[AudiophileKing]

http://archimago.blogspot.com/2019/08/measurements-dragonflies-audioquest.html

Finally, the truth has been revealed about the Cobalt.I returned mine after a week of testing, waiting for the magical change in sound quality after : 200 hours of burn-in. The sound quality improved yet I and my friends found it to be definitely not worth the price. Today I just came across this article and finally I understand that the "Audio Industry" is fueled by paid advertisements and likely internet forum manipulation.

Firstly, the Cobalt units are cheaply built - there is wiggling of the internals and the usb moves in and out of the case.

Sound quality is better than the dragonfly red yet not worth the price in any way.

I am taking my time to help people not to follow the reviewers and make an impulsive purchase. Listen thoroughly to it yourself, take your time to think if it's worth *your* money and then decide if you want buy them/keep them or return them.

Here are some personal opinions I would like to share:

1) Try the Apple Type-C to 3.5 mm Dongle for $10, I recommend it over the Dragonfly Cobalt anytime.

2) Avoid Fiio products, they have the worst support, you can't find them when trying to solve problems with their products. They ask you to ship to China and their battery replacement information/support is non-existent. They are releasing their Q5s yet I strongly believe to avoid them as many have reported their poor build quality.

3) If they say Cobalt sounds better than Chord Mojo - it's absolutely bull. Many do say it.

 

[GDuss]

Determining worth, especially in hi-end audio, is of course always difficult. Many people have said the Mojo sounds fantastic, but is definitely not worth its price (similar comments can be made about much of what is discussed on this forum). I agree that Mojo sounds better than Cobalt, but it's actually not by as much as I would have thought. I am enjoying the Cobalt quite a bit, and have taken it out with me numerous times lately and not regretted leaving Mojo at home.

My Cobalt only very slightly wiggles, and I do mean very slightly, and only at the headphone plug side, not at the USB side. I bought a Dragonfly Red a few years ago that wiggled and rattled way more than my DFC does. I returned that DFR, partly due to the rattle and partly due to that fact that I didn't like it as much as I thought I would.

The price-performance ratio of the Apple dongle is quite high. If someone is only willing to spend $10, or even $50, it's a great DAC/AMP.

 

[Hifiearspeakers]

http://archimago.blogspot.com/2019/08/measurements-dragonflies-audioquest.html

Finally, the truth has been revealed about the Cobalt.I returned mine after a week of testing, waiting for the magical change in sound quality after : 200 hours of burn-in. The sound quality improved yet I and my friends found it to be definitely not worth the price. Today I just came across this article and finally I understand that the "Audio Industry" is fueled by paid advertisements and likely internet forum manipulation.

Firstly, the Cobalt units are cheaply built - there is wiggling of the internals and the usb moves in and out of the case.

Sound quality is better than the dragonfly red yet not worth the price in any way.

I am taking my time to help people not to follow the reviewers and make an impulsive purchase. Listen yourself, think it's worth *your* money and then decide if you sound buy them.

Here are some personal opinions I would like to share:

1) Try the Apple Type-C to 3.5 mm Dongle for $10, I recommend it over the Dragonfly Cobalt anytime.

2) Avoid Fiio products, they have the worst support, you can't find them when trying to solve problems with their products. They ask you to ship to China and their battery replacement information/support is non-existent. They are releasing their Q5s yet I strongly believe to avoid them as many have reported their poor build quality.

3) If they say Cobalt sounds better than Chord Mojo - it's absolutely bull****. Many do say it.

There’s a big difference between the dongle and the Cobalt. The dongle doesn’t amplify. So unless you have very easy to drive headphones or iem’s, the dongle will not be adequate. For headphones with higher impedance and/or lower sensitivity, your comparison of a dongle to the Cobalt is apples and oranges.

Also, just because you don’t think the Cobalt sounds better than the Mojo, doesn’t mean others feel the same way. I don’t. I prefer the Cobalt to the Mojo, because I prefer a wider soundstage. The Mojo sounds good, but it doesn’t project a very wide stage and that is a well-known characteristic of it.

 

[CANiSLAYu]

I don’t have any interest in the Cobalt whatsoever as it doesn’t fill a need for me, but I find takes like this interesting. That’s the beauty of capitalism; the market will determine if it provides sufficient value for its asking price and that is where opinions will vary. Price is objective, but how much an individual values it subjective.

You don’t think it’s worth the price and that is perfectly reasonable and fine to share that opinion, but to state it as fact is inherently flawed. In fact it’s pretty ironic, because how is it any different behavior than the reviewers you accuse of being shills?

 

[Spareribs]

I agree that it seems like a rip off but I would still buy it if I needed one.

Currently, my portable DAC/amp unit is the Topping NX4 and I think it’s good and it satisfies my portable need. So no need for me to shop for something else. I’m now on team Topping.

 

[tansand]

The 'beauty' of capitalism is that it allows any number of scams to exploit others.

 

[TooPoorForHiFi]

Shillers... Gotta learn to spot them and move on.

 

[McCol]

Oh my word, product cheap to make but priced high.....shock and horror, who would have thought. I bet Apple, Samsung, Sony and hundreds no make that thousands of companies don't do the same.

What's happened here is that this chap is throwing his toys out of the pram because he didn't like it, bless the wee baby.

