Home Theater Systems Buying Guide
Product Information
Highlights
- Dramatically improves sound from MP3s, YouTube, etc.
- Delivers high-end performance from high-res and MQA & Masters files
- Bit-perfect variable output drives powered headphones, powered speakers or power amp
- Fixed output feeds preamp or AV receiver
- Flagship ESS ES9038Q2M DAC chip with minimum-phase slow roll-off filter for more natural sound
- Microchip PIC32MX274 microcontroller draws less current and increases processing speed by 33% over previous DragonFlys
- Improved power-supply filtering specifically designed to reduce WiFi, Bluetooth, and cellular noise
- Includes new DragonTail USB-C to USB-A adaptor
Specifications
Specifications
Features & Specs
- Flagship ESS ES9038Q2M DAC chip with minimum-phase slow roll-off filter for more natural sound
- Microchip PIC32MX274 microcontroller draws less current and increases processing speed by 33% over previous DragonFlys
- Improved power-supply filtering specifically designed to reduce WiFi, Bluetooth, and cellular noise
- Includes new DragonTail USB-C to USB-A adaptor
What It Does
- Dramatically improves sound from MP3s, YouTube, etc.
- Delivers high-end performance from high-res and MQA & Masters files
- Bit-perfect variable output drives powered headphones, powered speakers or power amp
- Fixed output feeds preamp or AV receiver
Compatibility
- Windows 7-10
- Apple macOS 10.6.8 and later
- iOS 5 and later (requires Apple USB adaptor)
- Android 4.1 and later (requires micro-USB DragonTail, USB-C DragonTail, or other Android USB adaptor)
- Linux (no technical support provided)
Sample Rates (indicated by LED color)
- 1kHz (Green)
- 48kHz (Blue)
- 2kHz (Amber)
- 96kHz (Magenta)
- MQA (Purple)
What's in the Box
What's in the Box
- DragonFly Cobalt
- DragonTail USB-A to USB-C
- DragonFly Pouch
- Registration Card
- User’s Manual
Reviews
Customer Reviews for AudioQuest DragonFly Cobalt USB Digital-to-Analog Converter
For those who think that the extra $100 for the Cobalt over the Red is unwarranted, consider that the built-in JitterBug filter ($70) and included USB-A to USB-C Dragon Tail ($30) cover that difference without even getting into other Cobalt improvements over the Red.
Bonus #1: At home, I found that using the Cobalt with my laptop provided a dramatic improvement over the built-in DAC. I'm now able to use my full-size over-the-ear headphones with my laptop.
Streaming music through my phone or laptop, through the Cobalt, into my home stereo sounds excellent, providing much better sound staging and instrument separation than going directly from my laptop into the amplifier.
The BIG Unexpected Bonus: Last year we bought a used 2012 car which ticked all of our boxes except that it has the base stereo. That base stereo sounds awful. Even though it has separate tweeters at the tops of the front doors, the sound is muddy, with very little treble. In my experience, using a car's CD player usually sounds much better than using the radio. Not in this case! When it didn't even sound good using the CD player, I figured I'd need to look into replacing the head unit and possibly the speakers, which would have been non-trivial with the way that head units are built into dashboards these days. I decided to try streaming music from my phone through the Cobalt into the car's Aux input. My daughter was with me and immediately said "WOW!". When I brought my wife out to hear it, she thought that I had indeed replaced a number of things. The Cobalt improved everything. Bass is clean and punchy. Not only is there treble now, but we can just about place where the band members are across the dashboard. Vocals and acoustic guitars sound much more lifelike and live. And this obviously cost A LOT less than replacing the head unit and speakers. Your mileage may vary, but we are blown away by the difference.
I admit that I had reservations about spending a few hundred dollars on a DAC the size of a thumb drive. But, in our case, the value goes beyond the wow factor of the sound difference to having saved more than the purchase price in other upgrades that now are unnecessary.
A Drawback: Using a dongle DAC like this with your phone will prevent you from charging your phone through the same port. If you know anything about how USB works, you'll know that, although some companies sell them, you can't simply use a splitter to use both a charger and the DAC at the same time. So, if you must do both, you'll need to figure out an alternative approach that works for you.
That aside, I still smile every time I use this little gem.
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As I type this I am listening to a MQA playlist on Tidal on my Sennheiser HD 58x headphones and am totally blown away. Music is clearer and instruments more well defined. Soundstage is wider. Read the comparison reviews online.
So if you are trying to decide between the Red and Cobalt, go for the Cobalt. You do get a DragonTail USB C adapter and this has improved power filter and does not need the JitterBug so the price difference really is not that great. If you already have the Red and have the disposable income considering upgrading. It is worth it. At least it was worth $400 to me.
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Q&A
Customer Q & A
Have a functionality, compatibility, or otherwise product-specific question about this product? Ask it here! If you have a customer service or shipping question, please direct it to our customer service department
- Reply
- Inaccurate
- Mike K Staff on Mar 2, 2021