MDRV6 reference, a still lower-Z and higher-O option. I did most of my listening via Tidal and Qobuz, for their easy access to streaming high-res files, including MQA-encoded ones in the case of Tidal. Does it sound better than high-dollar outboard-DAC X, Y, or Z? I have no idea, but would wager that real differences, if any, would be vanishingly tiny. And the bass was just all-around better: deeper, tighter, more timbral-more everything.ĭid the Cobalt sound better than either of the outboard, big-component Parasound and Primare DACs at my disposal? Not via my headphones, at least, but it did sound every bit as good as either and I noted no repeatable sonic signatures among the three. Its sound was obviously more open, quiet, devoid of any slightly grainy or "fizzy" tinge, and effortlessly dynamic. Oh, the horror!ĭid the Cobalt sound better than the headphone output of an iMac? Yes-even a contrarian skeptic like myself can easily concede that point. So, when you put it on backwards-a 50/50 proposition-it's not flush. (Note that as an MQA renderer, the Cobalt can "unfold" an MQA-encoded file to deliver resolutions beyond 96kHz when paired with compatible playback software like Tidal.) Yet I still managed one complaint: the cap that covers the Cobalt's USB end for purse or pocket travel is asymmetrical, but with no indication of front or back. AudioQuest includes its new USB-C DragonTail adaptor cable that connects DragonFly to all USB-C-enabled Apple and Android gear, but iPhones will require an Apple adapter such as the $39 Camera Adapter 3 that AudioQuest recommends.Įrgonomics? The Cobalt doesn't have any beyond a sexy illuminated DragonFly logo that lights up different colors to indicate 44.1, 48, 88.2, and 96kHz sample rates and glows a stylish purple when an MQA stream is detected. (Because the Cobalt relies on the host to downsample files above 96kHz, Windows users don't need to download a driver.) Pairing the DAC with a portable like a smartphone requires an adapter. (Fearing golden-ear backlash, I elected not to use a USB-extension cable.) The Mac's OSX (10.13.4) software found it without difficulty, and voila! Music. I used my older iMac, which conveniently (not!) put the Cobalt on the back with its jack facing away. Setting up AudioQuest's DAC involves merely plugging it into a USB port. The Cobalt retains the Red's headphone amp (also ESS) but has a new micro-controller chip that's said to reduce power consumption and increase processing speed. Those distinctions? The Cobalt uses a newer ESS micro DAC chip with a "slow-rolloff" minimum phase digital filter that AudioQuest claims to deliver more natural sound (both the Black and Red versions use fast-rolloff filters). It has a USB type-A male connector on one end, and a standard stereo mini-jack to connect headphones or a cable to a preamp or other "B-chain" component, on the other. With a couple of distinctions, the new Cobalt follows the Red with a 24/96-capable ESS Sabre micro-DAC circuit and a relatively high-output headphone amp micro'd into a housing that looks like a nicely finished USB thumb drive. And indeed, its DragonFly line of miniature USB-Headphone amp/DACs has been so successful that the firm has added a third, the $299 DragonFly Cobalt, to the existing Black ($99) and Red ($199) versions. Both tribes, however, can agree that the headphone amps in most smartphones, tablets, laptops, and desktops leave a lot to be desired when it comes to peak output, dynamics, and inherent sonic quality.ĪudioQuest, a firm that made its bones selling high-end cables to folks committed to the differences therein, is a natural to provide a similar set of options in the portable DAC space. If you don't, you likely have auditioned many a converter component with a seriously gimlet ear. If you believe bits is bits, you're probably perfectly happy with the converter inside your smartphone, tablet, or computer. Listeners tend to consider an external digital-to-analog converter as either completely unnecessary or absolutely essential.
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