 

[pilgrimbilly]

http://archimago.blogspot.com/2019/08/measurements-dragonflies-audioquest.html

Finally, the truth has been revealed about the Cobalt.I returned mine after a week of testing, waiting for the magical change in sound quality after : 200 hours of burn-in. The sound quality improved yet I and my friends found it to be definitely not worth the price. Today I just came across this article and finally I understand that the "Audio Industry" is fueled by paid advertisements and likely internet forum manipulation.

Firstly, the Cobalt units are cheaply built - there is wiggling of the internals and the usb moves in and out of the case.

Sound quality is better than the dragonfly red yet not worth the price in any way.

I am taking my time to help people not to follow the reviewers and make an impulsive purchase. Listen yourself, think it's worth *your* money and then decide if you sound buy them.

Here are some personal opinions I would like to share:

1) Try the Apple Type-C to 3.5 mm Dongle for $10, I recommend it over the Dragonfly Cobalt anytime.

2) Avoid Fiio products, they have the worst support, you can't find them when trying to solve problems with their products. They ask you to ship to China and their battery replacement information/support is non-existent. They are releasing their Q5s yet I strongly believe to avoid them as many have reported their poor build quality.

3) If they say Cobalt sounds better than Chord Mojo - it's absolutely bull****. Many do say it.

The article you refer to has been out for a while and has been discussed thoroughly here.

 

[tansand]

Well, I won't be buying one. So thanks for the heads up.

 

[GDuss]

OP made an important statement:

"Listen yourself, think it's worth *your* money and then decide if you sound buy them."

I completely agree.

 

[AudiophileKing]

Determining worth, especially in hi-end audio, is of course always difficult. Many people have said the Mojo sounds fantastic, but is definitely not worth its price (similar comments can be made about much of what is discussed on this forum). I agree that Mojo sounds better than Cobalt, but it's actually not by as much as I would have thought. I am enjoying the Cobalt quite a bit, and have taken it out with me numerous times lately and not regretted leaving Mojo at home.

My Cobalt only very slightly wiggles, and I do mean very slightly, and only at the headphone plug side, not at the USB side. I bought a Dragonfly Red a few years ago that wiggled and rattled way more than my DFC does. I returned that DFR, partly due to the rattle and partly due to that fact that I didn't like it as much as I thought I would.

The price-performance ratio of the Apple dongle is quite high. If someone is only willing to spend $10, or even $50, it's a great DAC/AMP.

Yes, it's true - Determining worth, especially in hi-end audio, is of course always difficult. Mojo is quite expensive, it's the truth. But recently I think they are selling for 432 $ + taxes (new) ? You are right, the worth of something depends on the individuals. Proper information that we share might help so many people out there. I had the Cobalt, it's not bad. But it felt as if it's lacking in fidelity - only later to be found that's it's fidelity has degraded (check out the article linked in original post). Cobalt should have been a replacement for both Black and Red and priced around 150 $. The headphone amp section is lacking in my opinion.

 

[AudiophileKing]

There’s a big difference between the dongle and the Cobalt. The dongle doesn’t amplify. So unless you have very easy to drive headphones or iem’s, the dongle will not be adequate. For headphones with higher impedance and/or lower sensitivity, your comparison of a dongle to the Cobalt is apples and oranges.

Also, just because you don’t think the Cobalt sounds better than the Mojo, doesn’t mean others feel the same way. I don’t. I prefer the Cobalt to the Mojo, because I prefer a wider soundstage. The Mojo sounds good, but it doesn’t project a very wide stage and that is a well-known characteristic of it.

The dongle has about 1 V output. Yes, the Cobalt sounds much better than the dongle, it's natural given it's worth 46 times the price in Canada. It' headphone amp section is lacking and it's measurements show that it's sound fidelity has regressed back two generations (worse than red). I couldn't justify the sound quality and to be surprise the demo unit I tried at the store sounded better than the one I had returned. Build quality issues persist. Well, at least the demo unit was solidly built. Most of us rely on proper reviews before narrowing down on our choices. It would be very sad to misguide people into buying Cobalt. Everyone should just listen to it and decide themselves if it's what they want.

 

[AudiophileKing]

I don’t have any interest in the Cobalt whatsoever as it doesn’t fill a need for me, but I find takes like this interesting. That’s the beauty of capitalism; the market will determine if it provides sufficient value for its asking price and that is where opinions will vary. Price is objective, but how much an individual values it subjective.

You don’t think it’s worth the price and that is perfectly reasonable and fine to share that opinion, but to state it as fact is inherently flawed. In fact it’s pretty ironic, because how is it any different behavior than the reviewers you accuse of being shills?

Do read the whole article and see the measurements, you will find them more interesting. I was wondering something was lacking in my listening sessions with the Cobalt, it turned out to be have lower sound fidelity than the Red.

One Fact :

The Cobalt sounds better than without the Type-C Dragontail adapter. Don't know how special the adapter is but it degrades the audio quality for sure.

I did not state anything as a fact. See my post, it's :

"Here are some personal opinions I would like to share:"

 

[AudiophileKing]

I agree that it seems like a rip off but I would still buy it if I needed one.

Currently, my portable DAC/amp unit is the Topping NX4 and I think it’s good and it satisfies my portable need. So no need for me to shop for something else. I’m now on team Topping.

Is the Topping reliable ? I heard they break down and have firmware problems. Can you tell me more about your Topping Unit, it's build quality, software/firmware issues if you are having any.