The new Audioquest Dragonfly....sounds terrific.

Anyone own both the 1.2 and a schhit modi able to compare them here?

 

I'd have to second this! I am very happy about my purchase. It's super easy to install and work with, the sound improvement is impressive, and paired with my NAD Viso HP 50's, it has made me rediscover my music library. Highly recommended for audiophiles on a budget.

 

I got one and am very pleased. I can't find any info out there on the volume settings in the Mac Audio Midi Setup. Any suggestions? I am not sure what I am seeing in the window. What are the optimal setting for value (what is this exactly?) and dB? I current have them set at .38 and .074.

 

+1 Buehler?

 

You meant Bueller?..

 

Sorry yes I did! Still no guidance...

 

There were distortion issues with the original 1.0 version that was corrected in the 1.0c version.

If you have a 1.0 (not "c"), you'll want to back the volume off of max.

 

I have the 1.2 version. Any know what the "value" field in the Mac Midi set-up means?

 

Any thoughts on the Dragonfly 1.2 vs the HRT MicroStreamer? I'm looking to replace an old Music Fidelity V-DAC (version 1). Wondering if these will be an improvement.

 

http://www.hifizine.com/2014/03/audioquest-dragonfly-v1-2/

 

This chap compared the HRT and the Modi.

http://www.computeraudiophile.com/f...it-modi-digital-analogue-converter-$99-14356/

Looking at the review of the Dragonfly vs. the Modi, it looks rather like the order of preference might go: Dragonfly (1.2), Modi, HRT, though these are just consumer reviews that should taken with a grain (or shaker) of salt.

I'm curious where the Meridian fits in...

 

Thanks! This seems to be the trend I'm finding on the internet (though I hadn't considered the Modi) -- with the original Dragonfly being bested by the HRT MicroStreamer, and that was bested by the new 1.2 Dragonfly. For $150 ($50 cheaper than the HRT) I ordered the DF 1.2 last night. I like that the HRT had a "line out" in addition to the headphone amp (which made more sense for my application) but I still decided on the DF 1.2. According to reviews it's a little "better" and might be more fun-sounding. And cheaper

From what I've read, the Meridian is ahead of the above DACs in terms of SQ. But it's $300. And I don't know if it's "that" much better. Not twice the DF 1.2. And at $300 I think you can start entertaining some other options, for example those in the affordable desktop-size units.

It looked like the DF 1.2 offered the best bang for the buck -- and it looks so cool and sexy, is reliably sturdy and well built. If the HRT were the same price (or a few bucks cheaper!) I would have gone that route. It was said to be "analytical" compared to the "fun and musical" DF. Analytical has its benefits, and is usually my choice. But fun and engaging has its benefits too -- so I chose that for a change. Especially for the "entertaining" family room.

Mainly, my goal was to retire my old V-DAC 1.0 (capable of only 16/48k). The VDAC was $300 like 7 or 8 years ago -- and from what I understand -- the affordable/entry-level "hi-end" DAC market has really advanced since then. Asynchronous USB. 24/96. It will be nice to finally get the full impact of all them HDtracks downloads on the family room "entertainment center," that I've enjoyed privately in my office PC listening station.

 

Since this thread has been revived, can anyone shed any light on my original question?

 

I believe a value of "1" is equivalent to 0 dBFS. In other words, volume all the way up.

 

Does anyone know how long a good burn-in time is on this? The guy at Best Buy who owns one told me 25 hours. Another guy on Amazon said he ran his for 50 hours.

 

Others will tell you there is no burn-in time on electronics.

 

Mine was great right out of the box. That goes for both 1.0 and 1.2

 

I've been listening to the one I have v1.2 all night and after 30 hours of continuous burn-in, I'm honestly not blown away. It definitely sounds better but it's fairly subtle. It is not the night and day difference I was led to expect by all the reviews. Either my soundcard in my laptop is REALLY good or maybe my ears suck. It's certainly not bad and it does improve things, but not on the drastic level I've been told it's supposed to. I'm hearing more vocal detail and it's kind of bringing out details the soundcard is displaying but not highlighting. It's definitely making the sound more engaging and adding some sparkle around the instruments. It's adding more depth to the sound. I did notice it's making the sound (especially the vocals) more 3D. Again, it definitely sounds better. Drastically? I don't think so.

 

I've owned the Dragonfly 1.2 for a couple of weeks and I'm satisfied with it. It allowed me to turn my laptop into a portable music player, at least around the house. Before I got it, my laptop had to be tethered to my full size DAC which meant I had to stay in the main listening room to use my headphone system. As far as sound goes I think it falls ever so slightly short of the two full size DACS I own, but it is very very close. I'm pleased with the purchase.

