No need to qualify.
I just wanted to make sure that me being misquoted was addressed (which my post does).
And DragonFly/volume issues with Android sources are not new, so I get that. You don’t get as much range of adjustment with iOS, but at least there it isn’t randomly switching levels.
Yea I appreciate your addressing it and it’s a shame it isn’t a better android experience.
I tried DF Red at Axpona one year, with my same V20 actually and had… a much quieter experience which was preferential to the most recent and much louder set of errors.
Still the qualifier does seem like a worthwhile inclusion in my review so I as always appreciate the interaction and exchange of dialogue here
UAP Pro installed on v20 [was running it with Neutron bit perfect]
Time for DF Cobalt Round Two! Only Dynamic Headphones an MQA namely my HD 600 and a Magnum V7 Build from WabiSabi Headphones [think Grado RS2E with better bass]
Again listening was exclusively MQA featuring the following tracks
As mentioned subjectively the Cobalt has a rich organic tone due in part to it’s heavy top end roll off. Overall with these dynamics I found Cobalt to have;
An to make matters worse I often had the volume output maxed with my HD600 to achieve a meager 81 dB peak with more dynamic/quite classical pieces.
While it wasn’t as “noisy” it still lacked detail and presented a congested image, overall I still feel it’s not a worthwhile purchase. xDSD sounds more tonally even and presents better detail, interestingly enough Bluetooth with xDSD was tonally flatter and about as detailed as cable’d listening with Cobalt. An from time to time I often use xDSD in such a manner, tucked away in my pocket connected wireless to my cell.
In conclusion I just don’t find any value in Cobalt unless you listen with easier to drive headphones and enjoy mostly vocal heavy music.
To revive this thread, it looks like the Cobalt is getting accolades in the advertising-supported press just in time for the holiday season. I am happy with mine, but it doesn’t seem like a product of the year to me.
I received a Dragonfly Cobalt for Christmas and my initial impressions are as follows:
It’s very resolving. The highs are definitely present, but so are the lows in an almost v shaped fashion. Generally speaking there seems to be ‘more’ of everything.
I’ve only tried it with two headphones, the Audeze LCD-X and the Koss Porta Pros. Interestingly with the ‘better’ LCD-X’s it didn’t sound very good. It was way too bright sounding, and not as impactful. Conversely with the Porta Pro’s the sound is quite pleasing. It brings out greater detail, yet maintains their inherent warmth. They’re still boomy, even more so at times which can be fun but isn’t ideal.
Though the LCD-X are low impedance for whatever reason the Cobalt can’t drive them properly. Perhaps it’s an issue with planer technology. With a Dynamic headphone it tends to really shine (yeah, it’s kind of bright). I may be picking up a dynamic or two in the near future after which I’ll do a full review, photos included.
Overall my initial impressions are very positive. It’s a very resolving and competent dac that can easily drive lower impedance headphones. MQA via Tidal app on various iOS devices sounds fantastic.
It has to do with efficiency. A lot of planars are low impedance but also low efficiency, and generally you need to give full sized planars quite a bit of power to get the most out of them (with a few exceptions). The nice thing though is that in spite of the low impedance, the frequency response usually won’t be as affected by less than ideal output impedances from the source, so you don’t need to be as picky there.
They didn’t sound very good through the Cobalt. I’d love to hear the Sabre dac through my RNHP. As of now, I really enjoy their sound from the RNHP via the Node2i, even with its low level TI dac. Looking forward to upgrading the dac for that setup.
Edit:
I pulled a snapshot from Audeze’s website. I thought they were fairly efficient, and I think 103db is an efficient number. I’m not sure of the discrepancy in sound.
Edit 2: From Rupert Neve’s website. Judging by Audeze’s recommended power level, and the RNHP’s numbers, I think you are correct.
The RNHP appears to be a perfect match for LCD-X!
Sensitivity and Efficiency are indeed two different beasts.
I went back to listen via the LCD-X, and there is a tonal discrepancy that I’m hearing.
I think the reason they sounded so bright via the Cobalt is because of my volume compensation for the lack of full-bodied low end that I’m used to. Lower frequencies require more power to produce (more air to move), hence the sonic discrepancy. I was playing it at a louder volume than normal and that I should be to get the sound I’m used to.
I imagine it’s similar to the “fuller” sound people often experience when switching from single ended to balanced output. The LCD-X just needs more power.
