[gidgiddonihah]

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Well, being a Mac user with iPhone and iPod I pretty much had to stick with it. But now I'm thinking about moving away from iTunes and really considering about getting the DragonFly. I'm still waiting for my JH5 though. 

 
Is there not a Mac version of foobar?  If so there is the iPod component that allows syncing with "i" devices.
 
(Edit) Got my cables (6 inch and 6 foot) in the mail today with my Psychology textbook 

. Very plain looking but feels well built. The only problem I have is they are quite tight which means I have to pull harder than I would like on the DF to get it out. Took an old USB hub I had hanging around and pulled it in and out several times to loosen it a bit.  It's a little better but still tighter than I like. Audio quality (in the 5 minutes I had) seems the same. Haven't noticed anything different and don't/didn't really expect to.

 

[Whippler]

depends on what other things you are going to use on it, playing music from usb HDD connected to same hub as dragonfly, and there is not enough speed on a single usb for that to work.

 

[RUMAY408]

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I heard that using the DragonFly with iTunes will not be good because iTunes does not change the sample rate on the go. Any advice here? 

Cheers! Really looking to getting this. Looking like a solid device. 

I have a lot of experience with this as I use a MBAir.  iTunes, the newest version is adequate with the DF but constantly changing the Audi Midi to the various BIT's is a pain.  So I first bought Bitperfect for $10, not great but better sound than iTunes and cheap.  I was still was stuck with the manuel changes required on the Mac with Bitperfect so I demo'd Pure Music and Amarra.  Pure Music was next level with sound but still required constant handshaking to sync.  Amarra plays off the DF as does Pure Music but Amarra plays seamlessly with the DF.  The sound off Amarra is exceptional and it will also load Flac and AIFF off downloads to iTunes. All the above players play off iTunes using the the main page and song listings, so very convenient. Amarra was easily the best sounding software and watching the DF change colors without manuel shifts was time saving.  
 
You can go to either Pure Music or Amarra websites and do a two week free demo which I would strongly encourage. For further info, the Amarra thread is very helpful for those with Macs on software use with iTunes.  

 

[gidgiddonihah]

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depends on what other things you are going to use on it, playing music from usb HDD connected to same hub as dragonfly, and there is not enough speed on a single usb for that to work.

 
I refuse to plug the DF into a hub.  Don't want the hassle or loss of audio quality (event though there wouldn't be any-kind of OCD  

).
 
If you had a powered hub it should have enough power to run as many devices as it has ports...

 

[MickeyVee]

Don't know what I've done but all I get now is static with the Dragonfly on both of my Macs.  it  was fine from iTunes but when I started to play with third party players, Decibel and Audirvana, I must have corrupted something switching between them.  Tried clearing caches, rebooting but the DF just gives me static now. The DF is still OK on my Windows 7 netbook.  Arrgh!

 

[awtryau89]

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Software players also make a big difference. I use Audirvana Plas (OSX) at home and Foobar2000 with WASAPI at work (dang locked down work laptops).
 
I've heard Decibel is very good as well.
 
I would love to see a comparison of the DragonFly with the new Schiit Modi & Magni set in terms of SQ.

I would not get the Schiit set for work as I prefer the DF size and discreetness (I moved from a HRT MSII/RSA Tommahawk setup to the DF).

The advantage I see with the DF vs the M/M combo is no cables (USB or interconnect) needed for the DF. This to me is a big advantage as there is no need to worry the added expense for quality cables.

My son just got the Schitt set. If I can get him away from it I will make some comparisons and let you know what I can hear.

 

[RUMAY408]

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Don't know what I've done but all I get now is static with the Dragonfly on both of my Macs.  it  was fine from iTunes but when I started to play with third party players, Decibel and Audirvana, I must have corrupted something switching between them.  Tried clearing caches, rebooting but the DF just gives me static now. The DF is still OK on my Windows 7 netbook.  Arrgh!

Man I am sorry to hear about that.  I never tried Audivana or Decibel.  Bitperfect caused some issues with sound quality early on the DF but very inconsistently, since it was updated I haven't had issues with it but I basically gave up on it since Amarra is such an upgrade. 
 
Given my experience with Bitperfect I stuck with the more pricey but higher quality software.  On the last few pages of the Amarra thread you will find some very helpful links, for demos and MORE.

 

[Whippler]

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I refuse to plug the DF into a hub.  Don't want the hassle or loss of audio quality (event though there wouldn't be any-kind of OCD  

).
 
If you had a powered hub it should have enough power to run as many devices as it has ports...

 
 
 
There's enough power, not enough data bandwidth in usb2.0 to read the data from HDD, and then send it back trough the same usb cord to the dragonfly.

