Audioquest's Newest DragonFly Lands: meet Cobalt

The DragonFly series, which has been around since 2012, has been a remarkable success for Audioquest. A thumbdrive-styled DAC/amp for use with digital sources such as laptops, or on the go with your phone, connecting directly to headphones, or to your home stereo, these USA-made devices come from the design talents of extreme audiophile designer, Gordon Rankin, who developed the asynchronus-transfer USB code used throughout the high end audio industry.

Stepping up from current models DragonFly Black ($99.95) and Dragonfly Red ($199.95), the new DragonFly Cobalt ($299.95) is the long-awaited flagship incorporating a new DAC chip, 33% faster processing speed, better power supply filtering, and a superior clocking circuit. The result of all this tech is a more natural and dynamic sound with enhanced resolution.

The three DragonFly models all will play all music files from MP3 to MQA and Hi-Res, and are compatible with almost any computer in addition to Apple and Android mobile devices. (A high quality "Dragontail" USB-C to USB-A dongle is included with the Cobalt. For older phones and most Apple phones we can supply the necessary interface cables separately.) Most importantly they offer performance which, a decade ago, we only could have dreamed of in such a compact design. The Cobalt - now a fifth generation  DragonFly - is a very fine answer to everything you ever asked about affordable excellence in a digital device.