Apparently there’s no replacement for displacement! 
ooOO
As the guy said on Grand Tour, Turbo is what you use when you ain’t got enough cylinders.
So I have spent a quite a bit of time reading through this thread and others online, If we were to create a poll do you think the majority of people would prefer the Red or Cobalt?
at least five - I would suggest or max 3 for bikes 
If you have the Red, you probably don’t need the Cobalt. @Torq did some reports on the Cobalt at the top of this thread. It didn’t test quite as expected in the amp section, but subjectively he preferred it to the Red. My impression is that he’s not sure it’s worth $100 more than the Red.
I do note that it claims to contain most of the jitterbug circuitry, so that’s what, $60? The Red does not have that.
Yup that’s what I read as well accross his review and many others online. Is jitterbug really needed if your not using high sensitivity iem? That’s one of the questions I had.
I also read quite a bit that the cobalt is smoother and the Red is more analytical so depending on what headphones your using it can make a difference in the listening experience.
Ultimately I would be pairing it with either the Elegia or Aeon2C (still deciding between those) and possibly when at home the Elear and Ananda. Not sure if one of the two would pair better with those headphones. I also read the cobalt actually didn’t really have any battery savings improvements when using do to the new chip and firmware issues.
The Jitterbug is not needed, but it is helpful coming out of many sources where electrical noise and RFI is possible. I use it with the DFB, and occasionally with my iFi xDSD when I’m connected for longer periods. Seems to do something to improve the sound quality. I’d say marketing hogwash, except that Schiit takes special precautions with USB in the new Bifrost, and iFi also sells a similar filter.
I don’t know diddly-squat (a technical term) about your headphone choices. We can always hope for firmware updates. I’m happy with the Cobalt, but never had the Red.
@pennstac thank you, sir! I had the XDSD and loved it but returning it today as I want the larger IFI unit for more power for on the go office use, and want to add a Dragonfly for all my other portable listening. I have a decent desktop home use amp, but for portability, It seems the dragonfly is hard to beat.
Audioquest Dragonfly Cobalt
‘Lightning in a Dongle’…
The Audioquest Dragonfly Cobalt is the third entrant in Audioquest’s series of Dragonfly USB DAC + Headphone Amps and is situated as their flagship DAC preceded by the Dragonfly Red, and Dragonfly Black.
Under the hood…
It employs the ESS Sabre ES9038Q2M chipset (32 bit- natively decoding 24 bit/96khz, including an MQA core decoder) in conjunction with the ESS Sabre 9601 headphone amplifier with a high-level output of 2.1V @ 10k ohms or higher (3.5mm output).
It has a 64-bit, bit-perfect digital volume control, and also uses an efficient Microchip PIC32MX274 USB microcontroller that draws less current, and increases processing speed by 33%. Wavelength Audio’s monoClock technology, with a single ultra-low-jitter clock to run the headphone amplifier and all of the microcontroller functions.
Yeah, but how does it sound…?
Well in short, pretty fantastic with some caveats.
ESS Sabre chipsets are regarded for their resolving detail that many describe as analytical and have a tendency to be on the “bright” side.
For the Cobalt, Audioquest went with a minimum-phase slow roll-off filter which for me, is a good thing as I’m one of those treble sensitive individuals.
In my listening I use the Dragonfly Cobalt (DFC) paired with the Koss Porta Pros, or what I like to call the “Baby Aeolus”.
It’s a match made in audio heaven. Sort of.
As my source I’m alternating between an iPad Pro and an iPhone XS Max playing tracks via the Tidal, and Apple Music apps. The DFC includes a USB-A to USB-C adapter known as “The Dragontail”. I use my Apple USB adapter (non camera kit version) to pair with the above devices.
The DFC brings out slightly more details than are normally present in the Porta Pros paired with lesser dacs. They’re not resolution monsters by any means, but they sound their best through the DFC.
Timbre -
In tracks such as Jack Johnson’s “All At Once” the timbre is displayed with a certain sweetness (smoothness) that’s just right in the context of the song. It’s presented very clear and naturally as though Jack is present and singing here. Yeah, it’s pretty cool.
Another favorite vocalist of mine is Norah Jones. Her track “December” from The Fall has this raspy, echoey, ‘clarity’ that leads me to believe that a condenser mic was used. A very sweet sound.
Detail, and Transients -
This is interesting because the DFC is very capable of resolving minute details that the Porta Pros just can’t portray. You can kind of hear them, and you know they’re present, but you don’t get the complete story.
