Most reviews that I've read say the Cobalt is hardly different than the Red.
Best is to do an A/B test yourself.
Most reviews that I've read say the Cobalt is hardly different than the Red.
Most reviews that I've read say the Cobalt is hardly different than the Red.
Thanks for the info, will keep this in mind when using Red with andro.Cobalt = Red - Noise + around 1.5 times higher power consumption
I have and use both
Can anyone give a quick rundown on the main competitors to the Audioquest/Dragonfly products?
Since you mention the ES100 and BTR5, I would add the Qudelix 5k to the list. Preorders just started shipping a few weeks ago (June 16, 2020) but I really like my 5K much better than the ES100. Still a lot of bugs to work out but a great first product from a new company started by the guy who, i think, designed the ES100.Notable ones:
1. Chord mojo
2. ifi xDSD
3. ifi Hip DAC
4. EarStudio ES100
5. Fiio Q1 Mark 2
6. Fiio BTR5
7. Fiio E12A
8. Fiio Q5s
9. Ifi nana iDSD BL
I am aware those with BT capabilities might be different due to features, but these are some of the notable portal ones I am aware of. There are quite a number more in the market but it usually just boils down to a few key ones and the choice is really based on personal preference.
For example, Chord Mojo May sound a little bit better than the Dragonfly Cobalt but the convenience of the DFC is far superior. Mojo is a bit dated too though it still an excellent product.
Fiio BTR5 is super small, packs a punch, may not be as good as the xDSD but again, convenience and how close it is to the xDSD makes it a great value purchase. That’s why the Fiio BTR5 is selling like hot cakes.
Since you mention the ES100 and BTR5, I would add the Qudelix 5k to the list. Preorders just started shipping a few weeks ago (June 16, 2020) but I really like my 5K much better than the ES100. Still a lot of bugs to work out but a great first product from a new company started by the guy who, i think, designed the ES100.
In my opinion, the bluetooth receivers are really no match for the DFC in terms of SQ and the Cobalt sounds much more dynamic and has much better soundstage and separation than either the ES100 or the 5K. As mentioned above, they have different feature sets and use cases.
Hoping to hear a review of the EarMen Sparrow - Which looks very promising for the price, $100 lower than the cobalt. Anyone have any information? https://earmen-shop.com/products/sparrow
Received the DFC yesterday, and using it with Samsung Galaxy S10 exynos version mainly.
It is working surprisingly well! I already had the UAPP installed. As soon as I connect the DFC with the supplied dragon tail adapter the UAPP pops up, detects the DFC. I have also purchased the bit perfect MQA in app module. So the MQA files of Tidal plays via UAPP, with the purple light indicator, and with my Andromeda it sounds amazing, there is absolutely no noise.
To use other apps like spotify, youtube, amazon prime music I just have to click "no" to the pop up by UAPP. Everything is probably up scaled to 48 kHz (blue color), but no popping and clicking sound (as reported in Samsung forums), and sounds surprisingly well!
It is working with my Microsoft Surface Pro, Dell desktop with excellent sound quality. It is very loud and powerful, I have to use it with very low volume with Andromeda. The sound-stage, clarity is very good.
I also am not having any rattling or quality issue. My unit seems to be built quite well. The leather case also quite good; I have realized if I press the side of the case to make it open and flip, it comes out quite easily.
I also have the BTR3K from FIIO, in terms of sound quality in wired or wireless mode, DFC is way ahead, there is no competition. But for Bluetooth functionality and convenience it is an excellent device.
Overall DFC is an excellent investment, I would highly recommend it.
As soon as plugged the dragonfly the sound source has changed to dragonfly cobalt 1.0. When I opened Tidal it actually changed the volume to very low, thankfully. Actually I find the volume to be very loud. I wish I could control the volume with finer level. I have the windows 10 professional installed in my surface pro 7 with all the latest updates. The DFC was literally plug and play. Though my experiences are limited to IEMs like Andromeda, FH7 etc.Did you need to update any sound settings in Windows for the Surface or the Dell ? I've tried mine on three different Windows machines and I cant get decent volume out of it any which way I try.