[hal55]

I might have an opportunity shortly to pick up a dragonfly at a reasonable discount to new price. Headphones it will be used with are Audio Technica AD900s. My current headphone amp is a de Paravicini design I bought somewhere in the 1980s (it's been Good) while my DAC is a Liteaudio Dac60 with valves (it's been Good as well) but was purchased somewhere around 2007. Both are obviously getting on and the Dragonfly has been getting a lot of favourable comment. The stats on the headphones are:
 
Impedance: 38 or 35 ohms I've seen both quoted.
Sensitivity: 100dB
Power Handling: 1000mW
 
Can the Dragonfly COMFORTABLY drive these? I don't want to feel that's it straining to do the job, which is the case when connecting them to my phone, it can drive them quite well enough but there is a clear feeling that they are being flattened a bit and are less fluid than coming off the amp. Also, just how fiddly is it setting this device up as the DAC in a normal hifi separates system, either driving a preamp or straight into a power amp?
Thanks,
 
 
Hal55

 

[flatmap]

I can't really answer your primary question as I've never had time with the AD900s.  The dragonfly has a bit more oomph, however, compared to the average phone output. For example, the dragonfly output is rated at 125mW @ 32 ohm whereas a Galaxy S5 comes in at  10 mW @ 32 ohm.  I think the iPhone 6 gets up to 26 mW and I've heard the HTC M8 is twice that.  So on average, more power output compared to a  smart phone -- so that is bound to help.
 
But you know, if you are perchance comparing to an EAR HP4, it's not likely to stand up to the pure lushness of that!  On the other hand it is very likely to best a DAC made back in 2007 on a number of counts.
 
The dragonfly is ultimately easy to use.  You plug it in to the USB port, select it in the control panel (go to Sound in System Preferences on the Mac) and then plug your headphones into the 3.5mm phono jack.  To run it into your preamp or amp, you'll need a cable with the 3.5 mm phono jack on one end and rca jacks on the other.
 
The current version of the dragonfly is the v1.2, which is probably what you want compared to the earlier v1.0.

 

[hal55]

Thanks for the reply, if EAR products were in my price range I'd get one in a flash. It was the 509 monoblocks that got me interested (hooked) on hifi way back about 1984. My smartphone does drive the ATs but it's clear the bounce and liveliness in music is being robbed a bit, not a huge amount, but enough to be noticeable. I can't find anywhere the output figure of the headphone section so am trusting to luck a bit that the Dragonfly is up to the job, and I'll run it off a powered USB hub to give it a bit more current. Between using it in my normal stereo and also off the phone it should be a useful little purchase.
 
Hal55

 

[flatmap]

Good luck.  It is a very nice DAC for the price -- and it's very convenient.  Even though my version 1 is outdated, I'm not letting it go until I can afford something blazingly and clearly better.
 
Worse comes to worst, then I do think you could resell it easily -- especially if you are getting it on discount.

 

[Hawkertempest]

  I can't really answer your primary question as I've never had time with the AD900s.  The dragonfly has a bit more oomph, however, compared to the average phone output. For example, the dragonfly output is rated at 125mW @ 32 ohm whereas a Galaxy S5 comes in at  10 mW @ 32 ohm.  I think the iPhone 6 gets up to 26 mW and I've heard the HTC M8 is twice that.  So on average, more power output compared to a  smart phone -- so that is bound to help.
 
But you know, if you are perchance comparing to an EAR HP4, it's not likely to stand up to the pure lushness of that!  On the other hand it is very likely to best a DAC made back in 2007 on a number of counts.
 
The dragonfly is ultimately easy to use.  You plug it in to the USB port, select it in the control panel (go to Sound in System Preferences on the Mac) and then plug your headphones into the 3.5mm phono jack.  To run it into your preamp or amp, you'll need a cable with the 3.5 mm phono jack on one end and rca jacks on the other.
 
The current version of the dragonfly is the v1.2, which is probably what you want compared to the earlier v1.0.

The Audioquest Dragonfly V1 or V2 is not an Amplifier it is a DAC only, it is not intended to be a portable headphone AMP/DAC! You should be looking at something like a Schiit Fulla all the way up to a Cypher Labs Theorem 720 or even an Astell & Kern AK380 if you want the best.
Mind you if you want to make it even better plug a Jitterbug into the USB port then connect the Dragontail into the Jitterbug then plug the Dragonfly into the Dragontail then plug your Cans in. Now you're "cooking" and the Dragonfly has just taken another leap forward. Plug another Jitterbug into a different USB port and things get just a wee bit better, but no more as it makes no difference after that.
I run a Schiit WYRD into my DAC as well as using the two Jitterbugs and they definitely make a difference. This DAC also has a Swagman Labs Signature Edition Filtered Power Supply.  
My Dragonfly on my MAC has the two Jitterbug system I mentioned which makes a big improvement with the V2, this Dragonfly really flies.
Oh and don't use $2 shop cables otherwise you're wasting your money. You would be better off spending it down at the Pub with your mates. Anyone who says Cables don't make a difference is either tone deaf or has their hearing aide switched off, or they are listening to poorly recorded music and not high definition. If you don't believe me take your rig to a "proper" hi-fi shop and have a proper cable demo with good gear and recordings, you will be surprised.   

 

[flatmap]

  The Audioquest Dragonfly V1 or V2 is not an Amplifier it is a DAC only, [...]

 
It's a DAC with integrated headphone amp.  You can control the volume of the amp via software control of the hardware.  So, FWIW,  it's more than simply a DAC with audio line out.
 

  [...] Mind you if you want to make it even better plug a Jitterbug into the USB port then connect the Dragontail into the Jitterbug then plug the Dragonfly into the Dragontail then plug your Cans in. Now you're "cooking" and the Dragonfly has just taken another leap forward. Plug another Jitterbug into a different USB port and things get just a wee bit better, but no more as it makes no difference after that. [...]

I've read about these, but have never had the chance to try either the jitterbug or wyrd.  Sounds like these things are a definite step forward.

 

[bavinck]

The dragonfly 1.2 powers my r70x (470 ohms) on PC at about 50-60% volume for my preferences. It is an excellent dac/amp, highly recommended.