 

I may return this thing - I don't really think it's $150 worth of improvement on my laptop - probably more like $100. Again, it does sound good but for the price point, I think it doesn't live up to the hype. At least to me.

 

You can't be wrong on this. If you don't like it there is no reason to keep it.

 

I tried a Dragonfly in my system on loan and liked it over the DAC in my 5 year old Pioneer Elite DV79avi AIR Studios edition multi-player, but got a deal from a fellow board member on a Micromega MyDAC. Years ago I had a MicroMega Stage 6 CD player and really liked it, so I gave the DAC a shot. The MyDAC is a well-rated $500ish product, so it unsurprisingly shot down the Dragonfly (pun intended) especially in terms of inner detail and suchlike. It was also better than the entry level Meridian DAC, with a little detailed presentation in things like cymbals, and reverb tails/spaciousness/airiness, if *possibly* a little more light weight in the bass department, not in terms of extension, but maybe in the mid-bass region. I scored it for about the price of the Dragonfly, so it was a no-brainer.

It's fed by a Macbook Pro of recent vintage via asynchronous USB.

 

Nbakid2000
I would have to know what playback software you are using. There are setting in the software that need to be set and maybe some on the laptop depending on what you have.
I listen to Hirez music (96/24) as well as ripped CD's. I fell this is a great DAC. I am using Grado's RS1 and a Grado PS500 for my headphones. I couldn't be happier with what I am hearing.
You can check my profile and see that I have a pretty decent stereo system, so I am comparing what I hear with it to the Dragonfly/headphone experience. I also own the MicroStreamer, I had made that purchased before the 1.2 version of the Dragonfly came out. There was nothing wrong with that one, but I liked the way and size of how the Dragonfly attached. Less bulky. I also preferred the way the DF lit up to show the different bit rates as opposed to the MS.

Audioquest will be offering a couple of new DAC's as well as a upgraded 1.2 by the new year.

 

@David Johnson Tag me or use the quote and I could have responded sooner.

I am using Dragonfly 1.2 with Sennheiser 558 headphones. The playback software is Foobar2k v. 1.3.3 with WASAPI enabled. I am using lossless redbook 16/44.1 files on the system. I haven't really done a whole lot of back and forth on Spotify, just the lossless. Maybe it works better for lossy files. My sound settings are set at 24 bit, 96000 Hz (Studio Quality).

The latop is an ASUS K53E model with SSD drive (after installed by me).

The soundcard included on my laptop is as follows according to the System Information:

Name USB Audio Device
Manufacturer (Generic USB Audio)
Status OK
PNP Device ID USB\VID_21B4&PID_0081&MI_00\7&2D8B65F&0&0000
Driver c:\windows\system32\drivers\usbaudio.sys (6.1.7601.18208, 107.25 KB (109,824 bytes), 10/12/2013 2:02 AM)

Name Realtek High Definition Audio
Manufacturer Realtek
Status OK
PNP Device ID HDAUDIO\FUNC_01&VEN_10EC&DEV_0269&SUBSYS_10431B43&REV_1001\4&1A9E13CE&0&0001
Driver c:\windows\system32\drivers\rtkvhd64.sys (6.0.1.6304, 2.61 MB (2,736,872 bytes), 5/20/2013 2:59 PM)

Name Intel(R) Display Audio
Manufacturer Intel(R) Corporation
Status OK
PNP Device ID HDAUDIO\FUNC_01&VEN_8086&DEV_2805&SUBSYS_80860101&REV_1000\4&1A9E13CE&0&0301
Driver c:\windows\system32\drivers\intcdaud.sys (6.14.0.3074, 310.00 KB (317,440 bytes), 10/15/2010 1:28 AM)

If you have any other questions, let me know. I would be interested in an upgraded 1.2. What makes you think they'll have it upgraded in 5 months or so?

Again, I'm not saying there's no difference...there's definitely a difference I hear, but honestly it's real real subtle. The best I can describe it as is without it, the sound is "flat" like a cardboard box material and with the DAC there's more 3D realism to it, slightly maybe more rich but it's not "in your face" difference like others claim to hear. It sounds nice, tonally and everything else. It's got a very clear relaxed sound and sounds great.

 

It sounds like a good upgrade for $150, however if money is tight or you were plenty satisfied with what you had and the difference the dragonfly made is no big deal then I'd return it also. For $150 if you are hearing what you describe then I think I am going to buy one for my PC. I have been burning my CDs to FLAC files using dBpoweramp, I assume the Dragonfly would be perfect for bringing out the best in these types of files? It should be an upgrade to my sound card which is a Creative soundblaster X-Fi.