AudioQuest DragonFly Red Reviews

This is a very popular DAC/Amp, suitable for desktop, laptop and smartphone use. It is limited to 96KHz/24bit sound which might be a disappointment to some, but if you can live with that, this is a serious device that can compete with higher-priced products. Its sound is decidedly non-neutral, what I found particularly interesting is that even in the most melodramatic pieces it manages to inject some excitement. The bass notes are particularly fast and clear which contributes to such a feeling. There is a sense of ample detail too, which is in disagreement with its modest price. This is achieved through increased high frequency noise though, which can easily be observed in the THD measurements one can find online. Despite that, there is no glare, grit or anything negative coming out of this, just the good stuff! It drives my Final Audio Sonorus II (16 ohm) very convincingly, although for high volumes you certainly need a dedicated amplifier. This is only reason I am not giving the 5 stars that are otherwise deserved.

USB power affects it a lot, the sound in my Dell laptop is quite hazy, not at all on my desktop system, which is a little counter-intuitive. The cleanest sound comes when used with a Dragontail on a smartphone. As luck would have it, my laptop has a USB-C port and when connected through the Dragontail the Dragonfly Red shines again! From an EMI perspective what happens here is that the usb termination does not go inside the laptop this time, so the received interference is greatly reduced. 

You should expect everything here sound-wise that is standard nowdays from quality dacs in the $100-$200 range, like an open soundstage, distinct placement of instruments and good transients along with ample detail that was mentioned before. Excellent tonality as well. As a testament to the quality of this device, if used as a DAC in a revealing stereo system, the result can rival the setups found in Hi-Fi shops. For under $10,000 systems at least ☺️