And that’s okay as the Porta Pros display just enough detail for enjoyment while still offering a fatigue-free listening experience.
You can still make out the sound of piano hammers and key strikes in December, but not nearly as clearly with better resolving headphones.
“Bike Path” by Dntel is a great little ‘speed test’ of sorts, as it’s a completely synthesized piece that’s rapidly paced in a back and forth Left to Right manner.
This can reveal how well, or how fast your driver reacts. Great for planars, and what I assume electrostats, and ribbon drivers are capable of, but not so good on the polymer driver of the Porta Pro.
There’s intentional distortions as well (as much as electronic music has). Sometimes I think the DFC is reaching its power limits (more of that later), but verifying it on my other audio chains confirms it’s present.
If it’s in the recording, the DFC is displaying it.
Sparkle, or better known as Highs -
Radiohead’s “Life in a Glass House” is a fun track for resolving separation of upper registers.
It incorporates Thom’s nasally voice with a clarinet and trumpet. This can be a mushy mess of mids and highs on lesser equipment.
And the Porta Pros do struggle at times with what the DFC is laying down. However, both clarinet and trumpet have a natural sound, especially the clarinet. The trumpet does lack the inherent brassy nature of the instrument, but it’s still pleasantly realistic.
I’m glad Audioquest chose to implement the slow roll-off filter they did, otherwise I think it would have been too bright for my taste. They managed to accurately portray what’s in the recording without applying a cheese grater to your ears.
Dat Bass! -
Goldfrapp’s “Anymore” has a sweet little mid-bass beat that starts things off and gives way to a slightly lower foundational beat. The DFC presents this rather well while showing the v-shaped signature of the Porta Pros.
Anything off of Gorillaz’ Demon Days has a good foot tapping beat. “El Mañana” has some sweet low notes that the DFC paired with the Porta Pro’s handle like a champ.
“Man Research (Clapper)” off of the self-titled debut album is also a fun track to check out. Again the DFC portrays the bass with accuracy.
It brings da’ boom with aplomb.
Other Aspects of Sound Reproduction -
I find things such as soundstage a bit difficult to differentiate or review in a dac. Perhaps as I increase and diversify my collection of equipment I’ll be better equipped in the future to speak to these aspects.
Currently I feel that it’s more an aspect of the headphones being driven, though I’m sure it’s a combination of the audio chain, as most things are.
Tonality is another one that’s harder for me to quantify in a dac. I will say that I found it accurately natural. Enough that it’s encouraging me to pick up an ESS based desktop dac.
I’m looking at you Matrix Audio X-Sabre Pro MQA…
Conclusion…
The Dragonfly Cobalt is a great little dac that performs quite well, and will not disappoint if you know it’s limitations.
Those limitations primarily being its lack of power. I tried the DFC with my low impedance Audeze LCD-X and what I learned in doing so is that impedance isn’t necessarily an indicator of required power. Planars are power hungry beasts regardless of impedance.
I kept having to volume compensate for the lack of low end that I know the Audeze’s are capable off. It was frustrating because I was getting the details but in a thin, almost anemic presentation.
This unit is not capable of powering headphone that need raw power. I don’t think it was ever intended to do so either. It is however well suited with efficient, lower impedance headphones.
The DFC excels as a simple solution for an ultra portable setup. It doesn’t harness nature into a portable dac/amp, but it will present it in an articulate, and sonically accurate manner as long as it’s paired with a reasonably efficient headphone.
-Christopher
Great review, thank you.
Just on your point on lack of power…I had trouble powering a pair of DCA Aeon 2 Closed…never thought of them as particularly power hungry, either.
Nice writeup, and it jibes with my experience. (Jibe yes, a sailing term, either you know it, and know when to duck, or you don’t).
I’m a generation or so behind the times with my iPad Air, iPad Pro versin 1, and iPhone6 Plus. So I don’t really understand what the Dragontail does. I use the DFC also (or the DFB+Jitterbug) often driving Porta Pros. I have both Apple Camera adapters, and I always use the Dragonflies with a camera adapter.
I do not have any USB-C Apple products, but I do have a USB-C Android tablet. With that and a Dragonfly, I use a “To Go” cable.
So please explain the Dragontail and how it can let you ditch an Apple Camera adapter. I have both version 2 and 3 adapters, depending on how portable I need to be. The adapter 3 works great, but is pretty clunky looking.
