Not sure if I'm setting myself up for high expectations as I still haven't done much audio reviews, I mostly just do this for my own enjoyment. However, I have a LH Labs Geekout V2A, AudioQuest Dragonfly Black, and out of curiosity just ordered the Dragonfly Red; finally, I also have
@avitron142's Opus #11 on the way. I suppose I can try to do a comparison as well but not fully confident I'm qualified lol.
So far, between the GOV2A and DFB, it seems the GOV2A is more precise and would be great for music professionals, well-recorded audio, and classical music. The DFB has a certain smoothness and richness to it, that's so forgiving of streaming or playback of compressed music. It's great to listen to for hours as it's very non-fatiguing, "analog" and musical sounding. Doesn't have much soundstage depth but it has width. Treble sensitive folks will also enjoy it.
The GOV2A definitely has more power/drive/grip, resolve, extension, and depth. More control over the bass as it's also tighter. However, on Spotify streaming (even at extreme setting), it can be somewhat fatiguing after a while. It sounds great for well recorded tracks. For the normal consumer, I would definitely recommend the DFB for this. My fiancee thought my iPhone/DFB setup sounded almost as good as my desktop setup (LH Labs Geek Pulse Infinity/LPS4 with modded HE-400S in balanced) on streaming/mp3's.
I'll try to do an overall comparison later when I get the others. Prolly not as qualified but tagging
@peter123 since he's doing his own comparison of $250 amp/dacs too; curious how our impressions will compare. Not even sure if this is the right place to post this, so let me know if I should move it!
--
Got the DFR yesterday. My fiancee would say it's about 30% better and can hear it right away, but for her regarding the price/performance she would take the black. The red definitely has a more solid sound image compared to the black, which makes it sound like it has more depth and 3d. The red has more resolution and dynamic contrast, meaning separation and layering is better with a darker background, which in all sounds more refined. If a person were to use this for a variety of ways like hooking up to a larger desktop system, full size headphones or speakers, I would choose the Red. For IEM's, it's funny I find I have to push the volume higher for the red instead of the lower powered black. As most people notice, black has a looser bottom end making it sound warmer, while the red is more controlled so it sounds a bit leaner, but vocals come sounding more forward. With the black, I hear more pronunciation of the beats and instruments so the vocals are bit less forward. Perhaps that's why I feel I have to push the red up compared to the black. Both DFB and DFR have great tonality, and along with the AQ Nighthawk they all seem tuned to provide spatial information by upping the pronunciation around the left/right edges of the sound field. They also round off the treble so it never displays harshness and remains very smooth. Due to these characteristics, neither are as reference sounding as the LH products but not everyone enjoys reference all the time. Especially on the go I find myself enjoying a bit of guilty pleasure of extra low end and coloration to add that vividness and soundtrack to life. I'm not going to lie, I like pictures that look better than real life with very blue skies and really green grass/trees, makes real life seem dull. For hip hop, top 40, and fun tracks the black is definitely more fun sounding and makes you bob your head like a car with a sub, while the red sounds comparatively more reference so it's better if you're trying to figure out what the lyricist is talking about or how the song is produced, rather than saying ef it and dancing around like an iPod commercial -- hence I would still recommend the black to normal consumers (unless using harder to drive full sized headphones).
--
Got the Opus#11 and I would put it about with the DFR. The soundstage is more dense and rich, but also more narrow than DFB/DFR (I hear this is also a trait of the Mojo, so maybe that was Opus' design target). The Opus#11 is more detailed, controlled and tight than the DFB. Personal preference at this point but I enjoy the wider soundstage and tone of the dragonflys; maybe that minimum phase filter really does something.
Going back to the GOV2A, it has more space, depth (so many more layers), and precision (tone, neutrality, speed) than all the others. Whereas the others try to make music sound prettier, the GOV2A tells it like it is i.e. reference sounding.
jk