 

[hunter55]

you can use the dragonfly as a pure dac by just turning the volume on your computer to max right? just making sure since I plan on getting an amp too.

 

[RUMAY408]

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you can use the dragonfly as a pure dac by just turning the volume on your computer to max right? just making sure since I plan on getting an amp too.

You are absolutly right I use mine in sequence with a Bellari HA540 HP amp.

 

[longbowbbs]

Quote:

you can use the dragonfly as a pure dac by just turning the volume on your computer to max right? just making sure since I plan on getting an amp too.

 
Yes, then the amp you plug the DF into will handle volume control to your HP's.

 

[gidgiddonihah]

Quote:

Quote:

I refuse to plug the DF into a hub.  Don't want the hassle or loss of audio quality (event though there wouldn't be any-kind of OCD  

).
 
If you had a powered hub it should have enough power to run as many devices as it has ports...

 
 
 
There's enough power, not enough data bandwidth in usb2.0 to read the data from HDD, and then send it back trough the same usb cord to the dragonfly.

 
 
If that was the case then my desktop couldn't do it with the front two USB ports as they are on an internal hub and therefore sharing bandwidth.  Taking it through only one port means I am pulling all the bandwidth out of that internal hub (480 mbps or 60 MBps) and into my external one as the other USB port on that internal hub is sitting idle.  Therefore if it works using my front two USB ports it would work on an external hub.  There are computers I have seen that run 5-8 different ports on the same internal hub. 
 
Audio is also extremely lightweight.  I have had a friend use a hub to shoot HD video across a 2.0 hub from an external drive to the computer and the audio back out to his (subpar) soundcard (on that same hub) without a problem.  HD video (which would be 5.1 AC3 audio and 720p/1080p video) from my USB 3.0 device running on 2.0 ports load as fast as the computer (CPU/etc) can render it which ends up being almost instantaneous. It should be fine for the Dragonfly. 

 
(Edit) Anyone having trouble with the DF headphone jack?  It seams really sensitive.  When rotating my headphone cable sometimes I get really bad static feedback and when I wiggle it in the USB port I get the same.
 
(Edit 2) Now all I get is static...
 
(Edit 3) Hmmm...  A restart seems to have fixed it.  My DF seems loose in its case and I thought that's what it was.  Was giving me crap in XBMC (playing a movie) and wouldn't stop when I closed it.  Restarted my laptop and its working great now.

 

[DBMethos]

The more I read about this little guy, the more intrigued I am. However, it's been out for a little while now and surely Audioquest has been listening to the (minor) complaints about it. Any word yet about a followup?

 

[cutie]

I have compared the Dragonfly using the JPLAY V4.3 & V5 (Beta) thru' my JH16s.
It is very good on its own.
Even better when used with the iFi iUSB Ultra-Low Noise power supply.
Guess what? I thought it would be very close to the DX100.
I was wrong.
The DX100 running 1.2.7 firmware thru' my JH16s sounded even more transparent, more emotional X-factor.
The Dragonfly is very clear but lacking the emotional factor.
 
Yes the DX100 interface is a little sluggish, but the sound quality is amazing.

 

[gidgiddonihah]

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Yes the DX100 interface is a little sluggish, but the sound quality is amazing.

 
If its running Android (which I am pretty sure it is) there should be a custom kernel that allows you to OC it and set it to a performance governor.  After that it should be much faster.  Forewarning: don't overclock it too much (one or two hundred MHz should do it fine) and when you overclock it the battery life will fall as the CPU is pulling more power.  Don't have one to test.
 
(Edit) Quick Google search pulls up nothing.  Maybe there isn't enough support as most devs don't believe in a 830$ device that just plays music 

...
 
(Edit 2) I have been having even more problems with my Dragonfly...
 
Quote:

 
(Edit) Anyone having trouble with the DF headphone jack?  It seams really sensitive.  When rotating my headphone cable sometimes I get really bad static feedback and when I wiggle it in the USB port I get the same.
 
(Edit 2) Now all I get is static...
 
(Edit 3) Hmmm...  A restart seems to have fixed it.  My DF seems loose in its case and I thought that's what it was.  Was giving me crap in XBMC (playing a movie) and wouldn't stop when I closed it.  Restarted my laptop and its working great now.
 

 

Lots of times it just won't output anything unless I wiggle it which creates a painful staticy popping symphony.  Lots of times when I plug it in I need to play it for 10 seconds to several minutes before popping and crackling goes away.  This happens in MOG, Spotify, Rdio, foobar, Mediamonkey, and everything else I tested in Linux Mint on my laptop and Win7 on my desktop/laptop so I think I be pretty sure its the Dragonfly.  I called Audio Advisor and they are shipping me a replacement.  Will update when it comes in.